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Parent and Player Concerns with Volleyball Club Coaches

August 20, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

As August draws to a close, most volleyball club tryouts have come and gone. Players have been assigned to teams and they are anxiously waiting for practice to start in November. Volleyball has experienced rapid growth over the past ten years – that is the good news. On the other hand there aren’t enough qualified coaches to support the growth, particularly in Colorado.

This post focuses on parent and player concerns with volleyball club coaches. It can be compared with a previous post that emphasizes the qualities of strong programs and coaches. A comparison of both the positive and negative perceptions of club coaches illustrates the impact coaches have on parents, the players, their team, and their club.

The list of parent and player concerns follows:
• Weak coaches appear to be lost on the court. The kids don’t respond to the drills, they get bored and stop paying attention. Once they have lost focus the practice spirals downward.
• A lot of meaningless chatter comes from poor coaches. Because nothing of value is shared with the players, they tune out the coach five minutes into practice.
• Too many coaches think that just because they were a good player that they will automatically be a good coach. It takes a lot of work to become a good coach.
• Teams with weak coaches stand out like sore thumbs. The players don’t talk to each other during the warm-ups. Even though they may be trying hard, they look like they are struggling to go through the motions. On the other hand, well-coached teams walk and talk like winners on and off the court.
• Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. When practices are not well-organized the players have time to get in trouble. They gossip, goof around, and next thing you know someone gets hurt or players become mad at each other.
• Poorly coached teams play the blame game. You can spot hateful gestures and the negative body language from two courts away.
• Bad coaches punish players for making mistakes. The server doesn’t need a coach to point out that she missed her serve in the net – everyone the gym knows it. A good coach will find a way to help that same player hit the ball in the court next time she serves. I have yet to meet a competitive athlete who erred on purpose. Don’t coaches realize that?
• Weak coaches often have unusual starting lineups, rotations, and substitution patterns. At times it seems that some parents have paid extra to have their kids in the lineup.
• Young coaches talk way too much. They feel obligated to comment on everything that happens. For example, a team had an enthusiastic young assistant coach. The players were always upbeat at the start of the tournament. After the first huddle a few players lost their edge. As the competition progressed the team became more downtrodden. When a father queried his daughter about this she said the assistant coach began every team discussion by saying, “Now girls, if you want to win, you have to do this, you have to do that and you have to stop doing this and that.” The coach was toxic. The criticism went on ad nauseam. Even if the team ended the day as winners, they were so beat up by her negative talk that they looked and felt like they had lost every match. The following season, only two of the ten players returned – and one of them was a coach’s daughter.
• Then there was the young coach who summed up the qualifications of her peers, “The coaches in this club suck. I have tried to help them improve, but they don’t listen to me because I’m a woman. I can’t wait to start my own club so I don’t have to deal with them.” While her assessment was correct and she was rightfully frustrated, she lost credibility every time she shared her opinion.
• The club’s weakest coach appears to keep his job because he has access to the keys at a local school where the team practices on Tuesdays.
• The purpose of holding practices is to help the players improve their skills. Too many coaches view the team practice as a time for them to get their workout. Too often the coaches touch the ball more frequently than any of the players.
• Two parents watched a veteran coach “help” his young team with their serves. After each player had a chance to hit one serve, the team had to run a lap for every missed serve. The players with good serves were punished because the coach couldn’t teach their teammates how to serve. The performance of the team got worse the longer the team did the drill. Afterwards the parents told the coach, “What was the purpose of that drill? You didn’t improve their serves by having them run laps. They are two different skills”. His response was, “Running laps motivates them to serve better and it is good conditioning. This is a popular serving drill used by all the clubs.”
• One of my pet peeves is coaches whose behavior is different in practices and competition. For example, a team had a coach who encouraged the players to go for their serves in practice but then told them to just get it in during tournament matches. The coach seemed fun-loving in practice, but yelled at the girls when they made errors in the game. They didn’t know if their coach was Dr. Jekyll or Mrs. Hyde. Their confusion about how to react to his multiple personalities was reflected in the way they played in competition.
• Some adults shouldn’t be allowed to coach. A team had an assistant coach who wanted her daughter to be the setter and she convinced the head coach that was a good idea. The fact that the team had an excellent setter and her daughter had never set before was irrelevant. The experiment resulted in a wasted season for everyone, including the assistant coach’s daughter. The only legitimate setter quit the team once the coach announced her decision. By the time the season was half over, everyone (parents and teammates) hated the coach, the assistant coach, and her daughter.
• The worst coach at a local club informally classified her players as “natural athletes” and klutzes. The “natural athletes” had an inflated impression of their skills and the klutzes were convinced they would never be able to do anything right. As a result, nobody was challenged and nobody improved that season. The coach didn’t understand that the key to improvement is working hard.
• One season a young coach was challenged by a group of parents for the way she coached defensive skills. The remainder of the season she focused on showing the parents and the players who was boss. Helping the kids become better players was of secondary importance to her. She won the grudge match, but the club was the overall loser. All of the players on the team switched to different clubs the following season.
• A young coach focused her attention on the top six players of her team because they had better skills. Then, one tournament two of her top players got sick, one was injured, and another had a family emergency. Unexpectedly, she had to play four kids who she had not given a chance to play in practice or competition. The fans applauded the efforts of the weaker players while the young coach yelled at them for making errors. She acted as if it was their fault the top players were not available to play. Even after this situation the coach didn’t understand the importance of coaching all the players on the team.
• At an open gym a coach was asked to spend 20 minutes doing his favorite drill with a group of 20 kids. He selected two players and hit balls to them for two minutes while the other 18 players surrounded them in a circle and counted their passes out loud. After 20 minutes each player hit 5 to 10 balls, they stood around for 18 minutes and the coach hit several hundred balls. It was only fitting that the coach walked off the court dripping sweat and said to the parents on the sideline, “Gosh, the girls had a great workout!” On the other hand, the 20 players walked off the court and muttered under their breath, “That was a waste of time.” The coach was too busy trying to impress people to see that he was a loser as a coach.
As can be seen, a lot can go wrong on the court, even when coaches may be trying to do the right thing. It takes a lot of work to be a good coach.

