Youth Volleyball
Getting Athletes Involved
Youth volleyball is a great outlet for kids to experience working as a team, practicing discipline, and building a habit of healthy living. To get young athletes involved, coaches should do the following:
Create a routine
Young athletes need a routine in order to feel comfortable and grounded. Coaches should stick to a routine as much as possible in terms of the layout of practice and the activities involved.
Stay positive
Coaches should strive to create a team based on positive interactions and a cooperative learning environment. Youth volleyball coaches should avoid intimidation, yelling, or criticism as coaching tools.
Build in time for Fun
Youth volleyball is as much an experience as it is a building block for participation in future teams. Kids need to have time to relax and play. By including breaks in practice or dedicating entire practices to having fun while learning, athletes will be excited to come back year after year.
Recruiting for Youth Volleyball
Coaches recruiting athletes for youth volleyball must sell the program in a way that makes athletes want to take part and builds a sense of trust with parents and guardians. Athletes want to know they will have a good time. Parents and guardians want to know that their child will learn basic skills for boys or girls volleyball as well as life lessons such as cooperation, dedication, and the ability to fail with grace.
To marry the two needs, coaches should be honest about what the program does and does not offer. If the focus is on fun and learning, coaches should not attempt to sell the program as a competitive preparation team for a very intense league. Coaches have a responsibility to be open and honest about the experiences the athlete will have.
Finally, a key to recruitment is to keep your current players happy. If athletes are excited about coming to practice, they will tell their friends. By helping your current players grow and learn, you will be turning them into recruiters for future seasons.
Managing a Youth Volleyball Team
Coaches have several responsibilities when it comes to management. The coach must liaise with stakeholders who may have conflicting interests. When it comes to managing personalities, coaches should remember to avoid taking sides and to listen more than talk. By making an effort to get to know everyone’s needs, coaches can juggle the needs of their stakeholders.
Coaching youth volleyball can be a big job, but coaches can easily manage if they are prepared. To recruit athletes, coaches should keep current athletes engaged and excited, as well as build a sense of trust with parents. To keep the athletes happy, coaches should create a routine, keep them busy during practice, and most importantly, let them have fun.
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