Email Campaign Archive

Looking at Both Sides of a Tough Situation

-By Tom Houser

A Question for Coach Houser:

Next season I will have 3 returning varsity
seniors and 11 returning juniors (3 of which
played varsity last year as sophomores...the
others were on JV). My issue is that all the girls
are good players. Every single one of them are
playing club this winter. With what I have coming
back for next year, I am anticipating playing a
rotation of 8 (3 seniors, 4 juniors and possibly
one sophomore...or a 5th junior). I could probably
more easily cut 2-3 of them, but that is still
going to leave me with 8-9 which is still a high
number. When I've had 6 seniors, it has worked
well, because you can develop the younger players
and allow yourself to "reload" the following
year. What are your thoughts?

Coach Houser's Reply:

I think if you asked your same questions to 10
coaches, you'd get 10 responses. And each coach
would think he's right. There is a coach here in
Roanoke who routinely cuts down as the players are
approaching their sophomore or junior year. And
just like your situation, they've all played club
ball. She cut two rising juniors several years
ago. Both had played club ball on my 2005 team as
freshmen. But a few months after cutting those
two, her team won another state championship in
the huge AA division here in Virginia. So maybe
she made the right decision. 

In 1994, I had seventeen freshmen in my program.
Five were on varsity. Not a month would go by
without one of them asking, "What are we going to
do when we're all seniors?" I would say, "We won't
worry about that now. It'll all work out."
Sometimes I would answer, "I imagine there will
only be 12 or 10 or maybe only 8 of you by that
time," but their eyes would get big as they
wondered if they would be one of the casualties. I
would then have to say, "I'm not planning on
cutting any of you. We'll see how it goes! Don't
worry." 

From what I have read, it appears that you would
like to trim down. There are advantages to cutting
down to a more manageable size: 

Advantage #1 Of Cutting Down: If a team isn't top
heavy or overloaded in one class, it's easier to
maintain a high level of play on the varsity team.
It's easier to "reload". 

Some coaches contend that keeping "too many" upper
classmen will prevent future teams from being
strong. No. This is wrong. What is accurate is
that cutting down will keep the coach and the
younger players from having to work as hard during
the off-season!

Since when did us coaches expect the easy road anyway?

"But, Coach Houser, every time a team in our area
has 7 or 8 seniors, their play falls off the next
year." Sure, that's normal. That's to be expected.
But it doesn't have to happen. 

In 1987, I had seven seniors. The next year we
tied for our conference championship and won the
playoff match. In 1997, I had nine seniors. The
next year we again tied for the championship and
again won in the playoff against a team that had
beaten us twice in the regular season. Then, a few
weeks later, we qualified for the AA state
tournament for the 1st time in the program's
history. How did we do this? I will tell you after
I complete my list of advantages and
disadvantages. It'll be (d) at the end. 

Advantage #2 Of Cutting Down: The returners will
have that all-important court time experience. 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say
something that I've thinking of saying for 20
years. Experience on the court is over-rated. Why?
 

(a) A coach can simulate everything in practice.
Therefore, learning to play 6's doesn't have to
happen while there's a referee on the stand. On my
teams, piece by piece, little by little, we learn
to play 6's until the entire puzzle is complete.
After only 2 weeks of school team practice, my
girls look like they've been playing together for
months. Yes, this is challenging to accomplish.
But I do it every year. With club ball, after
about 10 practices I have the same result. No, we
don't need to play 6's fifty miles down the road
in order to learn to play 6's. We learn to play
6's at practice, then matches are the fruition of
that practice. 

(b) However, the skills required to play the game
are vastly under-rated. Volleyball skills are
under appreciated by the parents, the girls and
coaches. "No, Coach Houser, it's not in our
program." The ratio of skill work to scrimmaging
should be 6:1. At practice, players must spend
hours learning the skills they need. That, coupled
with their work on 6's, they will play the game
knowing their job in nearly every circumstance. 

(c) For those of you who disagree, that's fine.
But you can also provide your girls that playing
time by encouraging them to play club ball. And if
the pressure of the match is what you're after,
then encourage them to play outdoor doubles.
There's a lot of pressure there! (Or host your own
outdoor doubles tournament for teenage girls!
Email me if you want to see that article!) Use
your imagination to uncover other ways of finding
playing time for your girls. If you can only find
it on those 25 nights a year that the girls can
put on the school colors, then you're ignoring
dozens of other opportunities.

"But Coach Houser, the pressure of the big match
will get to these green kids next fall, and they
have less of a chance of winning the big match." I
see your point. Then put pressure on them at
practice. Becoming accustomed to pressure can be
drilled. Create drills so that these girls have to
grow up and compete. The consequences don't have
to be horrible, but they do have to be
uncomfortable yet useful to their conditioning.

Advantage #3 Of Cutting Down: There aren't as many
issues with playing time. 

This will be the overriding factor for several
groups of coaches: the young, the inexperienced
and the ones without enough attitude. 