There are some common themes in the concerns voiced by the parents and players.
• The negative impacts of a coach can last for a season (five to six months). When players quit the sport the impact of a bad coach lasts a lifetime.
• Just as there is a tendency for young players to make a lot of mistakes, there is a tendency for young coaches to make a lot of mistakes. It is essential for volleyball clubs mentor their coaches, especially the younger ones.
• Young coaches often talk too much. They can become better coaches by organizing their practices, using cues to more effectively provide feedback, and practice the timeout axiom (limit discussions during drill sessions to the length of a timeout – a maximum of 60 seconds). They must also learn to watch and listen. It is not necessary to comment every time a ball is hit or missed.
• Athletes learn by touching the ball. They don’t improve their skills when they are running laps.
• Communications is critical and the coach is responsible for making that communications happen – on and off the court.
• Most coaches have good intentions and they choose to coach a volleyball team as a labor of love. They are to be commended for their altruism.
• Club directors have an obligation to help coaches improve their coaching skills.
• Parents, players, and coaches are all part of the team.

Great coaches make it look deceptively easy. Over the years they have made lots of mistakes, but they have made a conscious effort to learn from them. Great coaches are successful because they are students of the game – for them the learning process never stops.

Parents Identify Qualities of Strong Volleyball Programs

August 14, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

Many parents breathe a sigh of relief at this time of year because the most stressful part of the club volleyball season has passed – summer open gyms and tryouts. For the next two months their daughters will play on their junior high or high school teams and wait for the club season to begin in November.

Because the sport has enjoyed rapid growth over the past ten years, the quality of programs varies greatly between clubs and within clubs. The following list is a summary of the qualities of strong volleyball programs based on comments from conversations with parents. A similar post will provide the reasons young athletes decide to play other sports.

