Part 2 – Chemistry

Below is part two of:

“What are good techniques or strategies to improve my volleyball teams’ confidence and chemistry?”

Tom House has some great tips!

“Chemistry”

Girls often don’t bond on their own. They need help, and coaches have to help them! Here are some ideas that I’ve used. I’m sure other coaches have dozens of other suggestions.

The Coach Should Select The Practice Teams/Pairs. There’s only one time where my players are allowed to pick their own teammates: when their warming up before a match. All other times, I chose them. This forces girls to work together who aren’t naturally friends.

Have The Players Do Special Things For Each Other. My club teams always do Secret Santas, Secret Valentines and Secret Easter Bunnies. They pulled names from a hat, all had to spend less than $10.

Once-A-Month Team Bonding. Offer the girls a team movie, or team meal. If you really want to promote friendships, have them sit in some random order that YOU decide…….their jersey number, in alphabetical order, by their birthdays, etc. If they say, “Are you kidding?” then you say, “No. We’re here to become better friends and to get closer as a team. And sitting beside your school teammate isn’t going to help that.”

Team Goals. Here’s something else we did. Before a big tournament, I got a sheet of paper and, while they were watching, wrote with a big marker: “Our Goal Is To Win The ABC Tournament on March 25, 2010″. Then I cut it into 12 pieces (9 players, 3 coaches), gave each one a piece of the paper and a pen, then had them pull a name out of a hat. Each girl had to write a note to the “hat” person on the front of the paper, around what I’d written in marker. After the tournament (which we DID win) I taped all their notes together, put them in a frame, brought the frame to practice and had everyone read what they’d written about their teammate. (If we had lost, I don’t know what I would have done! haha). There were some tears and shaky voices. How can this not help bond a team?

Something To Symbolize Team. This season I gave each of my girls a popsicle stick and gave them 30 minutes at one practice to decorate it any way they wanted. Then we placed them all together, put a rubber band around it, and it was named, “Team”. And at then end of each practice, the Captain-Of-The-Day would hand it to the next practice’s captain and she would be responsible for it until the next practice. Yes, there were some adventures with Team, haha, but at the end of the season, we took apart the rubber band, and passed them all back out.

Each Girl Has Her Own Web Page. I not sure if this really helps bond our team, but the players sure do love it. So do the parents!!

Little Spontaneous Parties! About once every two weeks, why not spend the final 10 minutes of practice eating cupcakes, ice cream, etc. Let the players sit around and talk. No, practice isn’t over. No one can leave.

Almost Every Team Has A Leader. I’m not talking about the captain that was assigned by the coach, but a player who is vocal & popular with her teammates. If she also cares about her teammates feelings, she’s a special person! So use her!! I remind those players several times a month about making sure they make special efforts to speak to EVERYONE on the team, include everyone in their conversations, and ensure that no one feels left out.

If Your Team Is Away From Home Without Their Parents. A few years ago I watched a bunch of college players, who were hundreds of miles from home, sitting in the bleachers pulling names from the coach’s hand. They then were laughing, giggling, slapping hands. I didn’t know what was going on. So I just had to ask. Coach told me that was how she assigned hotel rooms on away trips. How cool! Then the coach wrote down each pair for her records.

Leaving Together. We always leave our playing site together. Why? It’s a very important time!! No, I don’t want my players bolting from the court because they didn’t play or because we lost. And I don’t want them leaving one by one. Whether we win or lose, we always leave the building together. And, then, as soon as we all leave the site together, some players turn around and walk right back in to shop, some players take a left, some take a right, some go to their cars. But we leave together. At Big South, after we “left” together, I ran back in, and ran to another part of the facility, then sat down with my wife so I could see my stepdaughter. play.

Finally. Remember, bonding is not something you take for granted. And it’s not something you leave to chance. It’s something you have to nurture and encourage.

Tom Houser
Head Coach, 2010 New River Valley 15’s Nationals Coach
2006 and 2009 Junior Nationals Participant
Director, STAR Volleyball Camps (We still have weeks available for summer site camps!)
Author, “I Can’t Wait” Drill Collection and Ebooks
www.coachhouser.com