aving Blogged about the Sr. Girls Volleyball Tournament in Bowmanville, I figured it would be good to tell you a bit about our regular season play too. Sorry, no pictures, but there are video links to YouTube to see some of the more interesting moments. Yes, it's a bit long, but I hope that as you read you'll get an inside look into the mind of the coach as play is going on, and some game dynamics. Enjoy. : )
General Comments about season play:
If you don't already know, the Sr. Girls VB season in Ottawa is a particularly long one; beginning in December and going to the end of February. Christmas break and exams disrupt the schedule. I find the season a bit long, but it does make for more practices, and that allows a team to get better in my opinion.
As I mentioned in my other blog entry, this year's girls team is a good one. At the beginning of the year a coach doesn't really know what the season is going to bring, but I had a good feeling about this team. It was a team with talent and depth. To give you an idea of that depth, you need to know that I often ask players to play more than one position on the court as we move through the season. Some can do it, others can't. This year Janelle has been excellent at Setter and Power, and Esther has done equally well in Middle and Power.
Our season involves playing 10 games, an elimination round, and then quarter's, semi's and finals. The regular season saw us end with 7 wins and 3 losses. The losses were all close, and in retrospect I think we could have won those if the girls had focused a bit more.
At times there wasn't much competition from the opposing teams, but there were a couple that really caused us to step up and play well.
Issues a Coach faces:
Each year, as I've selected a team, I am acutely aware that there is a variation of talent between players. We are a smaller school, and as such, we have a smaller gene pool from which to choose. : ) Some who try out have a natural athletic ability that will serve (no pun intended) them well on the court. Others just love the game, but need improving on the basic skills of volleyball. Still others love the game and are good at it.
This variation in talent is common in all teams, but as a Christian school I find there is always a tension between trying to play well, and trying to play everyone. Over the years I've come to the conclusion that no matter how teams end up forming, some players are going to play more than others.
Through the regular season I certainly try to play everyone at some point. Those players still learning skills need to get play time, and those who are naturally good need to sit out once in a while to let others learn and grow.
The trick as a coach is knowing when to play players. It's not always easy, let me tell you. At the beginning of each season I always talk to those players who may not play as much during the season so they understand what I am thinking and why. Those that are okay with this arrangement end up having a good season of learning and growing, usually playing much more the next season. The odd time they can end up playing more as the current season progresses.
I've also learned to not let their emotions get the better of my emotions. That's not good coaching. If we are privileged to make it into the elimination round, and quarter finals, etc., some players will play more than others will. That's the nature of competition; even Christian competition : ) . However, I always let the team know that we got to where we are with everyone, and that is something those on the bench can be proud of. We are still a team, no matter who's on the court.
I've also learned to not let their emotions get the better of my emotions. That's not good coaching. If we are privileged to make it into the elimination round, and quarter finals, etc., some players will play more than others will. That's the nature of competition; even Christian competition : ) . However, I always let the team know that we got to where we are with everyone, and that is something those on the bench can be proud of. We are still a team, no matter who's on the court.
Something else I've learned over the years is that players aren't always my biggest challenge. Parents can be. : ) I think you can figure out why. Over my years as coach, I've received the odd email or comment from a disgruntled parent wanting to see their daughter play more. I've also seen other coaches bow to parental pressure to play their child, with less than great results for the whole team. That balance between playing and winning isn't easy.
This year has been relatively good in knowing who to play and not to play, and the team seems to get it too. I've even had some players tell me they didn't WANT to be on the court because the competition and skill level was more than they could handle. That takes maturity on their part if you ask me.
Last game of the regular season:
On the Monday after our Bowmanville tournament we played our final regular season game. The tournament was amazing; finishing 5th overall. I thought we would do rather well against a much lower ranked team.
However, something I continue to learn as a coach is that you can't predict the mood of the players before ANY match. : ( I can honestly say that this match was THE worst one I've ever coached. Don't get me wrong, the girls were having a hoot, but they were playing less than great.)
I understood why. They were tired from the tournament, and the other team was playing what I call "wonky" volleyball. They weren't skilled enough to be able to make plays that were predictable and stable. Add to that a team giddiness that seemed infectious and you get the possibility that we could actually lose the match. We did end up winning, but I don't want to repeat THAT again for a long time. : )
Elimination Play:
We finished our season in 3rd place in the Eastern side of Ottawa, placing in the top 6 of 20. A great showing. I had a good feeling about the run up to the finals, thinking that we had a very good shot at making it to the semi finals and maybe even the finals.
