Email Campaign Archive

Creating a Program for Your Home Matches

-By Tom Houser

A Question for Coach Houser:

I just read an article written by you online. It
said that you would send people a copy of the
programs that you have used for home matches. What
do you put in your home program? How do you
organize it? Can I still get a copy? 

Coach Houser's Reply:

What Is The Structure?

I've created my home programs a number of
different ways. My first program in 1985 was the
back and front of an 8.5x11 sheet of paper. Then I
went to an 8.5x14 sheet of legal paper. Then I
went an 8.5x11 sheet of paper folded sideways to
resemble a program one would receive at a theatre
play. For my 1999 program, I needed more room, so
I placed one folded sheet inside another. In 2000,
I had to add two additional sheets inside.
 

What's On The Front?

I would stay alert the entire off-season for a
design for the front of the program. On the front,
we normally had a motto for the year also. One
year our motto was "Its2005" and one year it was
"We're Guilty". That is on the front of each home
program. I also customized the front for each home
game with something like, "It's Central High vs.
Western High. October 18, 2007. Welcome!" 

A Roster? Anything For Seniors? For Coaches?

I listed each girl by jersey number with her
height, class and position. 

Each senior got a short biography describing her
career in volleyball and in other sports. If she
had already decided where to go to college, that
was included. I may have also included any unique
work experiences, any athletic awards that she had
earned in high school, any clubs in which she was
an officer, if she was at the top of her class,
etc. 

For the coaching staff, they also got a bio, but
it was shorter than the seniors. I listed the high
school we attended, the year we graduated, our
college and degree(s), coaching experience and our
overall coaching record. 

Any Team Records? Any In-Season Stats?

Sure! I would include the results of each varsity
and JV match that season and our overall records
for the season. 

When I was the head coach at that one school for
16 years, I kept up with all-time team records for
outstanding performances in matches, careers and
seasons. There was a page of the home program
devoted to that. It was pretty cool when a
graduate would come to a match and say to me,
"Wow, my 97% serving in 1986 hasn't been broken?" 

Now, as for in-season stats, I was very careful
when listing them. I don't want to hurt anyone of
my players' feelings. Therefore, I didn't put
everyone's stats on the home handout. I usually
only put the top 2 or 3 in each category. 

Yes, if you update in-season stats, you will be
forced to update more than just the cover for each
home event. Tough decision. 

Any Team History? How About Any Girls Who Went On
To Play In College? 

The team history was the most fun part! We listed
the number of conference tournament championships,
regular season championships, etc. We listed our
speaking captains from all the past years, our
all-conference players and our conference players
of the year. "Coach, couldn't this motivate your
opponents?" Yes, and sometimes I left this page
out of our home program just for that reason. 

As visiting teams came into our gym, many of their
players picked up a home program. Let's say that
night's opponent was weak. Then when those girls
read, "1982 - 1999 Conference Record: 239 wins and
17 losses," they would know they're in trouble.
Good for us! 

But when the members of a strong team read, "We
have won 98 of our past 101 home matches," they
may just use that as a rallying point! Nope, I
don't want to help motivate our opponents.
However, sometimes it occurred anyway. Sometimes
the coaches of those strong teams come to scout us
when we played a weak team. Maybe they used that
page as bulletin board material. Oh, well. It was
a risk I was willing to take to show our girls,
their parents, and their friends the pride we had
in our accomplishments. 

College ball?

Heck yes! We had an entire page of our 2000 program
devoted to the girls who'd gone on to play college ball.
One of them is my assistant coach now! Two of them are
head coaches now.
 

Any Pictures?

One year I had a collage of pictures inside the
program. These pictures were taken at our summer
camps and summer doubles tournaments. It was fun
to look at! The girls loved it. No, I didn't
change that during the season; but, maybe I would
now! Hey, it's got to be easier in 2008 than it
would have been in 1998! 

I've seen coaches place their seniors' portraits
beside their biography. That's pretty neat.
Especially when done in color! But, for one
hundred programs each home game?!? You go!
 

Anything Else Special?

I like to have the conference standings in the
handout, if I can find them. However, in most
conferences, obtaining up-to-date standings is
nearly impossible, because the only way you can
find a team's record is if all the head coaches
decide to call in their teams' results to the
local paper. Every night? Not happening around
here. 

I also like to have my players sell ads. In fact,
that's why my 2000 program was so "fat". There
were 3 pull page ads and three half-page ads.
Here's the deal. If player could sell an ad, I
would tell her, "half the money goes into our team
volleyball account, and the other half goes into
your personal account." Ok, sure, the entire
amount gets deposited in our volleyball account,
but I kept a little book with each girl's deposits
and withdrawals. No, it's not hard! The only
reason a girl could withdraw money was for
volleyball equipment, volleyball camp, or a camp
of another sport. I gave the players some old
programs and told them to show the programs around
to businesses. Then I told them the prices to
charge for a quarter page ad, half-page ad and
full page ad. We didn't charge much, so it wasn't
much of a fundraiser. I think a full page was only
$150, so the most the team ever made was about
$700. However, to the girl who sold $400 worth of
ads, the $200 paid for half a camp!!
 

I Also Have A Location In The Program For
Announcements.

For Example: 

-"Don't miss the Mountain Conference Tournament,
Nov 12-13, hosted by Seaside High." 

-"First quarter is over and once again the
volleyball team has the highest GPA of any sports
team! CONGRATS GIRLS!!!" 

-"Congratulations to Janice, who yesterday signed
her scholarship to ABC University. You rock!!" 

-"Junior Volleyball tryouts begin Sunday November
10 at 2pm here for all age groups. Don't forget
that preregistration is required!" 

Yes, announcements have to be updated before each
home match also! Jeeeze, this program was more
work than I remembered! But I was single then, so
I guess it was no big deal. 

Getting A Copy:

If you want to obtain a copy of my 1992 program
(legal back/front) and my 2000 program (three
8.5x11 sheets folded), please email me in about 2
weeks to coachhouser@yahoo.com and I should have
them scanned by then. 

-Tom Houser

Head Coach, 2007 Roanoke Juniors 15's Open
Director, STAR Volleyball Camps
Author, "I Can't Wait" Drill Collection and Ebooks
www.coachhouser.com