Ray Rice: A Contrarian View

Over the past month or more, it's been hard to not run across the Ray Rice incident.  The short of it is--he hit his girlfriend (now wife) and as punishment has now been cut from his team, banned from the NFL, seen all of his apparel removed from stores (so no licensing revenue for him), and the loss of his endorsements.  Everything has been taken away from him.  Everything.

To be clear--with the endorsements, this is understandable.  Nike or adidas are in business to make money and having one of the faces of your business being someone who committed domestic violence--that's not going to make you money.  But just as important--those endorsements are 'extras'; they are not how Rice makes/made a living.

To be clear--any form of violence is unacceptable, whether it is a man hitting a woman, a woman hitting a man, or a man hitting a man.  Within a personal argument, words must suffice.  If it turns out you do not care for the individual--walk away.

But the thing that is getting to me is--the same people demanding Rice's head be served on a platter, that he be crucified for his action--that are calling Rice evil--many are the same people who on their Facebook pages talk about Christian love, the need for prayer and forgiveness...except that they want forgiveness for themselves, not someone like Rice.  That's different, right?  Why?

Because:

1. He's an NFL player and famous.
2. He's wealthy.
3. He's black.

Yup--I went there.  If we eliminate those three criteria, does this make the news?  Heck--it wouldn't even make the news in your own hometown paper.  Did you know that one out every six teenage girls is threatened (or has it intimated at the very least) with violence from a boyfriend?  Where's the outrage at that?  Did you know that more than FIVE MILLION work-hours were lost last year due to domestic violence (including women abusing men...which does go on, and more often than you think).  At minimum wage only--that's $35 million in lost wages. (The equivalent of 20,000 full-time jobs)

And where in the news have they talked about Rice being black?  Nowhere.  No one wants to be called racist.  But the reality is that women in relationships with black men are 35% more likely to be abused--an extension of worries about the decline of black families, the insanely high incarceration rate of black men.  But the reality is that this exists and SHOULD be talked about....but the reality is that if Rice wasn't rich, wasn't an NFL player, no one would give a crap about him beating his wife in an elevator.

* * *
But here's the thing....remember, I mentioned Christianity?  Where's the chance at redemption?  Rice has had everything taken from him--and with the internet, the video, no one will ever forget, and certainly it seems that no one intends to give him a chance at redemption (except, currently, his wife--which is a completely different issue).

Doesn't Rice deserve a second chance?  We pardon murderers and rapists, that they have done their time.  Society has given Michael Vick a second chance after his dogfighting prison time--and since then, Vick has worked to redeem himself, fix some of the wrongs he perpetrated.  Doesn't Rice deserve his chance at redemption?

To be clear--I'm not saying to just pat him on the back and say "Don't do that again".  What Rice did was horrible. 100% horrible.  But where is the hope for him--that he can come back from this mistake?  Isn't it more powerful as a message if he is given that chance and succeeds?  He can then say, "Listen to me because I screwed up bad"--and have listeners know he is speaking from experience, speaking truth.

Instead of this--the NFL punishes him more, no double-jeopardy with Roger Goodell.  His team cuts him--easier to let him go than help Rice get professional long-term help.  Baltimore's in the football business and Rice is a commodity.  When it's used up, it's thrown in the trash, forgotten.

I suspect this blog won't be popular.  And that's okay.  I just hate hypocrisy, and it's coming from all sides on this.   Instead of venting, find a way to help.  Help all women escape from abusive relationships.   It's easy to vent at Rice--more difficult to find true justice, more difficult still to reach out and help people.

Volleyball

Some observations on a season entering its third weekend as we ride our bus to God's Country (Iowa) and, in addition, to a chance to spend a weekend with volleyball, to see a couple of long-time friends.  Volleyball, friends...only thing that would make it better is if Julie, the puppies, and family were there, too!

*I was feeling a bit depressed yesterday--lack of sleep and basic exhaustion, mental and physical.  I have to watch for that--depression can take your mind and emotions in unhelpful directions.  It skews your weltanschauung.  (Yeah, that's right, I used 'weltanschauung' while discussing volleyball)  So in the middle of all this, Laura (my assistant)  comes up during a drill and says, "You know, you've been awesome this year with practices."  Not what I expected, so I responded with the eloquent "Huh?"  She then explained that she's liked some changes to drills, the warmups, etc.

A lot of the credit goes to John Kessel as well as Denise Sheldon for giving me the opportunity to do evaluations with USAV High Performance and then work with the Future Youth Selects in Vegas back in July.  You see, every coach has doubts about things--teaching ability, recruiting, whatever.  The time with HP confirmed some things to me in how I coach--and I've become more confident in those areas--and more sure that I'm right in my approach, too...something some of my players last year had me doubting unfortunately.

--You need to be specific, Jim.  (That's my inner English teacher speaking...correctly, I might add.)

Since the first time I heard Kessel talk, about four years ago at the AVCA Coaches Convention, I realized that I'd been approaching coaching wrong.  I KNEW I was wrong, knew what I was doing wasn't working optimally, but I didn't realize how to improve.  That seminar gave me my 'A-ha!' moment.  In Vegas, I got to see how those principles are applied at the highest skill levels (regardless of age).  I knew, but didn't know, that this was practiced as well as preached.

