High school students will benefit from playing sports because it motivates them to perform well in school, encourages important life skills, and provides scholarship opportunities.
Participating in sports can help students increase their grades and attendance. There are many important skills that a student will benefit from having when playing sports. Playing sports helps students to work with the other players. When athletes display a strong sense of teamwork, they can accomplish more. These skills can be applied to other things in the student’s life, including the workplace. Playing sports is more than just winning a game. It teaches important life skills and gives motivation to student-athletes. Through the leadership of coaches, programs should place high value on the athletic participation of as many students as possible.
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In the organization of a team, effective communication should be a key factor within a sports program. Prior to the beginning of the season, a coach should make an announcement for all girls who are interested in participating in playing their sport. A date should be given for the interest meeting, preferably after school so that the parents will have a chance to attend. It is important that the entire volleyball coaching staff attends the interest meeting. Coaches will present their program to all who attend the meeting, answer any questions or concerns, and give the specific date and time for tryouts. All interested athletes will be given an athletic packet that includes all paperwork that needs to be completed prior to tryouts. (see Appendix for the athletic packet contents). Athletes who attend tryouts will be led through a series of exercises and drills for one week, that will include a conditioning component for volleyball-specific development. The primary goal for our program will be to have a maximum of 12 players on each of the three levels in the program. Once tryouts are completed, all who attended tryouts will receive a letter of explanation of their status.
Those players who become members of the team will receive a handbook that includes player expectations, rules, and practice, and a calendar with game schedules will be issued to every player. The athletes must take the handbook home and read over it with their parents. Both the athlete and the parent must sign on the signature page acknowledging their full cooperation and follow the guidelines set forth.
The goal will be to develop three teams, and each team will be selected based on skill development and abilities. Each student-athlete will be placed on teams appropriate to those abilities. Sub varsity teams will focus on player development and varsity teams will focus on competing at the highest level. The coaching staff is responsible for player selection and their decisions about playing time, strategy, and team makeup a decisions they make based on their day-to-day interaction with student-athletes.
Nutritional, strength, and conditioning plans will be given to all athletes to follow during and at the end of the regular season with the expectation they will be followed. Good nutrition is an important component of any successful training program. Food is the fuel of athletic performance. A coach cannot control the food your athletes eat, but she can guide them toward healthy eating. Empty calories or junk food serve no nutritional value and must be excluded from the athlete’s diet as much as possible.
Team Practice
The time allotted to practicing sports is an important period for players and coaches. During practices, players will work on their skills while coaches observe and assess the skill ability and fitness level of each player, then determine what adjustments should be made to give all players an opportunity to reach their fullest potential.
Developing a successful high school volleyball program takes dedication and well-organized planning. Coaches and athletes will make efficient use of practice time by fully engaging in each activity. Athletes will take water and restroom breaks as necessary and will return and ease into the flow of activities. All drills will be initially done in large groups. Smaller groups will be used to assist slower learners and those who have not reached an optimum skill level. The drills used are mainly for conditioning and skill-building for athletes early in the season. Variations and modifications will be made as athletes progress in skill development. Although the high school volleyball season lasts roughly three months, a coach must have a year-round plan for player development, fulfilling equipment needs, and selecting and training the coaching staff. The practice plan will consist of pre-season, in-season, post-season, and summer workouts. A workout for volleyball must contain strength training. Like most sports, strength is a vital component of being successful in volleyball. Exercising smaller muscles in isolation may also be necessary for the specific demands of a sport. Volleyball players may develop overuse injuries due to the repetitive nature of the overhead motion of hitting a volleyball. To prevent these injuries, it may be necessary to include in a workout for shoulder strengthening exercises that focus on smaller muscle areas (“Planning your volleyball strength and conditioning Training”, n.d.).
A strength training workout for volleyball should simulate volleyball skill movements. Each athlete must be trained according to individual ability, potential, and strength training background.
Preparing for a practice
Practices are the ideal place to teach, make mistakes, gain confidence, improve fitness, practice game strategy and tactics, and prepare for the next contest. Coaches must have a practice plan before stepping into the gym. With a good practice plan starting day one, coaches can spend more time working on the areas where the team needs improvement.
As the season progresses, a team will improve in certain areas and coaches must continue to evaluate their team’s progress. This will allow a coach to adjust the practice plans accordingly. Effective practices should allot enough time for polishing a variety of skills and development in areas that need improvement but also set aside enough time for brushing up on areas that may need improvement.
Volleyball practice should consist of a warm-up and stretching before any real activity. If it is a day for conditioning, the coach can either start or end with strength training. Because of the fatigue that occurs in muscles, strength training is usually done before practice with lighter work during the actual practice. As mentioned in Chapter V, a workout for volleyball must contain strength training. Like most sports, strength is a vital component for being successful in volleyball. Exercising smaller muscles in isolation may also be necessary for the specific demands of a sport. Volleyball players may develop overuse injuries due to the repetitive nature of the overhead motion of hitting a volleyball. Volleyball players constantly use overhead motions when they are spiking and blocking a volleyball. These repetitive actions can sometimes create soreness due to overuse of the shoulder muscles and can easily be treated by applying the R.I.C.E. method. Shoulder pain is also a common cause of disability in overhead-throwing athletes. To prevent these injuries, it may be necessary to include in a workout for shoulder-strengthening exercises that focus on smaller muscle areas.
During volleyball practice, athletes will move into skills and drills practice after conditioning. The skills a coach instructs should be reflected in the drills chosen. The drills should put the newly learned skills into practice immediately. At the end of practice, athletes will cool down and do stretching activities. Athletes run the risk of injury and increased muscle soreness when they do not cool down properly.
In the event a coach needs to change or cancel a practice, because of utility issues, or other unforeseen circumstances the coach must be prepared to This location should be communicated with parents and guardians at the beginning of the season.
If practice must be canceled entirely, the coach should make every effort to notify parents and guardians as early as possible to prevent confusion and frustration and ensure that all athletes are taken care of. If an athlete’s guardian cannot be reached, someone should stay with the athlete until their ride is arranged. At no time should athletes be left by themselves at an alternate practice location. Coaches should update contact information for all athletes on a regular basis and when calls must be made, the coach will log in the date, time, and result of the call
As a coach, one must be prepared for the unexpected in volleyball practice, and in case of emergency, coaches should have the following information handy athlete’s age, previous medical conditions, basic family history, preferred hospital, and emergency contacts. It will be standard practice for the coach to have this information handy and it must be easily accessible. It will be mandatory to have a practice drill for emergencies. Such practice should include identifying the problem, notifying emergency personnel, attending to injured athletes and staff, and protecting unharmed athletes. Coaches should train all assistant coaches and volunteer staff on what to do during an emergency and where to find important information.