If you're a member of one of those categories, I'm
not criticizing you. Just stating a fact. I was
all three of those 25 years ago. I'm just saying
that if a coach cuts kids solely to prevent
playing time issues, then the coach hasn't yet
developed enough confidence in his/her own
abilities and hasn't yet developed a strong enough
personality. 

On my teams, playing time isn't an issue. It will
not be discussed. We say that at the start of the
season, and after 3 months of our present club
season, no one has mentioned it. And I will stick
with it. If a parent comes up to me and says, "I
want to know how to increase Joanie's playing
time," or "I need to know why a sophomore is
playing more than my junior," then I respond,
"Playing time will not be discussed. Can I help
you with anything else?" 

This is how I decide who to keep on my team: a)
Do I foresee her helping the team this year? b)
Do I foresee her helping the team in the future?
If both of those questions are no, then the girl
is often not on my team the next season. But,
notice that I didn't say, "playing time," I said,
"helping the team". Therefore, just because a girl
won't get to play much is almost never a reason
for me to cut her. 

Advantage #4 of Cutting Down: Increase the number
of touches for each player and decrease the amount
of time standing around.

What's worse for a teenager than sitting the bench
2 nights a week for 90 minutes? Standing and
watching 50% of practice 5 days a week for 3
months. If you keep so many players on your team
that they cannot practice efficiently, then either
cut some kids or find some new drills! "The
crappiness of a practice can be measured by what %
of the time the kids are not physically or
mentally engaged." 

In my opinion, this is the best reason to decrease
the number of players on a high school team. If we
use this reason, then we are not only looking out
for the team, but also are looking out for the
individuals. This is why the Roanoke coach cuts.
She likes a team of 12. Period. She believes 12 is
the perfect team number. I don't agree that 12 is
the magic number, in fact, I don't think there's a
magic number at all. However, I see her logic and
the younger players are aware that she will
usually cut some players every year. 

Back to my story about the 17 freshmen. They
became 13 sophomores, then eleven juniors.
Finally, there were nine seniors. I never had to
cut any of them. And those were the four most
successful seasons I had at that school. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Disadvantage #1 of Cutting Down: The human factor.
I couldn't have cut those 2 girls that I mentioned
earlier. And it wouldn't have been a personal
thing. I didn't like those girls or their parents
any more than any of the others. But I would have
gone another route because they had played both
school volleyball and club ball every year since
the 7th grade. They had earned better. (No, they
didn't deserve better. They had earned it.) 

Disadvantage #2 of Cutting Down: Practice quality
is lowered. The year I had nine seniors, I also
had 4 juniors. Practice was amazing. Slides on one
side, quicks on the other, jump sets one side,
jump serves on both sides, pancakes, rolls, etc.
Each practice was another great exhibition! My 2nd
team players were better than most other team's
starters, and those 2nd team players were the main
reason for our 23-2 season. 

Disadvantage #3 of Cutting Down: You have older,
more experienced, more skilled substitutes. You
can substitute freely without much loss in the
quality of your team play. Oh, man, it's great
when you can substitute high school players with
the same confidence that college coaches can. Yep,
Jenny's the starter this week, but Sam's had an
incredible week of practice, so she starts next
week. But when Sam has a streak of weak play,
Jenny goes in and plays the best she's ever played
in her life! It's great!! Even the least skilled
senior is usually a trusted player who can go in
and hold her own! 

Then when you have sicknesses and injuries and you
have to make a few changes in your starting
lineup, your serve receive only suffers slightly,
your setting holds up, your serving doesn't skip a
beat, etc. It's awesome!! 

Disadvantage #4 of Cutting Down: Sure that girl
may not be a great athlete. But is she the heart
and soul of your team? Is she a role model for
your younger players? Is she a girl who will cheer
and cheer, regardless of her playing time? You may
see her as dead weight; but isn't she actually a
valuable commodity . What better example for the
freshmen to see on your varsity team than a
selfless junior who will tell them, "I don't play
much, but it doesn't matter. I just love this
team! The team is what matters." When you cut her,
are you cutting the girl with the most character?
Is that really in your team's best interests? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What would Coach Houser do if he had your
situation? Well, I have had your situation twice
in my career. Here's how I handled it and how I
would handle it in the future:

a) I would talk to the kids one-on-one. "Here's
what I foresee. Here's the playing time I think
you're going to get this season. What do you
think? Now if you tryout for the team, and you
make the team, then must accept that you may not
get to play much. Can you do that? You will agree
to not grumble, not moan or whine, right? Your
parents will agree to the same thing, right?. Of
course I might be wrong, and you might get to play
a lot! In fact, I'd love for it to work out that
way! But, just in case you don't play much, you
WILL encourage, behave, love your teammates,
cheer, etc. Are we clear?"

"Now, if you decide before or during tryouts that
you cannot be that person, then you are free to
not play this year and no one will speak badly of
you. However, if you accept a spot on our team,
then after a month or so you WILL NOT change you
mind. Right? So either accept it before you make
the team and keep that promise to me and your
team, or don't accept a spot on the team. Are we
clear?" 

