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| Since this is my first attempt at a "newsletter," I first want to thank you for taking the time to read this.
One of my goals is to turn Woodridge High School Volleyball into a premier team around this area.
With the creation of this website, I believe that we have taken the first couple of steps towards that goal.
I guess the next step would be for the players and parents to better understnad me and so here it goes: |
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| "My coach is playing favorites!" |
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| This article was originally written by Mr. John Lenord.
I tend to agree with this article 100%.
Each year, every new team that you play on, there will always be a coach's favorite.
On the more successful teams, there will be more than one favorite.
This was true when I played in high school, college, and it is true now, as I am a coach.
So please, after reading this article, ask yourself how do I become one the coach's favorites? |
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| "One day a few years ago, a club board member accused me of "having favorites" on our club team. Several other parent board members nodded their heads in agreement. The implication was that this was a terrible sin. |
| When I was a younger coach, I thought it was terrible also. And he was right. I did have my favorites. My favorites were those athletes who most fervently did what I asked of them. Those that did, I gave more attention to. I talked to them more. I spent more time teaching them. I also expected more of them.
The implication that he was making was that my favorites got better than the others because they were my favorites, and that was somehow unfair. He mistook cause for effect. The fact is that the athletes who came to me ready to learn, ready to listen, ready to act on what they learned and try it my way, even if it was more challenging, more difficult than they imagined, were ready to get more out of our program. And they were my favorites. |
| As a coach, I have only one thing to offer an athlete. That is my attention. Which means that I attend to their needs. The reward for good behavior should be attention…attending to their needs. The consequence of inattention, lack of effort, unwillingness or unreadyness to learn or just plain offensive or disruptive behavior is my inattention to that athlete.
How could it be other than this?" |
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| As a coach, I want athletes who are eager to experiment to improve, eager to work hard. I want athletes who come to me to help develop their skills both mentally and physically, and are willing to accept what I have to offer. Otherwise, why have they come to me? And I am going to reward that athlete with my attention. In so doing, I encourage others to become like the athlete above. If I spent my time with the unwilling, the lazy, the disruptive, I would only be encouraging that behavior.
The link I want to forge is between attention and excellence. Excellence in the sense of achieving all that is possible, and desired. My way of forging that is to provide my attention to those who "attend" to me. This does of course result in increased performance for those that do so. I am a professional coach, and when I pay attention to a person, that person is going to improve. Over time, this makes it appear that my "favorites" are the better players. Not so at all. The better players are those that pay attention, and thus become my favorites.
The coach's job is to reward those who exhibit positive developmental behaviors. Those are my "favorites," and they should be. |
| So do I play favorites? Yes, I do!
I will do anything and all for the players that give me the respect as a coach by listening and doing what I teach.
My players know what I expect from them.
Hustle, attentiveness, and discipline. |
| Please, whether you agree or disagree let me know what you think. |
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