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Coaching advice needed from anyone who has coached before

DieHardDeacon

DieHardDeacon

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In the evenings, I coach a team sport (volleyball). I usually coach younger kids (8 - 10 & 10 - 12) but this season I have picked up the older ones as well. My older group consists of 6 young ladies (ages 12 - 14) so its a small group. Last night was our first practice and one of my players, who has more experience than the rest, instantly became disengaged (complete with eye rolls and sighs as only a teen-age girl can do) before the practice even began. Because the group is so small, the other young ladies immediately picked up on this and it became a bit of a distraction. She has some skills but not nearly as much as she thinks she does; I think she has a lot of potential and would like to see her develop her game. Last night, I had to continuously focus on her to try and compensate for her attitude of being disengaged. I attempted to move her to a leadership role to force her to engage by leading the stretching to start off the practice to which I only got a small return on the investment. I can not neglect the other 5 young ladies so what are some things that I can do with this one to get her engaged, or at least not so obviously disengaged? Ive not had this problem before as my younger players are always eager to listen, learn and grow. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Approach her and tell her you're aware that she has *maybe* more experience than her teammates and that her experience would be helpful in a leadership role as a player on the team (captain?) but that she seems uninterested in what the team is doing. Ask if that's because she's more experienced and isn't feeling challenged. Perhaps you can find a way to engage her by appealing to her experience and getting her to work with some players (all?) on certain skills or having her help you with certain tasks. Nothing major and certainly nothing that undercuts your authority as THE coach. Let her know that if the others know that she's experienced, they're going to look to her for guidance and leadership and that disengaged attitudes negatively affect the team and can cause her teammates to not respect her.
 
make her ride the pine and play a man down hickory high style.
 
I'll preface my statements by saying that I've been working with children for 7 years and that age group and gender is probably the most difficult, if not sometimes impossible, to get through to. That being said under the right conditions and given the right encouragement girls that age can form an incredibly cohesive group.

Having her lead stretches to begin practice was a good start. You said you only got a small return but if that's the only positive reaction you have gotten then focus on that. The return was probably small because the task (in her eyes) was small. No athlete ever gets excited about stretching. You said she had some skills. Try focusing on the one specific thing she is best at (maybe its the toss before she serves or how she sets her feet when jumping for a spike). Praise that one specific skill in front of the group and then have her teach it to the rest of the girls. This is actually a great tactic to use for all of the girls and with a group of 6 should be feasible.

Also with a group that size it might be useful to spend five or ten minutes of each practice on a team building exercise completely unrelated to volleyball. A team that works together and is excited about playing with each other will make up for whatever skills would be gained in ten minutes of practice time.

You might also enlist the help of the other five girls. If there is one who is clearly the leader, or the most popular, ask for her help in bringing the other girl into the fold.

All of those are positive solutions. I would try each of them before even acknowleding this girls negative behavior.
 
What does she look like? If goth, ask boogity.
 
pull a sun tzu and behead her. the rest of the bitches will start paying attention
 
Or just say something about her body fat or sprouting boobs. That will get her in line.
 
HeavyPetter said:
Or just say something about her body fat or sprouting boobs. That will get her in line.
Click to expand...

This is what gymnastics coaches do. It was going to be my suggestion. Also take her aside and tell her she really needs to give it a real try, not a quitters try like she has been doing.
 
She's probably just on the rag anyway. Suggest a new brand of tampons that is volleyball-specific.
 
Wind sprints for the whole team?

But seriously, if she really is more advanced than the other girls, have her help with teaching certain skills.
 
Thanks all, I appreciate your advice. She is more advanced than the others but only marginally.
 
Wind sprints work great. That's what my dad used to do when we weren't listening at practice.
 
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