Coach's Week One Perspective

August 26, 2016 

WEEK ONE REFLECTIONS

This is my 16^th year leading Calvin’s volleyball program and I am again extremely grateful for the opportunity as well as humbled in the way God has led this program.  This preseason has been no different than the last 15.  Every one for me has been different.  Every year can be very similar in some ways and turns out extremely different and unique all at the same time.   Some of the similarities include:

1.     The freshmen are in culture shock:  They are filled with feelings of being home sick for the first time, asking themselves if the returners are really this nice all the time, feelings of not being good enough on the court, feelings of stress about going through the physical challenges, feelings of the unknown, feelings of wondering if college is even right for them, feelings of being an independent adult, feelings like how am I ever going to become as close to the returners as they are with one another and I could go on and on.

2.     The returners are full of stress:  They are worried about how the freshmen will adapt and how they can help them feel more at ease, they are uptight about who is going to earn playing time, they are still anxious about winning the physical challenges, they are so happy to be with each other again, they love to have food provided for them, they can’t wait to get to the retreat and I could go on and on.

3.     They eat A LOT (and they should)!  They love food.  But they always seem to always leave one left—one grape, one cookie in the bag, one serving of whatever we eat.  Nobody wants to eat the last one. 

4.     They are incredibly thankful for everything!

5.     They are a lot of fun!

Every year is very different as well.  The individuals that make up the freshmen class are combining with the returners and there is a unique personality to this group that will be one of a kind.  This year the biggest challenge the coaching staff is facing is figuring out what line up will end up being the best one.  We have about 8 different combinations that have their own strength but expose certain weaknesses-and they are all very different.  In 28 years of coaching I have never encountered so many options that are like comparing totally different fruits.  It is hard to distinquish which is the best because they are all so different.  It is a great problem to have.  We have a lot of talent and a lot of depth with multiple players who can succeed in different positions.  There has been an incredible work ethic from this 2016 group.  There has been little to no drama.  They are doing very well and I can’t wait to keep seeing their personality develop.

Our theme this year is “Mission Impossible”.  I have sensed more and more a sense of self-doubt and lack of inner confidence from athletes today.  I have worked with many athletes from other sports and have sensed the same issue.  So part of the theme is directed inward to each athlete as “Mission I’mPossible”.   Muhammad Ali has a quote about impossible and it goes like this:

“Impossible is just a big word thrown by small people who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.  Impossible is not a declaration.  It’s a dare.  Impossible is potential.  Impossible is temporary”.  Our bible verse is from John 15:5.  “I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”.  So our total them is “Mission Impossible: The Vine Legacy”.  Our foundation of our program is God who is the vine and our legacy rests in Him.

Our hope is that you will be able to find a much clearer sense of what our program is all about by following along with our blog.  You will be getting entries from me as well as a player each week.  We will be sharing with you all the different things happening in our program that you can’t see or read from our stat sheets.