• The best coaches are the ones who have a purpose for everything they do and say – from the drills in practice to substitutions in competition. Not only are they organized, they communicate their purpose with the athletes and the parents.
• It is like going to a BOGO free sale when coaches teach on-court skills that have lifetime applications, such as learning to deal with success and adversity.
• The best coaches provide cues to players that help them improve their skills. It is helpful to hear a coach enthusiastically say, “You’ll get the next ball” or “Good footwork” or “Where would you hit that shot next time?” It doesn’t help when a coach says “good shot” in a monotone on every ball.
• It is great to see practices where kids are constantly engaged in meaningful activity and not standing in line.
• My daughter enjoys going to practice because she likes most of the kids she plays with and she respects the coach.
• It is important to have coaches who can communicate. Coaches who yell at their players or make them run laps do so because they don’t know how to convey their expectations to the athletes. These coaches are only capable of identifying an error, but not correcting it.
• Kids must be taught how to communicate with their teammates on and off the court. This is a skill that has to be taught and practiced.
• Athletes learn best when coaches create an environment where kids aren’t afraid to try new things and make mistakes.
• Athletes have to be taught mental toughness skills. Then they have to practice them.
• Coaches should give the kids a chance to touch the ball and play the sport. They don’t learn by watching the coach get a good workout.
• Kids like it when coaches call them by their first name.
• Performance trumps outcome. It is more important to teach players to give 100% in practice and competition than it is to focus on winning. When you give 100% all the time, the winning usually takes care of itself.
• Coaches must learn to have a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset, as defined by Carol Dweck in her book Mindset. In a growth mindset, players will view practices and competition as opportunities to learn.
• It is great to see coaches teach their players how to set goals based on performance and help the athletes work towards achieving those goals.
• The top club directors will honestly provide their players with the criteria for making the team in a tryout.
• Great coaches value the benchwarmers as much as the starters – and they let the benchwarmers know what they can do to become starters.
• Parents can be a pain in the butt; however, they are an important part of the process in making a program successful. They also pay the bill.
• My kid has a volleyball at home, but when she joined the team they gave her a new ball with the message that she needed to practice on her own. Not only that, they taught her how to practice on her own.
• It is great to be in a program where kids, coaches, and parents work together on a community project. Typically these projects are local, but some clubs will give their athletes a chance to travel outside their hometown to a foreign country.

There is nothing on this list that is rocket science. Strong volleyball programs are built around club directors and coaches who excel in all aspects of coaching and programming. Strong volleyball programs have coaches and players make the learning process look very easy.

Some Parents Just Don’t Get It!

August 2, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

A majority of parents who support their kids at sporting events understand it is essential to follow the rules and etiquette of the sport their kids are playing.

Unfortunately, some parents just don’t get it! The following situation illustrates that point with parents Mr. and Mrs. D and daughter D.

Recently two 14-year old girls were enjoying the challenges of a competitive first round match in a small tennis tournament. Daughter D won the first set 7-5, after being down 4-2. In the second set daughter D took a commanding 5-2 lead.

Mr. D was ready to break out the cigar and the bubbly. Suddenly, the score was 5-5 and Mr. and Mrs. D began verbalizing about how his daughter’s opponent was making bad line calls against daughter D. The couple couldn’t accept the fact that daughter D was being outplayed by her opponent.

Mr. and Mrs. D were making their claim about bad line calls from their lawn chairs perched on the on the clubhouse porch. Their vantage point was such that they were looking into the sun and passing judgment on line calls that were being made two courts away.

Suddenly the score was 6-6 and daughter D decided to take a bathroom break prior to the second-set tiebreaker. (If the girls would have split sets, a tiebreaker would have been played for the match, in lieu of a third set). In other words, a case could be made that the request for a potty break was gamesmanship and not a legitimate request.

When Mr. D saw his daughter heading off the court he immediately moved to the general area of the bathrooms. He waited for daughter D and coached her prior to her going into the restroom and after she came out.

Much to Mr. and Mrs. D’s delight daughter D returned to the court and won the tiebreaker. While the two girls were solid players, there was nothing Mr. D. could have said that would have helped his daughter. The bottom line was that she wasn’t good enough to convert anyone’s words of wisdom into action on the court in a way that could make a difference in the match.

The score of the match is irrelevant. The real outcome was that Mr. and Mrs. D taught daughter D a lesson that gamesmanship and illegal coaching are an acceptable part of the sport of tennis.