Our elimination round found us playing Deslauriers on Tuesday, Feb 15th at home. They were ranked 6th, but to me that means nothing when you get into elimination play. Each team knows they will be eliminated if they lose. That's a great motivator, no matter where you ended up in the regular season.
Both teams played well. The match went to 4 sets, but we ended up winning in a way that no one wants too. Deslauriers ended up defaulting the match in the 4th set because one of their players left the game early and the team was incomplete on the court. Something to do with subsitutions, and their libero, but I'm still not quite clear on what happened.
I felt bad for the referee who really didn't want to have the match end this way (I didn't either); especially with the score 24-22 for us, and Deslauriers coming back strong. I thought we could have been going to 5 sets the way we were playing. However, I'll take the win. : )
Quarter Final play:
With the elimination round out of the way, we were now in the top 8 and scheduled to play AY Jackson on Thursday, Feb 17 at their school. They were the top ranked team in the West end. Even so, I had a good feeling about our team for this match. I think the girls knew they too had a shot at beating AY Jackson.
I never find it easy picking my first line-up for the first set of a match. I never know who has really "shown up" for play that day. I made my decision just before play time and we began the match.
Set 1 was close. Back and forth over and over again. Both teams were on their game and playing well. We JUST lost that first set 25-23. We now knew what we were up against, but I also felt we had more confidence than the other team did.
In set #2 I made one line change. This year we are blessed with 3 setters and 3 middles that are pretty much interchangeable in talent so I had Janelle playing power and Jillian and Rachel playing setter. I moved Julianna out and put Esther in as middle, just to see what could happen (and to save Julianna's arm which was still sore from the tournament). Sometimes a minor adjustment does major things on the court for many different reasons.
My instincts proved correct. We won set #2 handily.
As a bit of a digression, I should also tell you that volleyball is a game of momentum and mental toughness. Even though you may win one set, you can still lose the next one if you don't stay focused and aggressive. I was well aware of that with things all tied up. I now had to make a strategic decision - keep things the same or make a line change.
I struggled with that decision for about 1 minute (which is along time actually). Jillian sat down beside me and quietly asked me a question that she had asked me once last year too, "Ron, are you going to change the line-up or keep things the same? I think you should keep things the same."
I had actually made 2 changes in the line-up, but after her question, and comment, I decided to trust her instincts as a player and keep the line-up the same. I did bug her first though, so she thought I was making changes until I showed the team the line-up sheet. She was confused, and I was laughing. Jillian was right. These girls had earned the right to play.
I struggled with that decision for about 1 minute (which is along time actually). Jillian sat down beside me and quietly asked me a question that she had asked me once last year too, "Ron, are you going to change the line-up or keep things the same? I think you should keep things the same."
I had actually made 2 changes in the line-up, but after her question, and comment, I decided to trust her instincts as a player and keep the line-up the same. I did bug her first though, so she thought I was making changes until I showed the team the line-up sheet. She was confused, and I was laughing. Jillian was right. These girls had earned the right to play.
Having said all that, set #3 didn't quite go the way I was hoping - go figure! We opened by putting ourselves in a hole numerically. Though we battled hard we couldn't seem to close the gap. At 21 - 16 it was decision time for the team, and me. I could tell we were struggling mentally and AY certainly had the emotional momentum. They were yelling and happy - we were quiet and timid.
AY served, and through a miscalculation between Janessa and Kelsey neither failed to get a service receive hit. It was now 22 - 16 for AY. I wanted to call a time out, hoping to break the serve of the AY Jackson player (we call those "coaches points"), but for some reason I didn't. We couldn't afford to lose this set, and winning from a deficit like we had would be an amazing confidence booster for us, and demoralizing for AY Jackson. I knew we could do that, but something had to give.
Janessa had been playing hard all set, but I sensed she may be feeling the pressure. She has struggled with her service return when feeling pressured, and her overhand serves are also inconsistent under pressure. That is not to say she isn't a good player, because that would be a lie. She has been consistently improving, but not necessarily consistent in serving. That's just the way it was.
