Coaching Volleyball Magazine October / November 2015 - Page 14

This piece was compiled from a 2014 AVCA Convention session featuring the following panelists:

A

s with any professional situation, the
coach-administrator dynamic is a relationship that must be skillfully managed, continually developed and based on
transparency. Building a strong relationship
with your administrators is key to formulating a long-term plan for success, establishing trust and helping ensure that your
program gets the attention and resources
that you need.
It is crucial to first establish a positive presence in the athletics community. Go in and
volunteer for anything that comes up. Be
the first team out there. They key is to be
engaged – if the administration knows that
you and your team are all-in for the good of
the department as a whole and not just the
volleyball team, that will be recognized and
remembered. Community involvement, service work, etc. are great ways to make your
presence felt. Also, go to lunch. Take time to
share a meal every now and then to prevent
the desk and office environment from stifling
communication.
Develop a schedule to make sure that
you’re constantly touching base with each
other. Something like a sit-down chat every
two weeks to keep everyone on the same
page can be very helpful. Make sure that
you’re not just communicating when you
need something or something’s wrong. Make
sure to focus on building the relationship.
Administrators value feeling like they’re part
of the team, working towards a greater goal.
Getting to know each other as people ensures that you’re able to communicate about

things that can have a real impact. Know the
history of your program and the athletics
department as a whole. Understanding the
context that your team exists in will give you
a great feel for how the administrator likes to
interact with various aspects of the program.
If you go in knowing where the school has
been in the past and what the vision is for the
future, you’re much more likely to be on the
same page with the administrators.
So how do you communicate through
tough issues and still maintain a positive relationship? Transparency requires a lot of courage, but honesty is always the best policy. As
soon as you recognize that something is going south, approaching the administrator and
presenting the problem while asking for help
with a solution turns the process into a collaborative effort. As soon as it starts to appear
that you’re trying to make yourself look better
or hide your invol