Some parents just don’t get it!

They Mastered the Drill, but Finished on the Wrong Side of the Bracket

July 27, 2015July 26, 2015 horvath Leave a comment

Every team has a special warm-up routine, as evidenced by watching the match play at any local club tournament. Typically, the coaches are either tossing balls to players or observing with their arms crossed in a calm collected manner to demonstrate they have things under control. Most teams appear to be organized and teammates are communicating with each other. In most cases, the warm-up is a snapshot of harmony and solidarity.

Players have a tendency to sneak a peek at their opponents to see what their warm-up looks like and to pick up any last-minute tips about how good their opponents are.

In some cases it is intimidating to check out the opposing team’s warm-up routine, especially when their setters make Alisha Glass look like she has wooden hands and their middles jump higher and hit harder than Inky Ajanaku.

On the other hand, some warm-ups give a team a warm fuzzy feeling that the match will be over in two quick sets.

One of the most unique warm-up drills/routines was demonstrated by a team at a recent USAV National qualifier. For the purposes of this blog post it will be called the Popcorn Drill for the way the ball pops up in the air like popcorn in an old-fashioned air popper.

The Popcorn Drill is simple: Player A sets a ball down on the court. After a short wait, Player B runs forward like a matador charging a bull. She picks up the ball, runs a couple of steps then throws it up in the air. The process is repeated.

Good coaches know that effective drills focus on skills that transfer to match play. With that in mind, it is clear the Popcorn Drill must have been borrowed from the sport of hockey. The drill teaches game-like skills for situations when hockey players need to pick octopus, squid, fish, and hats from hat tricks and throw them up in the air to the crowd.

It is questionable if the Popcorn Drill teaches any skills that transfer to volleyball competition.

To the team’s credit, they were enthusiastic and disciplined and their fans loved them. They mastered the drill. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough and they ended up on the wrong side of the bracket.

Improve Your Game This Summer – Try Grilling!

April 22, 2015May 19, 2015 horvath Leave a comment

With the summer season on the horizon it is time to focus on sports such as tennis, golf, beach volleyball, or summer platform tennis. Before we get into those sports we’ll digress briefly to talk a little “volleyball”.

Volleyball, Bicycle Riding, and Grilling

Last fall the USA women’s national volleyball team did what no other women’s team has done before. They won the World Championships with the coaching and practice philosophy, “the game teaches the game.”

John Kessel, Director of USA Volleyball Grassroots program, describes how the women’s team implemented this philosophy by talking about the process of learning to ride a bicycle.

Think about when you learned to ride a bike. You were put on the bike, given a push (and a prayer), and off you went.

Did you have private or group bicycle riding lessons?
Did your parents buy you special shoes, shorts, or other paraphernalia for riding your bicycle?
Did you go to bicycle riding camp for two weeks in the summer?
Did you do drills where you pedaled down the street with your left foot, then your right foot, then you alternated between feet on the way back?
Did you do play in a bicycle league?
Did you do team bonding exercises so you and your teammates could bicycle in a cooperative and friendly manner?
Did you have a bicycling nutritionist?
Did you have someone teach you about mental toughness when riding your bicycle to school?

NO! You got on the bike and you rode it. And when you fell, you got up, got back on the bike, you kept riding, and you got better.

The game teaches the game! The same holds true whether you are Women’s National Volleyball Team or local enthusiasts playing volleyball, riding your bike, playing golf, tennis beach volleyball, or summer platform tennis.

The Essentials of Grilling

This brings us to the topic of summer grilling.

If John Kessel was your (fill in the sport) coach, he wouldn’t have you drill and he wouldn’t have you play games that often – you would GRILL.

Games + Drills = Grills.

