So yesterday I experienced the sensation associated with the thrill and adrenaline felt by many other coaches and athletes. My team actually won a game! Now this is not to say that we are an entirely terrible group of players ... quite the opposite. My team has played some very tough teams and kept a pretty good pace with them, losing by mere points. We have also played some pretty poor teams and been thoroughly stomped though we should have won.
Anyway, I was quite proud of my girls and their efforts. The team they played was not exceptionally talented, but they did take it to three matches (most volleyball is played best out of three matches with the first two going to 25 points and the third going to 15 if needed). While this may ordinarily not be considered a huge achievement to some, this is a big deal to me because I have never coached of played any organized sport since I was in the 3rd grade (I played t-ball but rode the bench most of the time because I was so bad I could barely hit the ball three feet off the T ... true story). I was the kid who got stuck in the outfield behind first base so that I would have the least chance possible of getting the ball. The one time the ball was hit to me I was busy wiggling a loose tooth and got so excited that I pulled the tooth out, only to be then faced with the dilemma of what to do. Did I run the tooth to my mom so I could collect my 25 cents from the tooth fairy, or did I drop the tooth and get the ball. What I ended up doing was stand there crying while everyone yelled at me to do SOMETHING. I'm pretty sure we lost that game, along with every other game that we played that season, and I'm almost positive that was the end of my dream to someday play professionally for the San Diego Padres.
In High School I tried to revive that sense of machismo by thinking that I could try out for the foot ball team, but apparently a 90lbs sophomore that is barely topping 5 foot is not high on their list of characteristics that will definitely aid them in their quest to take the State 4A title. Instead I focused on other avenues: art, theater, music, writing, etc. And now I am a coach. How the Hell did that happen? The fact that I am getting paid to coach a sport that I know next to nothing about is disturbing and ironic.
So, what made yesterday's matches so different from the rest of the matches that we have been playing all year? One very small adjustment that apparently everyone else knew was a problem but never chose to point out to me. There is NOTHING more frustrating than to solve a problem only to be told by the first person you share your discovery with that "[they] knew that was the problem, but didn't think to say anything." AAAHHHRRRGGGHHH!!! Seriously? Seriously? Everyone but me knew this was an issue, even the girls on my team, and NO ONE thought to let me, a coach who has no clue what the hell he's doing, know how to fix the problem? WOW!
"So, Price, what was the problem?"
I'm glad you asked that internal dialogue voice! You see in volleyball you want to have as many different hitters on the court at one time as possible. You also need a setter and a passer. Well, in my rotations I have had my setter playing from the back row on half of the rotation, and by switching one of them (I have two setters a front row and a back row) so that she rotated in on the front row instead of the back it opened up a place for another back row hitter/passer and filled in the hole created by the back row setter running into the front position every time. As boring as that sounds (i'm falling asleep as I type it), it made a huge difference in the way that the girls played and hopefully will continue to be a plus in their ability to cover and control the ball. It certainly made for some really good volleyball.
Anyway, that is the big news around my place! Exciting huh!
Sometimes I wonder is the fact that I live vicariously through my students is as depressing as it sounds. I really need to spend less time with teenagers and more time in the company of adults! Haha!
Cheers,
Price
Anyway, I was quite proud of my girls and their efforts. The team they played was not exceptionally talented, but they did take it to three matches (most volleyball is played best out of three matches with the first two going to 25 points and the third going to 15 if needed). While this may ordinarily not be considered a huge achievement to some, this is a big deal to me because I have never coached of played any organized sport since I was in the 3rd grade (I played t-ball but rode the bench most of the time because I was so bad I could barely hit the ball three feet off the T ... true story). I was the kid who got stuck in the outfield behind first base so that I would have the least chance possible of getting the ball. The one time the ball was hit to me I was busy wiggling a loose tooth and got so excited that I pulled the tooth out, only to be then faced with the dilemma of what to do. Did I run the tooth to my mom so I could collect my 25 cents from the tooth fairy, or did I drop the tooth and get the ball. What I ended up doing was stand there crying while everyone yelled at me to do SOMETHING. I'm pretty sure we lost that game, along with every other game that we played that season, and I'm almost positive that was the end of my dream to someday play professionally for the San Diego Padres.
In High School I tried to revive that sense of machismo by thinking that I could try out for the foot ball team, but apparently a 90lbs sophomore that is barely topping 5 foot is not high on their list of characteristics that will definitely aid them in their quest to take the State 4A title. Instead I focused on other avenues: art, theater, music, writing, etc. And now I am a coach. How the Hell did that happen? The fact that I am getting paid to coach a sport that I know next to nothing about is disturbing and ironic.
So, what made yesterday's matches so different from the rest of the matches that we have been playing all year? One very small adjustment that apparently everyone else knew was a problem but never chose to point out to me. There is NOTHING more frustrating than to solve a problem only to be told by the first person you share your discovery with that "[they] knew that was the problem, but didn't think to say anything." AAAHHHRRRGGGHHH!!! Seriously? Seriously? Everyone but me knew this was an issue, even the girls on my team, and NO ONE thought to let me, a coach who has no clue what the hell he's doing, know how to fix the problem? WOW!
"So, Price, what was the problem?"
I'm glad you asked that internal dialogue voice! You see in volleyball you want to have as many different hitters on the court at one time as possible. You also need a setter and a passer. Well, in my rotations I have had my setter playing from the back row on half of the rotation, and by switching one of them (I have two setters a front row and a back row) so that she rotated in on the front row instead of the back it opened up a place for another back row hitter/passer and filled in the hole created by the back row setter running into the front position every time. As boring as that sounds (i'm falling asleep as I type it), it made a huge difference in the way that the girls played and hopefully will continue to be a plus in their ability to cover and control the ball. It certainly made for some really good volleyball.
Anyway, that is the big news around my place! Exciting huh!
Sometimes I wonder is the fact that I live vicariously through my students is as depressing as it sounds. I really need to spend less time with teenagers and more time in the company of adults! Haha!
Cheers,
Price
Ahhhh poor little kid, that would have been a tuff choice for a little kid to make, you had to get your 25 cents.
Well to tell you the truth I hate watching sports, I played some when I was a kid, I could have been good at them, at least when my friends made me play foot ball I always beat the other team, but I guess not knowing anything about sports didnt make me want to play them.
Well at least you know that now, your new, you cant become good at this over night.