And I'm serious. If a girl agrees to this (and
signs our pre-season behavior contract), yet later
can't handle her lack of playing time, we'll have
another talk. And we'll have this talk as soon as
I see a problem. No, there won't be any days or
weeks of brooding. "You agreed. You promised. You
signed a paper. If you cannot live by your word
and you cannot fix your behavior, you will have to
leave the team. I will tolerate another day of
pouting and sulking. It will be fixed starting
tomorrow, or there will be consequences. Or you
can turn in your uniform tomorrow. Your choice." 

b) I would try to create more attrition. Even
though I'm trying to run off a few of the kids, I
will never tell them that. No one needs to know
that. But, I did just that when I had the 17
freshmen. Most of the girls that left the program
did so because they just couldn't commit to the
offerings that I provided during the off-season.

For example, I started to keep off-season points.
Immediately after the 1994, 95 and 96 seasons, I
announced that girls who wanted to play the next
season needed to reach 150 points. A volleyball
open gym, a club practice or 45 minutes of
conditioning was 1 point, an away from home
volleyball camp was 5 points per day, a doubles
tournament was 10, playing another sport was 5
points a month, etc. (There were probably a dozen
other ways to accumulate points.) I kept a running
total in the display case near the gym and at the
end of the off-season, I gave gifts to girls who'd
reached 150, 200, 250 and 300. The juniors who
reached 150 points tried out. The ones that didn't
make 150, dropped out of the program. But they
didn't drop out because they only got 140 points.
They dropped out because they didn't even get 100.
It just wasn't in their heart, and it was apparent
to everyone. So for those 3 years, this solved my
problem! 

As a school coach, you can do something similar.
You can say, "Everyone will play volleyball during
the off-season. If you don't make any club team,
you will be expected to attend our 3 open gyms per
week during the club season."

You could also say in November, "Either the JV
coach or I will be attending four out of town
camps this summer. We will also have one site camp
directed by the head coach of XYZ University. I
will expect each of you who want to play next fall
to attend 3 of them. We will have one fundraiser a
month so that money will not be an issue." 

I also told my players that, since we would have
so many players returning, and I expected us to be
so good, the next season's tryouts and practices
would be the hardest ever! "Therefore, you all
better come to tryouts in the best shape of your
life!" These are the words that persuaded
"Attitude Setter" to leave the program. I never
had to cut her. I just knew what words would run
her off! Haha 

c) Then, after all my talks and all my attempts at
attrition, if eleven juniors show up for tryouts,
and if I'm convinced that they will benefit my
team, then I'd try my best to keep them all.

And then I pretty much coached that team just like I
coach ever other team, expect I can imagine a few
differences. I would have higher expectations from
this mature team during practices. I would also
preach a little more about sacrifice and team and
cheering and supporting. I'd also spend a few
extra minutes a week talking to each of the older
players who weren't playing much, telling them how
proud I am of her, how I admire how much she's
sacrificing, and how important she is to our team.
"You know that if I thought you sucked, I would
have cut you. The off-season requirements were
harder than ever! Tryouts were brutal. But none of
you guys would give up. You all are such a special
group. I'll never forget how much you guys have
sacrificed this season and how much you've given
for our team!" 

The assistant coach of my club team was a
sophomore on the JV team in my high school
program. We had those 9 seniors and 4 juniors on
varsity. There was no room for her to move up. Her
practice would be on the side court while my team
would be practicing on the main court. During the
JV water breaks, I'd see her looking through the
slits in the curtain, watching to see what my team
was doing. I asked her recently, "Who on that 1997
team would you have cut to make a spot for you?"
She said, "No one. The seniors were awesome, they
were all better than me, and all 4 juniors started
the next year with me. I don't know who you could
have cut." She was right. I wouldn't have cut any
of them. What a team player! 

d) During the off-season, I'd bust my tail! I'd
have 3 or 4 open gyms a week. I'd take the girls
to multiple out of town camps. I'd either coach a
club team or direct a club team. I'd help them
fundraise. 

If you're allergic to all this hard work, then
you'd better press delete now and make plans on
which girls you're going to cut. If you'd rather
cut the 7th and 8th best juniors at tryouts who
have been in your program since the 7th grade, and
you're going to cut them solely because you can't
work hard enough from December through August to
ensure having a competitive team in the future,
then you and I don't have a lot in common. 

So your #1 reason for cutting is off-season
convenience? Is that the way you would have wanted
your high school coaches to have made their
decisions about whether to keep you? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK, so maybe the season works out a little easier
if you have 4 seniors, 4 juniors and 4 sophomores
on your school team. But I've had only one varsity
team like that in my entire career. 

Hey, I have eyes. I can foresee what's coming to
varsity several years in advance. And I either try
to recruit a few more, or run off a few. If it
works, that's great. But if often doesn't. Does
that create more work for us? Sure. But isn't
having a unified team, having fun, and winning
championships worth that extra work? SURE!

-Tom Houser

Head Coach, 2008 and 2007 Roanoke Juniors 15's Open
Director, STAR Volleyball Camps
Author, "I Can't Wait" Drill Collection and Ebooks
www.coachhouser.com