Three Ideas Newsletter 7.22.25
Hello, everyone! Let’s be honest—coaching isn’t easy. But that challenge is part of what draws us in. Every day, we step into the gym with the goal of helping our players develop personally, improve their skills, and reach their potential, both individually and collectively. There’s real fulfillment in pushing them to be better, constantly evaluating our methods, and upholding a standard of professionalism.
Most days, we can manage what’s within our control. It’s the things outside of that control—injuries, administrative challenges, or off-the-court issues—that test us the most.
One book that’s always resonated with me is Forever’s Team by John Feinstein. It tells the story of the 1979 Duke basketball team, coached by Bill Foster. The narrative actually begins with the previous season, when Duke made an incredible run from last place in the ACC to the national championship game, where they ultimately fell to Michigan. All signs pointed to continued success the following year. The entire roster returned, and expectations were sky high—an undefeated season, an ACC title, and a national championship seemed within reach. But the reality was far different. Everything that could go wrong, did—injuries, personal tragedies, internal conflict, transfers—you name it. A team that looked like a sure thing ended up finishing fifth in the conference and exited early from the NCAA tournament. Coach Foster couldn’t control those circumstances, but as is often the case, he bore the brunt of the criticism.
That’s the life we live as a coach. As the high school season begins, remember to focus on where you can truly make a difference. Control the controllables, respond with resilience to the rest, and embrace the unpredictable nature of this profession. The Bruce Lee quote below says it best:
“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”
Wishing each of you a meaningful and rewarding season ahead.
Thanks for reading! Suggestions are always welcome! Have a great week!
~Jim
Quote for the Week: “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” ~ Bruce Lee, actor
Three Ideas For This Week
Idea #1 – Random Items Worth Considering –
- To improve your blocking and defense, focus on becoming a better attacking team. The better you are with your offense, the more urgency there will be for your block and backcourt defense to improve.
- Don’t assume the loudest personalities on your team are the best leaders. Assign leadership duties to your quiet players and observe how they take on these responsibilities.
- The ability of your team to sideout efficiently will dictate scoreboard success. Every practice should include sideout offense in some form.
- Coaches at all levels are locked into receiving with three passers. Given that the short and deep serves are the most problematic for passers, you might experiment with receiving with four or five passers to help cover the short and deep areas more effectively. More passers will have the additional benefit of reducing the court coverage for each passer. Admittedly, there are some drawbacks to adding additional passers; however, test out a variety of reception systems and record the results.
- If you want your players to improve at solving on-court problems, put them in situations where they must solve problems. Don’t be too quick to offer a solution to their current predicament. A good coach presents questions rather than providing answers. For example, the opponent’s left-side hitter is scoring by hitting into the seam of the block. Ask the middle and/or outside blocker what we can do to take away this shot. Consider bringing the outside blocker inside a little more, or have the middle blocker “cheat” to the outside so they can get out there more quickly. Their answer might be different from yours, but that’s okay. Let them work through the problem.
- Mistakes are part of the game. A point of emphasis for me was the quality of contact immediately after a mistake. It’s easy for both the player and coach to focus on the error, but I wanted the player to focus on the following contact. If a passer gets aced, I want them to focus on the following play. I would even keep a statistical record of the contact following a mistake. By emphasizing the next contact, they downplay the importance of the error and focus on the positive outcome that will follow.
Idea #2 – Jordyn Poulter on Setting the Low Ball- Too often, setters are satisfied with forearm passing a ball that is passed low to them. In this video, USA National Team setter, Jordyn Poulter, will take you through a progression and key aspects of accurately setting the low pass. One of the things that stood out to me was how she incorporated her left/right footwork pattern into the sequence when going to her knees. VIDEO
Idea #3 – Serving Priorities – When I work with players on their serve, I prioritize three items. First, serve with a flat trajectory. Second, if serving a float serve, no spin on the ball. Lastly, the velocity of the serve. I don’t worry about velocity until the first two priorities are in place
Additional notes:
- I like the short and deep serve to have similar trajectories.
- I like players to be comfortable serving from various locations on the end line.
- I want players to have a go-to serve (location, velocity) that they have 100% confidence.
- Although mistakes are a component of the skill, I’d like to have the first serve for each player to be very low error.
Video of the Week: Author and psychologist Angela Duckworth provides a quick outline of the concepts of deliberate practice. Review your practice sessions and take note of the percentage of activities that incorporate these concepts. I’m a fan of deliberate practice as a key to improvement. VIDEO
Current Blog Post – In this post, I discuss how many on and off-court components of the lives of your players have become easier; they now need demanding coaches more than ever. READ MORE
Archive Blog Posting: As high school practices are approaching, I’ve listed five “time-sucks” that you should eliminate from your practices. READ MORE
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
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~Jim
