My first season as a high school varsity coach went pretty much as I expected. We finished the year with an overall record of 3-20. I predicted 4 or 5 wins on the year and of our 20 losses there are easily two matches that we were more than capable of winning. I knew there would be days when the boys exceeded their potential – a set one win over Zionsville in our first ever home match followed by a set 2 loss where we scored 23 points proved that point. I knew there would be days when the boys would look like they had never seen a volleyball – that point was illustrated in a late season match against that same Zionsville team.
All-in-all, I accomplished most of my goals for the first year of our program. I wanted support and respect from opposing coaches for my boys and for our program. I wanted to be taken seriously by the athletic department and school administration as a varsity sport. I wanted the extended CRHS family to support our program. And finally, I wanted the boys to see themselves as varsity athletes in a program for which they could be proud.
The support from opposing coaches came immediately upon joining the IBVCA family of coaches and programs. Never have I felt such support in a professional endeavor. The support was then followed by respect from several of the coaches as well as the officials that we saw through-out the season. Their kind words about our progress as a team as well as individual athletes were high points in our season. I especially appreciated comments about “my libero” from people who had no idea that he was not only my player, but my son.
The extended CRHS family was wonderful. We had over 30 different individuals volunteer to assist us during the season. Many of the volunteers had a tie to the girls volleyball program. It was fun to see the reaction of high school girls watching high school boys play for the first time. We also experienced great attendance at our home matches, especially our inaugural match and senior night. Again, the reaction of some of the student fans was priceless as these students witnessed great athleticism from boys they presumed were not exceptional athletes.
It wasn’t until our season was complete that I was able to determine where my program stood from the perspective of the athletic department and school administration. And while I wished for clarity on this point sooner, I am thrilled with the results. At Spring Awards Night volleyball was the last team to present our awards and the only team to receive an introduction by the athletic director that specifically talked about where we came from, how far we had come and what a great addition we were to the CRHS sports family. I was humbled by the applause we received when I indicated that of the 6 new teams in the state in 2015, we finished with the 2nd best record win/loss record and one of our wins was against the team with the best win/loss record.
My players seeing themselves as varsity athletes and taking pride in their program is the goal that still has a lot of room for improvement. I hope that with a year of experience and a general understanding of what to expect, some of this will naturally improve in year number two. It was frustrating that neither my overall MVP, nor my mental attitude award winner attended Awards Night. Hopefully my senior class in 2016 will have enough pride in our program to show-up for awards night. Guess I will do a better job of communicating this goal through-out the 2016 season.
…and so it continues…