*If it's good enough for national-level programs, I'm stealing it for my team.  I did that with the dynamic warmups, the shoulder pre-hab to avoid injuries.  It's been good.  We haven't had any serious shoulder soreness, fewer injuries, and our trainer loved the dynamic warmup--thought I'd been studying up (I told her the truth though)

*The doubt I have about this current season remains--did I increase the schedule's toughness too much?  We dropped two tournaments with weaker teams, replacing them with this weekend's tourney and then another two weeks from now...in those eight matches, it is possible we'll play SEVEN NJCAA Top-8 teams, and the eighth team has a win over a D-1 Top 15 team.  When you play a schedule like that, you can lose quite a bit--and I hate losing.  A lot.

But there's the catch--how much better are you by playing weaker teams?  So I decided to follow the lead of teams like Illinois or Iowa State--we're going to schedule the equivalent of Long Beach or Stanford.  Those matches will prepare us for the post-season.  Could it keep us out of the national polls?  Yup.  I suspect if we make the polls, it won't be until October as the post-season nears.

*Are kids tough enough to deal with a ton of losses?  We are 3-5 right now, but we've lost to a couple ranked D-1 schools, another D-1 who WILL be ranked (since they've started the year 10-0), a top 10 D-2 team, another who'll be ranked this next week.  We beat D-2#14 in there with our wins, and one of those D-1 losses was actually and truly due to an official and not the teams involved. So we are playing well.  But can young athletes handle that?

I think the answer is yes.  Many players lose a ton of games during their club seasons--playing teams with accumulations of awesome talent.  How is this different....other than a W/L record is officially kept?  To me, it is the same thing. But I know there are examples of teams who lose out there that self-destruct, turn on each other or the coaching staff, and through that negativity/drama, destroy their chance at greatness--unable to look past the scoreboard for a match or two (in matches that are irrelevant--only region matches count for us for post-season standings and these have not been region matches)

*If the answer is no, and we DO have issues with the loss total, what then?  The answer is--steady on course.  I know we're on the right path, so I have to make sure we don't waiver and doubt.  That'll be critical.

*I received a list of academic-honored schools in the mail this week.  We aren't on it.  But I was annoyed by the list, seeing some of the schools.  Why annoyed?  Because I know kids who have transferred to those schools from LLCC--and while they struggle for "C" grades at LLCC because LLCC really does push for academic excellence (really!), they then go to those other schools and pick up 4.0 GPAs taking/retaking the same classes, then those schools get honored for being so awesome academically, when really--the kids are getting a grade, but not an education.

When did that happen?  It sounds crotchety, but it wasn't when I was in college--it's a phenomena of the past 20 years, I think (for things other than basketball/football), and it goes beyond sports.  Tuition rates have gone up so much--I'd bet grade inflation has the same curve.  Oh well.

*Do I hurt my team's chances of success by switching systems?  By teaching players multiple positions?  The educator in me says it is my responsibility to teach them the game, and that means all positions, all skills.  Middles need to know how to pass, setters to hit, etc.  Kids are forced to specialize way too early--so I have to provide the general fundamentals missed in jr high/high school.  The problem is that the competitor in me wants to win, hates losing.  How do I balance that without stressing myself out too much?

Well there you go...random bus musings from I-55.  Four hours to game time.  I don't know how the score will go--but I'm hoping we improve on last weekend--fix the errors, improve the good points.  Small, steady steps forward...

A strange world...politics are a funny thing

It's funny right now how a lot of world events aren't getting reported in American media--especially by the sources most partisan, places like Fox or MSNBC. 

Why?  I mean, there has to be a reason.

Maybe it's that Russia has invaded Ukraine.  But Britain relies on Russian investment and BP is a massive investor in Russia.  Britain, of course, maintains a 'special relationship' with the United States.  So we don't like Russia--again.

But in Iraq, we've been working with the Russians to get Russian warplanes to the Iraqi government to fight ISIS.  Of course, fighting ISIS, the US has also worked with Iran and the Kurds--who don't like one another, but while working with Iran, we've also assisted with Sunni militia again who dislike the Iraqi government, but have worked with Iran/Iraq against ISIS as well which means that Saudi Arabia and Iran have cooperated even though they hate one another.

Within Syria, Filipino UN peacekeepers were attacked by rebels.  They were able to hold off the attackers with the assistance of Syrian artillery (the peacekeepers were there to keep Hizbollah and Israel from fighting, I believe)--which allowed the Filipinos to reach safety inside Israel--at least the area occupied/claimed by Israel.  So the Syrians and Israelis are working together while Hizbollah (which takes its cue from Iran and despises Israel) stays out of things--since the attackers were radical jihadists...even though to the west in Gaza, Hizbollah's Palestinian faction continues to resist Israel which has been working with Egypt, but against Turkey--which was the first Muslim country to befriend Israel.

Confusing?  Of course it is.  And it is no different than politics were thirty years ago when in one African country (which one escapes me at the moment) you had American built oil rigs serving a  regime being advised by Israelis but given aid by the Soviet Union against 'communist' (perhaps socialist is a better term...) rebels being funded by the US.

I don't think most people understand this.  Some have.  It's how you got Bismarck's Realpolitik.  Reagan understood it--if we can't agree on one thing, let's work on the others we can, so something gets done regardless.

Which do you choose:
1 - If you aren't with us, you are against us.
2 - If you aren't against us, you're with us.

Random politics for a Tuesday...

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.

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!