Get out of the way!

The paper is entitled, "Decline in Independent Activity as a Cause of Decline in Children's Metal Wellbeing: Summary of the Evidence." From February, 2023 and compiled by PHD's  Peter Gray, David Lancy and David Bjorklund, the paper spells out two main areas of concern.

First, "Although most current discussions of the decline in youth mental health emphasize that which has occurred over the past ten to fifteen years, research indicates that the decline has been continuous over at least the last five or six decades."

And the cause of this decline? According to the authors, "Our thesis is that a primary cause of the rise in mental disorders is a decline over decades in opportunities for children and teens to play, roam and engage in other activities independent of direct oversight and control by adults."

Free play and autonomy...

The other paper to look at is entitled, "Starting and Specialisation Ages of Elite Athletes across Olympic Sports: An International Cross-sectional Study." by Veerle De Bosscher, Kari Descheemaeker, and Simon Shibli published in September of 2023.

In this research, the authors studied 2,838 world class athletes to assess when they began their sport journey and when they specialized in the sport they now excel in.

This chart shows the time when an athlete begins their sport (in the gray) and the time they choose that sport as the one they will specialize in, (In the black)

Sports that favor small frames and younger participants, like gymnastics and swimming are very short durations from beginning to  specialization. And sports that many folks pick up later in life or become second sports, like archery and bobsledding have much later specialization ages.

Volleyball is listed as 6 years in the making, from an 11 year old trying the game out to a 17 year old deciding they want to further their  career in college or professionally. This study highlights that there is a 6 year window between a beginning level and a level of expertise that would give an athlete the confidence to want to play on at the highest levels.

These two studies, within a 8 months of each other, go hand in hand.

What the latter study doesn't include is the athletes that quit the sport. The average age of volleyball players quitting the sport is 13!

THIRTEEN!

There is a level of focus, engagement, learning and performance that these young 11 year olds need to become world class in our sport. But sadly, most will never get that chance. They are discouraged from free play with their friends; just grabbing a beach volleyball and having fun with some school mates or neighborhood buddies.

As important as we think we, as coaches and parents, think we are, we need to check ourselves. If a young athlete can explore, solve problems and most of all have fun and stay engaged, they will learn oodles more than any private lesson or libero camp.

A wonderful coach once said, the best thing coaches and parents can do for their athletes is to just get out of the way!

Not every sport interaction for your child or player has to be organized, commoditized, specialized or privatized. We don't need camps, clinics, clubs, academies, privates, leagues and tournaments if the player is overcoached, over scheduled and overwhelmed.

How about just asking them? What do they want to do?

Once in a while, just let them play. 

Get out of the way.

Preparing Children for the Path...

On January 22nd of this year, the Phoenix Suns were playing the Chicago Bulls. With the game tied, the Suns Kevin Durant made this shot to with the game for the team:

But look a little closer...

First recorded in 1605, the Latin word was adaptāre: to fit or adjust. We know it today at adaptation.

Durant sees the defender out of the corner of his eye coming behind him to block the shot and a defender in front he has to shoot over. He adjusts the shot in midair, pulling it just a bit forward to avoid the block from behind and moving it to the left a bit to avoid the defender in front.

Adaptation.

Durant is a perennial NBA All-Star and has been in this situation before. It would be hard to imagine a coach one day in practice saying to him, "Let's move your shot around a bit while you are in the air shooting." Durant adapted, most probably because at some point in his career he was blocked from behind, or maybe knew the defenders and what they were capable of. Durant's experience lead him to adapting his shot to the moment and a win for the Suns.

How important is adaptation? To be succinct, if not adaptable, we as a human race wouldn't be here. All living things on the planet have had to adapt to their surroundings, predators, geography and environments. It is as much a part of life as your DNA and 

In your practice this week, did your athletes work on adaptation? Did you put them in situations that were uncomfortable for them to figure out. Did they resist so much that you relented and just went back to their comfort zones? 

Or did you force them into doing skills and movements that they were unaccustomed to? Did you make them adapt to situations in the middle of a point or a set? Did they have to adapt what they did based on their environment?

The greatest athletes in the world have faced challenges and obstacles that have forced them to adapt. As a coach, are your athletes getting the same opportunities to learn this dyer skill in your practices this season? 

