I got a recent IM from one of my former volleyball kids, the 2004 team, I think. She has been coaching high school and club the last few years, which is pretty hilarious in her photos because she's about five feet tall and her kids are all bigger than she is. Obviously she played as a libero for me!
What she told me was that she had adopted large parts of my take on the swing offense for the same reason I did: I never had the biggest, most powerful kids, and you need some way to work around that constraint. And sure enough, she's been able to achieve some success with average to moderately talented kids. Her team was one of the first I used the system with, so she was there during the most difficult learning period I had, and since then she's learned some of the same things. Even though I've had my own success stories, I still feel even more vindicated that I did the right thing by trying this system that isn't otherwise widely adopted.
She also shared some frustrations around the lack of real allegiance kids and parents have to clubs, though it sounds like it isn't nearly as bad as it is here. It's still discouraging to hear that the high quality and general good feelings around club ball have decreased to some degree. She said in the Cleveland area, the biggest problem is too many clubs, which isn't surprising since OVR is still the biggest region in USA Volleyball.
I've tried to let go how I was duped into committing to a club with a poor reputation this year, but I still miss it. I think that when the time is right, I'd like to start my own club, but only if I can truly differentiate it, and only if I can find good, experienced coaches who want to build something special. That's a lot harder than it sounds, especially out here where the sport plays second fiddle to soccer.
Going back to that IM conversation, it also reinforced one of the things I most love about coaching. If you're even a little good at it, the odds are high that you will have a long-lasting impact on the kids. That, to me, is still the thing that makes me proud to have worked with those kids.
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