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During my tenure at Ohio State University, I worked for six athletic directors. One of those directors was Andy Geiger, who established a standard of excellence and clear-cut goals for every program in the department. In a recent interview, the now-retired Geiger spoke about college athletics’ current state of affairs. As he viewed the collegiate…
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I was driving past a local business, and the sign out front said, “Change is good….you go first.” I wonder if numbers, data, and studies restrict our approach to the game at the expense of creativity and the ability to change from the script of accepted methods? There are a lot of game or practice…
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Have you noticed that many club players wear their knee pads on their shins? I haven’t quite figured that one out because going to one or both knees is essential to expand both players’ range and ball control. Having the knee pads actually protecting the knees might be a good idea? I used to be…
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Along with 18,000 other volleyball fans, I enjoyed watching the Division 1 Women’s National Championship match last Saturday night. I can’t imagine a match where two teams fought harder and gave all the effort they possessed each time the referee blew the whistle. Some fans felt it was the best national championship match in history.…
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By no means would I consider myself a fan of figure skating. However, I am a fan of any sport that demonstrates athleticism, grace, and dedication to excellence. Recently, I watched a video of 15-year old figure skater Kamila Valieva. She displayed a remarkable skating performance that had the announcers gushing, “I’m speechless,” and established…
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In a previous post titled Moneyball vs. Betterball, the idea of using statistics to improve skills instead of solely measuring outcomes is presented. In the post, I pointed out how the University of Virginia used the Noah Tracking System to provide feedback to the players as they worked on their shooting accuracy. A recent WSJ…
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Club volleyball coaches significantly impact the volleyball futures of thousands of aspiring athletes. Like most professional endeavors, the quality of coaching depends on the training and preparation the coach receives. If a coach is prepared for success, the results will usually be positive. I read a recently concluded study with compelling conclusions about the effectiveness…
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It is not unusual for a coach to react to an error by a player to passionately yell out, “you gotta think out there!!” In reality, thinking is not really what you want players to do during a rally. To think while the action is taking place is a paralyzer of movement that slows down…
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A unique trait of good players is the ability to handle mistakes better than bad players. All players will make errors; however, the error by the better player, generally, will not negatively impact the next contact. Errors are an aspect of the game that is unavoidable for players of all levels. Skilled players make fewer…
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“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training” ~Greek poet Archilochu Having played a little high school tennis, I know enough about the game to be interested in a good match and appreciate the quality of play. In the recent US Open tournament, I was engrossed…
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