She had missed one overhand serve in this set (you need to understand that she learned how to overhand serve in Juniors and just can't underhand - which is a bit of a reverse from most players actually) and I think this threw her a bit, but I don't really know. What I did know was that she had just missed a service receive that we needed and the score was now 23 - 16 for AY. I was beginning to sweat. : )
Another factor was that Janessa was also up next to serve, and something inside me just told me it was time for a change. So, for some reason (I still don't know why), I looked at Mercedes and told her to get her knee pads on and I substituted Mercedes in for Janessa in the front offside position. I could tell Janessa wasn't happy (not sure if that was with me or with herself) but players need to trust their coaches, and now was the time.
A smart player will try to serve to the newly substituted player in order to get a miss. This AY Jackson player was smart. : ) She served the ball to Mercedes but thankfully served the ball out. 23 - 17 for AY.
It was time for Mercedes to serve underhand (the irony here is that Mercedes would LOVE to be able to serve overhand but her overhand is even less consistent. She is a very consistent underhand server, something we needed now).
It was time for Mercedes to serve underhand (the irony here is that Mercedes would LOVE to be able to serve overhand but her overhand is even less consistent. She is a very consistent underhand server, something we needed now).
Mercedes delivered as promised and AY ended up mis-playing the ball. 23 - 18.
Mercedes served again, and pretty much the identical play happened on AY's side. 23 - 19. (Watch the video and you'll see).
Another serve by Mercedes. The ball comes over to our side and we responded with a classic bump, set and hit. Esther hit the ball and if fell on AY's side winning that point. 23 - 20. NOW it's getting interesting. : )
AY calls a time out to try to break Mercedes' serve. NOT going to happen. : )
After the time out Mercedes serves again. Through a miscalculation on AY's side, they put the ball out and it's now 23 - 21. AY's coach is not happy. (Hey, I wouldn't be either.)
Mercedes serves again, and she even hits a ball on the return from AY, and AY makes some mistakes to give us the point. 23 - 22 for AY. I'm beginning to sense an upset coming.....
As I've mentioned before, volleyball is a game of momentum, and it can switch often even in a set. We now had the momentum and I could tell the wind had been blown out of AY's sails.
Mercedes served again and AY's simple mistakes gave us another point. 23 - 23. I stopped sweating. : )
It was anyone's game now, but we had the momentum.
Mercedes served again and things looked good, but hey, we all make mistakes, and Esther made one returning the ball in the middle - putting it out. 24 - 23 for AY. She wasn't happy with herself, but at times like this you shake the mistake off, regroup and do it right the next time. BTW, GREAT serving Mercedes. That was 6 of the most important points we've ever needed this season.
I also wanted to let Janessa know that I still trusted her as a player, so I put her back in. It was a risky move, but one I was willing to take. She had relaxed enough and knew she had to focus and believe in her ability.
AY Served the ball right to Janessa and she made a great service receive bump to Jillian. Way to go Janessa! Jillian then set to Esther and she put the ball to the side and found a hole and the ball landed on the ground. 24 - 24. Now things get really interest. : )
Jillian is up to serve. Dependable Jillian. It's rare that she misses a serve, and now was not the time to prove that wrong. Her dad seemed pretty proud of her too : ). (you can see that on the video).
Jillian served the ball and there was quite a long rally before AY misfired and the ball dropped on their side. What I really liked about our team was the consistent 3 hits they were doing. Bump, set, hit - or placement of the ball in strategic places. It's the reason we were where we were at this season. It was now 25 - 24 for us.
Jillian was ready to serve once again. AY was defeated even before she hit the ball, and you could tell that because they didn't return the ball. We won the set 26 - 24. Amazing things do happen in volleyball, and today was our day.
Jillian was ready to serve once again. AY was defeated even before she hit the ball, and you could tell that because they didn't return the ball. We won the set 26 - 24. Amazing things do happen in volleyball, and today was our day.
Click on the YouTube link below to take a look at the video of the game from 23 - 16 to the end of the set. I find it stressful to watch even as a re-run. : )
SET # 4 was actually already decided in my books; we were going to win it. It's hard to recover from a loss like that, though not impossible. I reminded our team of that. This was not time to get complacent about anything. They seemed to get it. Whew! : )
It was fun to see our team (dare I say my team.....yeah, why not!) playing so well and so determined. Rachel's serves were bang on in this match and we obtained many points from them. Our setters were on too, and we were returning hard serves the best we've ever done. Our middles were not simply putting the ball into a block, but trying to go up and over and side to side. This worked well for us against AY.
