What Am I?

Today I was looking through my Volleyball USA magazine and read "You can't force-feed passion"  by Mike Sealy.  Reading the following quote struck me hard as a teacher, parent, and coach.  I have needed to hear this for a long time, maybe it was said to me before, but I finally heard the message.


What am I?
I am a Teacher. 
What can I do?
I can expose you to ideas, but I cannot tell you what to think.
I can guide you, but you must discover the limits of your own potential.
I can encourage you, but your greatest fulfillment must come from within.  
I can listen to you, but I will not tell you what to say.
I can look with you, but I cannot tell you what you will see.
I can move with you, but I cannot tell you what to feel.
I can speak with you, but I cannot tell you what to hear.
I can do some things with you, but you can do more with yourself.
I can guide you on the path of discovery, but I cannot tell you the answer.


For so many years I took it personally when a student or player didn't get it (why they needed to do their homework, not picking up the tip when you have practiced it over and over, etc.)  What was I doing wrong?  I tried all approaches, being super encouraging, punishments, rewards, stepping back - nothing was working.  After reading the quote, I realized that it is a two way street and the phrase "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink" is so true (unless you are a teacher - No Child Left Behind).  Not only is this quote good for parents, teachers, and coaches, but for all young people.  They have to know their part and their part is the most important.


Now that I am a parent, I will teach my son my Christian faith and when he is old enough I hope he will call it his own.  I have to remember that I can show him the way but I can't force him into the faith.  I have to trust Jesus with him.  


I have to let him fall so he will know how to pick himself up.
I have to let him struggle so he will know Jesus' peace, learn perseverance, and feel accomplishment.
I have to let him make mistakes so he learns about consequences. 
I have to let him hurt so he knows how Jesus can heal.
I have to let him sin so he knows he is forgiven and how to ask for forgiveness.
I have to let him get his heart broken so he will know true love.
I have to let him go so he can find himself.


Through all of it I (and my husband) will be there to love and encourage him.  The worst thing I can do as a parent is to shield and protect him from all the hard things life throws his way.  If I do then he will be crippled and never know the good parts of life.  I will shed many tears, my heart will hurt for him, but in the end I know he will be man God created him to be and strong in faith.

Whole

Whole is made up of many parts.

I feel more like a bunch of parts than whole and I have so many parts.  I have the wife part, the mommy part, the coaching part, the playing volleyball part, the running part, the naturalist part, the teacher part, and so many more parts that I feel I haven't found yet.  As I discover and live in those parts, the more complete and whole I feel. 

Some parts are more important than others.  The part that makes me whole or complete the most (excluding being a mom and wife) is the volleyball part.  I feel like I am totally alive when I am either in the gym, researching different volleyball philosophies, and creating practice plans.

Last week I was able to go to a high school pre-season volleyball tournament.  It was great because I got to see many girls that I have worked with over the years play all in the same place.  I brought Jadon with me and he was so good - I guess it was all those times I had tournaments when I was pregnant with him.  Not to mention that there were moms that were more than happy to love on him. 


Is there any way to combine my passion for volleyball and helping others? 

I am a fan of John Kessel at USA Volleyball.  He started a program called Leave a Ball Behind.  Basically, you either send/give balls to less fortunate groups so they can enjoy playing volleyball.  It seems trivial, why give these groups volleyballs?  Don't they need something more important?  Obviously needy kids need food, clothing, and shelter, but they also need someone to love on them.  Someone to make their day a little brighter. I think that knowing someone truly cares for them will give them hope, to allow them to be kids! 

I read Candra's blog Curious Georgi on this same topic and commented that I really didn't know what to do to help people become whole.  Well, I think I just figured it out.

I will be coaching for VolleyOne Volleyball Club starting this next club season.  I am hoping to run some ideas about the Leave a Ball Behind program to see if I can start it through their club.  Who knows where this could go?  It might even lead to a mission trip or two!

    



Link up to 5 Minute Friday and The Gyspy Mama by clicking below.

 

 

Revamping Old Volleyball Drills

As this past club season ends, it is time to start preparing next club season.  I have been using USA Volleyball for up to date coaching theory and practice ideas as well as reading John Kessel's Grow the Game blog.  Lots of great information in the Grassroots section of the USA Website for coaches, players, parents, and club directors.

Over the years I have compiled many drills to use with my teams.  Recently I went through them because I wanted an easily accessible "drill book" to make practice planning more efficient.  As I looked at the drills I asked myself the following questions.

1. Is the drill gamelike? Yes - keep, no - throw out of adapt.
2. Is the drill coach centered or player centered? I want my players to serve, hit, etc. at eachother, not me.
3. Is there a type of scoring that can be used?
4. Does the drill incorporate at least 2 skills (pass-set, set-hit, etc.)
5. Will the drill teach players how to "read" the ball?
6. Does the drill use the net?
7. Does the drill involve all players or at least very little wait time?
8. Can I use this drill in my "Competitive Cauldron?"
9. Will all players develop skills other than what their position calls for? (Middle Hitters just might have to set during a match!)
10. I also kept in mind John Kessel's article, 25 Questions for Volleyball Teachers and Coaches.

I ended up throwing out a lot of the drills that I had.  With some drills I was able to make a few changes to make them fit my criteria and other drills ignited my imagination to create new drills.  Oh, and by the way, I stopped calling them drills.  The drills have evolved into games with various scoring methods, so now they are called GAMES (thanks John Kessel). Since I am using different scoring methods, you don't waste time setting up a new drill/game.  You can take a 5 on 5 pattern and change the scoring to focus on different aspects of the game.  This way you don't have separate "drills" for hitting, passing, etc. 

Take some time to check out the USA Volleyball Grassroots Page and go through your drills to see what changes can be made to make your drills more effective games.