Grilling is the process of incorporating technique, tactics, mental toughness, and even nutrition into match-like practice activities. Components of successful grilling are listed below:
• When there is relevant or game-like training, there will be a greater transfer of skills from practice to competitive situations.
• Numerous research studies have shown that athletes have greater retention when grilling is purposeful, and favors “random practice” as opposed to “blocked practice”.
• Effective grills allow all players to be involved in meaningful ways, i.e. there is no standing around. By setting different expectations for each player it is possible to include different abilities in many grills.
• Players can develop short positive cues that will serve as technical or tactical reminders. For example, backcourt players may use the cue “lobs go in” as a reminder to hit every lob in the court.
• Keeping score provides players with an incentive to play their hardest on every point.
• Good grills are easy to understand and explain. They should be given a name so they don’t have to be explained every time.
• Grills may be constructed so that players will be pushed out of their comfort zone. Failing in a grill should be viewed as an opportunity to improve.
• Develop grills that end with a natural conclusion, such as when a player hits a shot out of bounds.

There are hundreds of drills. With a little creativity you can convert them to 12 to 15 grills to cover all aspects of your favorite sport. With a little ingenuity players can vary the scoring and rules for their grills to include everything from technique to mental toughness – all in a game-like situation.

Want to improve this summer – try grilling!

Percentage of Points Won – Two Points Per Set

March 29, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

Over the course of a season what is the percentage of points won, sets won, and matches won by a college volleyball team? More importantly, what is the value of two points per set?

The report Team Tendencies and the Importance of Winning a Point takes an in-depth look at those percentages for the University of Colorado Women’s Volleyball team for the nine-year period from 2006 to 2014.

The Lady Buffs won between 42.8% and 50.0% of the points. The range from low to high is 7.2 percentage points. In other words, there are subtle differences between being a winner and a loser.

In 2009 the Lady Buffs won 42.8% of the points.

At the other end of the spectrum they won 49.5% of the points in 2006 and they won 50.0% of the points in 2014. Both years they qualified for NCAA nationals and won their first match at the Big Dance.

The range of 7.2 percentage points for points won (50.0%-42.8%) is magnified to a range of 38.6 percentage points for sets won (53.1% – 14.5%). In turn there is a range of 55.5 percentage points (60.0% – 4.5%) for matches won.

During the 2009 season the Lady Buffs won:
• 42.8% of the points
• 16.7% of the sets
• 10.0% of the matches.
The Lady Buffs won two of twenty matches. As can be seen, when less than half of the points are won, there is an increased reduction in the percentage of sets and matches won.

During the 2014 season the Lady Buffs won:
• 50.0% of the points
• 50.0% of the sets
• 55.0% of the matches.
The Lady Buffs won eleven of twenty matches. As can be expected when half the points are won there is minimal magnification of sets and matches won.

During a conference season the Lady Buffs play 20 matches. This is about 3,000 points and 75 sets.

If the Lady Buffs win 50.0% of the points, as they did in 2014, they would win 1,500 points. If they win 44.5% of the points, as they did in 2009, they would win 1,335 points during the season.

The difference is 165 points.

If those points are spread evenly over 20 matches, the average difference is 8.25 points per match. If 165 points are spread over 80 sets that means the average difference is 2.1 points per set. If you look at it from that perspective the difference between being the worst in the conference and qualifying for the NCAA championships is about eight points per match or two points per set.

The Bottom Line: As a coach or a player how can you find a way to win at least two points per set?

Don’t Be Misled by Randomness

February 9, 2015February 20, 2015 horvath Leave a comment

Have you ever been frustrated because you have good and bad days on the tennis or volleyball court, golf course, or softball field? One of the reasons for the ups and downs is regression to the mean. Don’t be fooled by it!

Here’s the way it works.

Suppose your daughter has a volleyball serving percentage of 90%. Over the course of the season her daily serving percentage will vary, but her long-term average will be 90%.

In theory this means she will serve better than 90% half the time and the other half she will serve at or below that level. She will feel like a rock star on the days she serves 98%. On the days she serves 82% she will feel throwing her volleyball shoes in the trash and taking tuba lessons.

Regression to the mean is prevalent in team sports and most coaches are confused by the randomness associated with the concept.

Consider a basketball player who is a 70% free throw shooter.

He has a hot streak and makes 9 out of 10 free throws. The coach pats him on the back and gives him more playing time.

As should be expected, the player hits a cold streak and makes 5 of the next 10 free throws. The coach notices the decline from 90% to 50%. He yells at the player, benches him, and makes him run wind sprints at the next practice as a way of “motivating” him to do better.