Misty May Treanor was recruited as an outside hitter to Long Beach State but moved to setter where she won a National Championship and Player of the Year. Arizona's own Betsi Flint was an outside hitter in high school and club and became one of the best liberos in the West Coast Conference while at LMU then later transitioned into professional beach where she is one of the top players in the world. Another Arizona player, Sarah Sponcil was a club
setter that played outside hitter at LMU and then went back to setting her senior season at UCLA and after she finished playing collegiately, jumped into the beach game and earned a trip to the 2020 Olympics. Without the ability to adapt, none of these players would have found success or been the best version of themselves. 

Adapting is one of the traits we expect in athletes but often don't train. Adapt YOUR practice plans and coaching style. How can you learn to adapt better to things? How can you transfer that to your athletes?

"We must prepare children for the path, instead of the path for children.”- Tim Elmore

First Tournament Eyes...

This is the first club tournament for most all of you. So, we want to give you some insight into what we are all in for on Saturday....

We will miss hundreds of our serves.

We will miss hundreds of their serves.

We will let the ball drop often while we figure out this team sport.

 

We will be in the wrong place a lot.

 

We will lose focus because we are so young.

We will become impatient and cranky at times.

We will struggle often but have highlights as well.

 

We will be squirrely and be difficult to herd when needed.

 

We might cry because we care so much and we don’t want to let anyone down.

 

We will be anxious and nervous and scared and it will show at times.

 

We will be incredibly overwhelmed mentally putting everything we are learning into practice.

 

We will forget all day that we are LEARNING this incredibly hard game in a very difficult environment.

 

We will talk to ourselves in a negative way often, not seeing that we are getting better with each serve and pass.

 

We will work to encourage and to be good teammates and root for each other in a world that values individualism.

 

We will unfortunately, at first, see winning as THE defining achievement and losing as THE end of the world.

 

We, by definition, cannot see the big picture yet and it will show.

 

While it may not look like it at times, WE ARE DOING THE BEST THAT WE CAN.

 

We may hear people in the stands shout things to us that they would never say to a 12-year-old in a mall or a carwash.

 

We might see our own parents lower their head into their hands, shake their head, and seem disappointed in us.

 

We will see and play against others that are bigger, stronger and faster and compare ourselves to them.

 

We are NOT making mistakes on purpose even though some people watching might think so.

 

We will grow weary playing 3 matches in six hours and our normal practice is 90 minutes twice a week.

We will have to officiate and score keep even when we are tired and struggling to stay focused.

 

We are starting where EVERY Olympic player started their journey.

 

We are the product of our parents and we will be directly affected by their emotion and demeanor.

 

We are young. 

"Banter..."

Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors is having a rough season. With the NBA grind a third of the way done, listen to him describe the conversation he had with head coach Steve Kerr.

Ask yourself this question. Would you, as a coach, be able to tell your star player the things Kerr told Thompson, especially the part about how his negative energy was affecting the rest of the team? 

Listen to how Arkansas outside hitter, Jill Gillen, talks about her relationship with her head coach, Jason Watson. Gillen was a 5-7 outside who despite a stellar juniors career, received only one college offer; from Arkansas. This year the team, riding on her shoulders most of the season, the Razorbacks got to the elite 8 before losing to eventual finalist Nebraska.

Relationships with athletes like this are pure gold for both coaches and players. They are transformational. And Watson's faith in Gillen was a foundation for the team's success this season, their best finish in school history.

Finally, Kansas State University basketball coach Jerome Tang, who has a winning percentage of over .700 in his first two years at the school, understands that his team's performance begins and ends with the man in the mirror. 

"They don't go out there on purpose and make mistakes!" Tang reiterates the idea that blame, if any, falls on him. And as he says, he looks for ways to get better.

Would you be able to have the kind of heart to heart with your star player like Steve Kerr did with Klay Thompson? Are you the kind of coach that your players will love and appreciate so much they are brought to tears talking about all you have done and sacrificed for them? Are you able to stop blaming your players, understanding that they aren't out there making mistakes on purpose just to make you look bad, and realize that the man in the mirror is where the blame begins and ends, if any is warranted.

These three exceptional coaches show us honesty, vulnerability and humility; all traits great coaches exhibit.