Coaching Volleyball 2.0 CVB2.0 Special Issue 1 | Page 17

Sticking Together
I
n times like these, it can be tough to find the words to
say. In the immediate aftermath of seasons coming to a
pre-mature end and recruiting/spring season coming to
a halt, coaches are often looked at to share inspirational
words to guide their student-athletes and communities
until we’re back on the court.
It’s not always that easy.
Regardless of our abilities to communicate about issues
like a pandemic, it’s still important your team has some
sort of communications strategy. Here are three do’s and
three don’ts to consider as we navigate uneasy times.
Since I’d like to end on a positive note, I’ll start with the don’ts:
1) Don’t be a doctor or scientist. Okay,
obviously unless you are an actual scientist or doctor
in this field. Coaches and programs are community
leaders, therefore have a special role in only sharing
information we know for a fact to be true, no
matter how well intentioned we are. Please consider
information sometimes changes by the hour, so
what’s true in the morning could be obsolete by the
afternoon. Volleyball accounts and websites are not
expected to share the latest general information on a
global health crisis.
2) Don’t be impulsive. It’s better to say nothing at
all than something you might regret down the road.
Figure out what you want your strategy to be, but
keep it flexible based on new information. Posting
without a plan can lead to unforced errors, which can
turn into more trouble for you and your program than
you’d care to deal with.
3) Don’t (or limit) schedule posts. We’ve
all seen a few examples of social media posts that
were clearly scheduled before the pandemic hit our
country in a big way. Because this information is so
fluid, over-scheduling posts can lead to your social
media accounts coming across as tone-deaf if they’re
outdated. If you must, be ready to delete any of the
scheduled posts at a moment’s notice.
Now for the three do’s:
1) Do have empathy and compassion. Allow
empathy and compassion to guide your decisions.
Because we’re all in this together, it’s more important
now that we band together in ways we haven’t seen
for quite some time. If we can truly connect with
our audience, then deciding what strategy to move
forward with will come more naturally.
2) Do share things to train from home. Just
because you can’t have your players in the gym doesn’t
mean they can’t do something to improve. From
garage touches to get your athletes jumping and
practice blocking technique to peppering with a fellow
quarantined family member, there are any number
of activities they can do on their own. Encouraging
them to post their activities on social media not only
gives your accounts content to re-purpose, but to keep
an eye on what your student-athletes are doing to
improve. Don’t be shy about getting yourself on the
volleyball accounts to update what you and your team
have been up to recently.
3) Do have fun and be creative. Especially
in the college women’s space where this is prime
recruiting time, potential recruits are on social media
literally all day until they’re back in school. Now’s
a great time to share with them what you and your
program are all about. Just like we’re doing here at the
AVCA, we’re trying to find new ways to deliver quality
content to our membership that aren’t all typical for
this time of the year. For example, now that weekly
polls and weekly awards have concluded for the spring
season, I’m sifting through previously recorded videos
to extract clips for repurposing in ways not previously
consumed. Maybe you share with your followers basic
volleyball tips, unknown facts about your team, baby
pictures are always a hit, or even highlights from
last season. The bottom line is your followers and
potential recruits are online now, so do what you can
to grab their attention.
It’s easy to neglect your online tools in times like these,
where the health of our communities is the top priority. I’d
prefer to view these tools that have at times distracted us,
to now view them as the best tools to keep the volleyball
community connected.
#VolleyOn
Coaching Volleyball 2.0 | 17