Eventually the player will be allowed to play again and he will make 7 of the next 10 free throws. The coach notices the improvement from 50% to 70% and immediately associates yelling at the player, benching him and making him run wind sprints as the motivation that caused the improvement.

WRONG! The coach should be benched, made to run wind sprints, and yelled at for failing to understand the randomness of regression to the mean.

Out of the last 30 free throws, the player made 21 – his season average of 70%. The player had streaks where he was above the mean, below the mean, and right on the mean.

Don’t be fooled like the basketball coach!

Suppose you are a tennis player and want to improve your serve.
1. Work with a coach or teaching professional who understands the concept of regression to the mean.
2. Develop a practice routine that includes match-like play and relevant training.
3. As you practice your serve will become more consistent, thus reducing the range of the fluctuations in your daily serving percentage.
4. Stay calm, don’t be fooled by randomness. Enjoy the days when you serve above your seasonal average and don’t sell your racquets and take-up the tuba on the days you drop below it. Accepting the daily fluctuations is one of the challenges of competitive sports that can be minimized, but not eliminated.
5. Over time, with quality instruction and a match-like practice sessions you should be able to raise your season serving average. Remember, this is a long term proposition.

For additional information about regression to the mean and other subtleties of playing and coaching sports, visit the blog, Growing the Game Together by John Kessel, Director of USAV Grassroots Volleyball, http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Grassroots/Grow-The-Game-Blog.

Coach, Have you Thought about Teaching Piano?

December 17, 2014November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

The coach yelled at the girls, “How many times have I told you to get low when you dig a volleyball? Why don’t you listen to me when I tell you to get your feet positioned properly and your toss in the right spot when you serve? And when you hit a spike, you are supposed to move your feet left-right-left and reach for the ball. Why don’t you girls get it? If you want to win you have to do the things I tell you. Since you are so slow on the take, you can run five sets of wind sprints. Maybe in the future you will learn to pay attention to what your coaches are saying.”

A timid girl in the back of the huddle walked over to the bench where the coach’s clipboard was sitting. She calmly took the outline for the practice out of the clipboard, ripped it in half, wadded it in a ball, dropped in on the floor and stepped on it. She then picked it up and laid it on top of the clipboard.

The stunned coach didn’t know what to do. Her response was a reflex action, “What do you think you are doing? That is my practice outline. Now I can’t read it. You’re going to be running sprints for the rest of practice!”

The girl bravely said, “When you give us unclear instructions and become impatient because we don’t get it right – you tear our spirit apart, just like your practice outline is torn in half.”

The girl then picked up the crumpled outline, unfolded it, and asked the coach, “Can you see all the wrinkles in the paper. They are ugly. That is the way we feel when you belittle us and put us down. It is okay to challenge us, but you are destroying us. You are putting wrinkles in our confidence, just like the wrinkles in the paper with your practice outline on it. No matter what you do, you can’t get the wrinkles out. ”

The player continued, “Coach, we are humans just like you are. We are trying to get better and you aren’t helping us. We feel just like that piece of paper that has been torn in half, crumpled up, and stepped on. Every practice we leave as damaged goods rather than athletes inspired to become better volleyball players.”

The girl paused and before the coach could start yelling at her and her teammates again and asked one final question, “Coach, have you thought about teaching piano instead of trying to be a volleyball coach?” With that the girl put her warm-ups on, called her parents on her cell phone to have them pick her up, and never played volleyball again.

Are you a volleyball coach or should you think about teaching piano?

Play Practice

October 18, 2014November 4, 2014 horvath Leave a comment

Over the past three decades researchers have gained a better understanding about how to teach youth to improve their skills and enjoy participation in sport. Allen Launder and Windy Piltz published the book, Play Practice – Engaging and Developing Skilled Players From Beginner to Elite that provides coaches and educators with a tool for improving skills and participation.