My calling the ball "out" seemed to be getting better too. I wasn't wrong on any in this match. The bench certainly noticed and mentioned that fact to me. : ) I also decided to keep putting Mercedes in for Janessa when it came to serving. We'd work on Janessa's serves in our next practice if we ended up winning the match. Again, that's just they way it was. I think Janessa knew it.
My calling the ball "out" seemed to be getting better too. I wasn't wrong on any in this match. The bench certainly noticed and mentioned that fact to me. : ) I also decided to keep putting Mercedes in for Janessa when it came to serving. We'd work on Janessa's serves in our next practice if we ended up winning the match. Again, that's just they way it was. I think Janessa knew it.
Knowing that we were going to win the set in my mind didn't mean that in reality AY was simply going to roll over and give up. We made it handily to 22 - 15 for us, and then things began to happen......not in our favor. : (
AY's coach smartly called a time out at this point, hoping to inspire her team to greatness. They had nothing to lose (well they had everything to lose actually) and I think she was telling them to play like it. I certainly reminded our team of this fact. AY was going to come on strong now because they knew what was at stake.
We all came back on the court and Kelsey served. Unfortunately, after receiving the ball back from AY, Janelle miscalculated on a back row hit and the ball went long. AY ended up getting the point. 22 - 16.
AY served and Esther ended up hitting it long after a short rally. These things happen Esther. 22 - 17.
AY Served again and after a bit of a rally Esther ended up hitting the ball wide and out. 22 - 18. Time to focus Esther!
I called a time out simply to remind the team that now was the time to focus, focus, focus. : ) No silly mistakes that have cost us games in the past. They were listening.
AY Jackson served and handily won that point. 22 - 19. I was beginning to worry. Momentum was beginning to shift like in the last game, but not in our favour.
AY served again, and we were fortunate to get a point. 23 - 19. I substituted in Merecdes for serving. I was taking no chances at this point in the set. Mercedes served, but we didn't get the point. 23 - 20.
I kept Mercedes in, and we awaiting AY's serve. We won the point. Whew......24 - 20.
You'd think that things would be all sown up for us.....think again. : ) Redeemer's Sr. Girls VB teams love to make things interesting, and increase their coach's stress level.
Jillian got ready to serve (and you'll see a proud dad once again in the video). AY won that point on what I'd call a fluky point. A point is a point though, no matter how you get it. 24 - 21.
Sometimes that last point can be such a difficult one to get, especially when you are in a close game. AY served the ball and you could tell they weren't ready to concede anything. They went after the ball and we ended up losing that point. 24 - 22.
AY served and we were less than spectacular in returning the ball, and AY took full advantage of that when they put the ball down on our side of the court. 24 - 23. We could still do this, and I didn't want to go to 5 games, so now was the time to step up and work hard. I had no time-outs left so I had to let things play out.
AY served, we returned and they misplayed the ball. THANKFULLY! : ) 25 - 23 for Redeemer. A stressful game for sure, but we came out the winner against the first placed team. Amazing. I was super proud of these girls. A great confidence booster for Wednesday's game against St. Francis Xavier.
Again, click the link to YouTube to watch the video from the 22 - 15 score to get the full experience.
An interesting side note is that we bumped out the top ranked team in the West, but St. Francis Xavier did the same thing to the top ranked team in in the East. They beat out Canterbury to gain their place in the Semi's. That means the two 2nd place teams will be playing each other, and the two 3rd place teams will be playing each other in the semi's. It should be very interesting.
We will play St. Francis Xavier at Redeemer in Wednesday and Immaculata will play St. Paul on Wednesday. I think we have a very good chance to make it to the finals, but even if we don't, I'm very proud of how this team has fought to get to where they are.
I'll blog that match after it's played, win or lose.
I hope you enjoyed my narrative.
Way to go Royals!!!!!
Oh, and as Jillian would say,
"Team on Team on Team 2 - Team." : ) ....in fact, take a look at the video below to see just how often Jillian said this during our match. (tee, hee).
I'll blog that match after it's played, win or lose.
I hope you enjoyed my narrative.
Way to go Royals!!!!!
Oh, and as Jillian would say,
"Team on Team on Team 2 - Team." : ) ....in fact, take a look at the video below to see just how often Jillian said this during our match. (tee, hee).
1 comment:
Thanks about your post. really very interesting to read out it. The match was also very interesting as you mentioned.
All Girls Private School
Post a Comment