Coaching Volleyball Magazine October / November 2015 - Page 25

3. Give them the chance for success.
This was a big problem that I saw early
on in my coaching career and it took
a non-coach who was an avid observer
of D-I volleyball to call me out on it.
What happens when you beat a team
25-7 in the first set? We get all wideeyed and think “YEEESSSSS!!! (double
fist pump) … Now I can get #3 in the
game. We are sure to win the next set
… actually … since we are so sure to
win … how about I get #7 in for #12,
move #12 to RS, have my setter play
Libero because she wanted to try it
out, Put #2 … NO, #5, in as my other
middle blocker and let #10 set … yeah,
that should do it. Then when your team
takes the court with utter confusion and
finds themselves down by 10 points,
you start yelling, and now #3, who has
waited patiently for three matches to get
in, has a horrible experience. Back to
my avid observer. He said “Coach Leon,
I won’t tell you your business. I’m just a
salesman. But I watch a lot of University
of Washington women’s volleyball, and
I notice that Coach McLaughlin almost
never subs in a res \