A major theme of Play Practice is that commitment is essential for students to improve more efficiently. Launder and Piltz provided the following circumstances which will cause students and athletes to increase their level of commitment:
• They know exactly what is expected of them.
• They see the task as worthwhile and achievable.
• They can see that the new learning will improve their performance and that of the team.
• They understand that what they are practicing will quickly be put into a real game.
• Practices are varied and well-paced.
• The time remaining in a play practice is counted down.
• Novel tasks or environments that stimulate curiosity are included.
• Players have some degree of choice within the learning environment; for example, with equipment, rules, size of their target zone, or playing partner.
• The number of repetitions to be completed is counted down, using the strategy employed by fitness instructors.
• Indirect competition is used.
• Performances in tests or challenges are recorded.
• Fantasy or simulation games are used.
• They know that they are preparing for exciting culminating activities.
• Competition is balanced and fair.

This list of 14 items is easy is to understand and implement when you look at each item by itself. It is much more difficult to incorporate all items in a play practice session of an hour. Being able to do that increases the commitment of the athletes and their level of improvement.

Entitlement has Become Part of Equal Playing Time

October 12, 2014November 2, 2014 horvath Leave a comment

In its most pure form, the concept of equal playing time (EPT) has merit as a means of helping young athletes improve their skills. Unfortunately, there are unintended consequences associated with EPT.

Parents and players have forced their own EPT agendas on some school, club, and recreation programs. As a result entitlement has become part of the EPT mindset in these settings. For example,

Some players feel it is not necessary to show up for practice. When they grace the team with their presence they don’t feel it is essential to focus and work hard. EPT is guaranteed during competition.
Some players don’t feel the need to practice the way the coach wants, nor do they choose to execute the coach’s strategy in competition. They know they are assured as much time on the court as the players who are more talented or dedicated.
It is not important for players to abide by team rules because EPT policies mean their court time is guaranteed.

Equal Playing Time - Entitlement — For some parents, entitlement is part of the definition of equal playing time

Entitlement has become part of EPT.

In some cases the definition of EPT has been extended to include equal everything (EE).

The following examples illustrate how the entitlement mentality has adversely affected EPT.

Some parents think players are entitled to play where they want to play a portion of the time. The problem is that not all players have developed the skills to play in such positions as a baseball catcher, first baseman, hockey goalie, or center in football. Players should not be allowed to play positions where they may be a hazard to themselves or others on the field. EPT policies should not force coaches to put players in positions that may destroy the playing experience for all other players or risk damaging the mindset of the player being put in that position. Mental and physical safety of all players should trump EPT.
Because some coaches have been forced to adhere to EPT policies, they have created specialized roles for the weaker players so they will get “equal” time on the court. For example, in 12U volleyball, a player who can’t serve or pass may be designated as a hitter or front row player. Players who are forced into specialized roles because of EPT policies will often fall further behind the curve even if they are getting “equal” time on the court.
Some parents have carried the “EPT=EE” mindset so far as to expect that kids should have equal time on the bench sitting next to the coach or that players should be allowed to be team captain an equal number of times. In extreme cases, some parents feel it is important for the coach to make sure that team members get to be first in line an equal number of times for the for post-game high-fives and snacks.
It has become easier for parents and coaches to measure EPT with spreadsheet and apps for mobile phones. With entitlementThat should add an interesting twist
In an effort to adhere to EPT policies coaches may allocate playing time based on the number of minutes in game. Some parents feel that EPT should be based on the amount of quality time played, the number of points played, or the number of minutes played as a starter.

Because entitlement has become part of EPT implementation, EPT policies will often send the wrong message to young athletes. Weaker players who have shared equal time on the court with superior athletes may wrongly think they are as good as their peers. They may also feel they will always be entitled to EPT. In these cases, they failed to learn the valuable lesson that all players must work hard, have discipline, and God-given talent to improve their skills.

Do these shortcomings with EPT suggest it should be eliminated as a guiding philosophy for younger level sports programs?

NO!

There can be problems with EPT policies, especially those in programs hijacked by the personal agendas of parents; however, EPT is a reasonable philosophy for sports programs for young athletes, especially those under the age of 14.

Athletic and club directors need to review their EPT policies and understand the extent that entitlement has crept into the implementation of their EPT policies. This will allow them to understand whether their EPT policies are having their desired impact on the players. Such a review should prevent a good idea from going bad.