Always a bigger fish....(Grow the game)

So I'm in the middle of running tournaments at Lincoln Land.  My players and I do a great job of running things smoothly--from concessions to getting band aids for players to officiating and line judging.  I demand excellence and they have come through.  Our tournaments are BAR NONE the best summer tournaments in the state, maybe the Midwest.

So today, when we were done, I got a chance to spend some time with the USAV High Performance materials since I'm heading to Las Vegas Monday to work with the Future Select athletes. (It's a nice link and generally correct stuff....)

My brain hurts from it--in a good way.  I need to learn about 100 pages of material, from terms to drills to other procedures, and I realized today (on my third go-through of everything)--I'm clueless.  I don't know this stuff to the point of mastering it or the point where I am comfortable running it.  And you know what?  That's a scary thing to me--especially as I enter my 25th year involved with volleyball.

25 years and to be sitting, studying material and get that moment of "My God, I'm totally lost and clueless"--it's a humbling feeling.  Scary.  Because I know rationally that I DO know a ton of volleyball (otherwise, why would they select me to do this in the first place).  It's intimidating to see the work in this and the attention to detail--more than I can do for my program, though sadly the US national program has more resources available than I do at LLCC....

Things will be fine--it was only a moment of panic.  I won't be in charge because I'm new to their system.  They expect me to learn as we go--and they'll expect more next year if I am selected to assist again.  So I WILL be fine.

But it got me thinking--there's always a bigger fish in the sea, someone who is better or knows more.  Right now, the US is a volleyball powerhouse, a rival to Brazil at the very top of the sport.  There's much further to fall than there is to rise.  It would be easy for US volleyball to rest on its laurels and enjoy being a top dog.  But that's not how it works.

The people on top of USA Volleyball's administration--they're looking for ways to improve themselves, the coaching, the philosophy, how they deal with athletes--everything.  And they put just as much attention into the 10yr olds as they do the 18yr olds, the lower skilled players as well as the ones destined for international tournaments?  Why?  Why not focus on the top 10-12 in an age group?  Because a rising tide lifts all boats, that's why.

They are constantly looking to improve the system, improve the coaching--a constant process that I now get to be part of.  The US staff are looking for ways to continue winning, aware of the difficulties involved--but even at the top, those coaches STILL strive to improve themselves.

So I'll be fine--and I'll come back a better coach, and I'll help make those 32 kids better volleyball players, and I'll come home to LLCC and help my players and my club coaches and players grow within the game, and those 32 athletes will go home and do likewise--they'll share with their teammates, push them to get better, and bit by bit, inch by inch, the tide will rise and we'll improve volleyball across America!