I had dinner tonight with one of my Elms volleyball kids. She's going off to school in a couple of weeks, and being the douche I sometimes am, I missed her grad party. So I thought I'd make it up to her.
She's one of four or five kids that, in the course of the nine seasons I've coached since '97 or so, is someone that I'll remember for the long term. Each of these kids has, in various ways, made me realize what it is to coach, and had an impact on me in some ways greater than the one I had on them.
In this case, Sara was what you'd call, a little clumsy I guess. Like most of the kids at that school, she was brilliant academically. She got a bit behind in her skill development, in part I think because her former coach just didn't take the time to work with her. She was a JV kid up through her junior year.
When I began coaching, I wasn't sure exactly how she fit into the system. Because she was so smart, kind, non-judgmental and maybe even a little naive, the last thing you would want to do is just hide her somewhere and figure she'll be happy doing whatever. And fortunately she asked questions from the beginning. Lots of questions. Sometimes she forced me to think about skills in ways I hadn't even thought of before.
For example, kids have asked me since the beginning how far away they should be from the net when they start their approach. There's no good answer because every kid has a different stride, longer or shorter legs and various levels of agility. So I used to tell kids that it didn't matter provided they were a certain distance from the net. So she stood that distance, turned away from the net, and did her approach. She said, "I start from here." Since then, I tell kids that's how you figure it out.
Her will to learn, and to be challenged, was remarkable. She made up for three years of skill deficiency in just a few short months. It was absolutely amazing.
Her situation made me realize that coaches, and indeed most people that serve in a teaching role, need to have a great deal of knowledge, but they act more as guides and motivators for the people they mentor.
Sara was also the kid that made me realize that you can't set limitations for kids, because their potential really isn't clear. If you push them, and they're open to being pushed, they can far exceed your, and their own expectations.
Good luck in school, Sara!
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