Monday

Twenty-nine years ago, this Monday (selected since it is the first day of the school year now at Iowa State), I started college.  Of course, back then the first day was mid-week and move-in was on a Sunday with two days scheduled to buy books, register or fix schedules.  My goodness, I was a 'hot mess' back then, though with good reason.

If you are reading this, you already know me in all likelihood--but there's some trivia you likely don't know.  Did you know I never graduated high school?  It's true.  I left a year early and the headmaster was a bit...no, not a bit--he was a 100% tool, so that he blocked me from going to MIT, but couldn't stop Iowa State--my parents got involved and most bureaucrats have a fear of private sector lawyers, but I digress...

As a 'compromise', I was told I could go to State, but that I'd need to finish a list of graduation requirements they would create just for me.  Of course, Iowa State didn't care...once I was on campus, paid my bills, and wasn't flunking out, they didn't give a crap about my high school stuff.  And once State was good with me, I didn't really care about graduating high school, so I never did take the classes I was supposed to.

Yup, a BA and two master's degrees--and no diploma.  Bet you won't find anyone else in America who can say that.

But now--my son starts his junior year there.  Junior year was awesome for me--Foster House president, brother floor to Henderson, and with a great cabinet to run things-_Dave, Mikey, Arnel/Trent, Ron/Chris...quite possibly the best start-to-finish year of my life, really.  I want him to have the same luck I did--not just in the classroom, but my growth as a person.  That's the greatest thing Iowa State gave me--it sounds cheesy, but it gave me most of the things valuable in life--a tolerance/respect for differences whether of opinion or culture, the ability to ask "Why?", to continue learning about any and everything.   It's the year I found that I liked literature, first thought of writing stories (Robert Boston's fiction class), that The Great Gatsby truly is a masterpiece.  It was the year of VEISHEA in Chicago with Paul, Brian, and Jeff watching the Cubs take two of three from the Giants...Jamie Moyer on the mound for a 1-0 loss to Rick Reuschel on a Jose Uribe homer....ahhh.

Is there a point to most of this?  Nah.  Just love for my son and alma mater, the best university in AMerica.

Things I've Learned Coaching Volleyball

I've done something like this before, but as we approach the end of pre-season, I thought I should remind myself:

1. You don't win as an individual in a team sport.  The team wins and everyone is part of that.
2. Much like theater, there are no small roles--only small people.  The player who succeeds in very specific circumstances is just as important as the player in for six rotations.  Strive for a bigger part, but take care of business for the sake of the team.
3. Sports are better when you are having fun.
4. Coaches need to be grateful for what they have--for D-1 coaches complaining about flying commercial, remember me sitting on a charter bus...and I haven't forgotten the D-3 coaches driving vans OR the high school teams on school buses with no leg room and no A/C on 90-degree days.
5. Young people learn better by doing, not just standing and being lectured.  I need to continue to teach using different ways.
6. In a successful season, I learn as much from my players as they learn from me.
7. This year I've already learned that I *can* change.  It's hard breaking habits, but it's not bad or wrong to do so.
8. For every coach out there who is win-at-all-costs and willing to cut corners, there are a dozen doing it for the right reasons, maybe more.
9. Volleyball is a game.  It can help teach life lessons, but it is not life. 
10. Stand behind a cart if throwing/hitting balls that will be hit back hard...safety tip #54 right there.
11. It is possible to work, get a ton of stuff done, AND have fun at the same time.  Done wrong, you can work, not have fun, and not accomplish anything.
12. You win with people.  You can have a ton of talent, but if the talent won't work, won't be a team...you won't win.
13. I'm not going to be a billionaire this lifetime.
14. I need more confidence.  I need to realize I'm actually semi-competent as a coach...that I have//can/will make a difference to people.  It won't change the world drastically, but in time...oh yes, in time....
15. The players I've had trouble with inevitably have troublesome parents.
16. At crunch time, I didn't compromise my ethics/integrity--not at Satan's School for Girls and Boys and not in building LLCC's program.  Programs can have success with integrity--it doesn't need to be one or the other.

http://www.championshipproductions.com/cgi-bin/champ/p/Performance-Training/The-Human-Side-of-Coaching_GB-00939.html  --Call me biased, but I think this is a great book for coaches written by me (see? Now you get my bias).  Don't expect magic drills...this is about working with parents and administrators, using teaching theory (even if you aren't a teacher) to improve training, and even how to work with multi-sport athletes.  Most important--it's easy to read!

USAV High Performance Vegas--the big lesson

So I'm done with my first High Performance camp and am now sitting in the Las Vegas airport.  After 4.5 bust days, it's the first chance I've had to really write anything down.  So, instead of some properly organized writing with paragraphs, etc...because I'm tired, we're going to roll with bullets and odd random thoughts.

1. I think the joy shown by 11 and 12 year old athletes is one of the best things in sports--not just volleyball.  But I also think that sometimes that gets suppressed by parents who are only think of pro-ball or the Olympics for their child.  The kids today aren't likely to make the Olympics in a decade or more--but I think their passion will continue for the sport.
2. I appreciate that the parents who remained in Vegas followed the rules.  They didn't bother the kids during the day and happily sat and watched the game-play segment at night.  They were encouraging.  I don't think it's coincidence that I was dealing with good kids and that they had good parents.
3. I must admit to skepticism initially with the classroom sessions offered by USAV in conjunction with True Sport, part of the anti-doping movement, but not after the first one.  Short films on key issues for athletes--a nice 5-10 minute talk by an Olympian, followed by guided discussion.  The topics for Future Selects were Nutrition/Hydration for Athletes and Bullying.  I wish the Bullying session could've been longer--I thought it was a great hour that truly mattered to the Future Selects and Selects who were in the classroom.
4. The documentary, Court and Spark, on Olympian Courtney Thompson was great--a story of effort and work, especially since she isn't an incredible natural athlete or exceptionally tall.  I know a lot of parents and athletes who should see it to understand the commitment necessary for success (in this case with volleyball).
5. UNLV does nothing for me.  Everyone was nice, the gym was great...but walking around feeling like I'm being baked just isn't my thing.  Even with humidity, I'll stick with two-digit temperatures. 
6. I'm always stunned by how many people prefer working with older kids rather than younger ones.  My practical answer would be--if you don't like working with the age group, DON'T MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE for that age group.
7. I've learned a lot about airline procedures (Southwest and Delta) regarding minors flying, especially "Unaccompanied Minors".  Just as important for my sanity, they were really helpful with me needing to pick up different people multiple times--or on the way out where I am currently sitting with a "UM".
8. The USA Volleyball "swag" is pretty sweet...with the coaching stuff, it even makes me look good.  With the athletes, it's pretty cool to see groups in red, white, and blue shirts.  The kids liked getting them--and there is something to be said for having the logo of the national program on your gear.
9. Kayla, the camp 'director' was great--forced to deal with a lot of non-volleyball logistics.  Ditto Denise Sheldon--I think out of the 100 or so kids, 99 were probably put right where they should be in terms of skill.  That's a pretty awesome ratio--and only possible with a lot of hard work with the HP Tryouts/Evaluations.
10. While I liked working it, evaluation paperwork for campers...that's a beast and I only had a little to do.  Yikes.  Of course, I'm complaining, but I don't have a better alternative system that could be setup.

There it is--Vegas HP in a nutshell.
Time to fly Southwest and sleep most of my way back home.