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American School of London Coaching Reflection 2022
New Team
I took the opportunity to coach the American School of London (ASL) Boy’s Varsity volleyball team for the 2022 Fall season. Major thanks to Will McDonald, the previous coach, who recommended me for the post. So how did the season go? What did I learn? Read the competitions report and my reflections below.
Photo: ASL Team at the 2022 ISSTs
ASL Competitions Report
Friendlies | 11-4 Win-Loss Record
We had a bunch of friendlies with other international schools and we ended up with an 11-4 win-loss record. Many of the 11 wins were fairly easy wins. Three of the four losses were against the better team (International School of Brussels twice and Boswells School once). There was only one match where we should have done better (against ACS Cobham away).
Raiders Boys Tournament | Silver Medal
This was an early-season tournament hosted by International School of Brussels (ISB) with five teams involved, including ASL. I had to start my starting outside hitter as a setter as all three of my setters were unavailable. However, we still managed to do well by beating three teams. We only lost to the Tournament Champions, ISB.
International School Sports Tournament (ISSTs) | Champions
The ISSTs is the final tournament of the season. It was hosted by the International School of Brussels (ISB). I am really happy to report that we actually won it! The route to the final was fairly straightforward. The final itself was against the hosts ISB. The task was huge. At that point, they have comfortably beaten us four times this season, including once in the tournament itself. We have only managed to get one set off them (out of 11 sets played) and that was when they played their bench and their two main players played out of position. I had stats on them and they were clearly the superior team. I did think the gap was too big to close down.
So how did we win? I felt the most significant turning point was when JJ, the Assistant Coach, suggested we should have a video session. It was the most brilliant idea. I couldn’t believe that I, thevolleyballanalyst, did not even think of it at all! We held the video session after dinner the night before the finals. WWe reviewed the stats and we watched our round-robin match against ISB. We paused and replayed the video when necessary. I felt it e reviewed the stats and we watched our round-robin match against ISB. We paused and replayed the video when necessary. I felt it really solidified what the team and individual players needed to do in order to be successfulreally solidified what the team and individual players needed to do in order to be successful (team value three: (team value three: know your best game plan). It turned out to be really useful process for me personally as it made it clear what I ). It turned out to be really useful process for me personally as it made it clear what I needed to focus on during the match itself. needed to focus on during the match itself.
The final was an amazing match to be a part of. It was definitely the best match we had played and I assume it was the same for ISB. Huge momentum swings for both sides. For the first set, we managed to win it 27-25 despite being 11-14 down. I was starting to believe that we could do actually this. In the second set, ISB called a time-out when we were 17-11 up and I was thinking it could be over in three sets. ISB played brilliantly too and they won the second set 21-25. In the third set, we were down 11-16 but somehow managed to win it 31-29. There was about 7 set points in there too for both sides. In the fourth set, we were 15-10 ahead and we even had 2 Championship points. ISB got it back to win 24-26. If only it was that easy. In the fifth set, I made a massive blunder. I swapped the middle and outside in the starting line-up. This meant the reception line-up and defence system were all messed up. I was thinking that we were going to lose and it was going to be all my fault. As the match started, all I could think of was how to organise the team. I had to do it rotation by rotation. I had no idea how the match was playing out and at the change of ends, I saw we were somehow 8-4 ahead. I was thinking maybe the rotation confused them more than it did us. The match continued and we were suddenly 14-8 up. We just needed one point. I was just praying for an ISB service error. ISB got it back to 14-12 and I was thinking surely not. Even by pure probability we still got this. In the final rally, there was an ISB overpass and our middle player spiked the ball in. I was sure he touched the net but the ref immediately called for our point and that was it. We had won it.
ASL Coaching Reflection
So having won the final ISSTs tournament, what did I learn?
Having Team ValuesI liked the idea of having the five team values so I understood what I wanted my team to look like. I was able to refer back to it throughout the season. However, I do feel I could have referred back to it a lot more in my team talks, e.g. knowing where they need to be (team value 2: teamwork) and emphaising that they should enjoy the game (team value 1: joy).
Intense 12-Week Season I had 4 pre-season sessions, 3 try-out sessions, 19 training sessions and 25 matches (it includes 3 weekends away) in 12 weeks. Needless to say, it was intense. I essentially had an entire season with UCL Men or Flaming Six Coyotes but in 12 weeks.
Take More Time in Coaching Systems of Play I have been organising the team first since my first season at City University London and I haven’t really deviated from it (team value 2: teamwork). I still believe that coaching the systems of play first is the quickest way to improve the team the most. We only had two training sessions before our first match and the matches came in thick and fast after that. We ended up having more matches (25) than we did training sessions (19). However, I probably should have taken more time to coach the systems of play, especially the defence. This is because I could see how some of the players did not fully know all the systems of play, even towards the end of the season. There are a couple of things I could have done. The first is to continuously test them and ask them individually where each player should be (I could bring in the coaching board). The second is to have drills where I can focus on a particular system (my focus tends to go everywhere in full gameplay drills). The third is to have video feedback sessions so they can see for themselves how to do better.
Delay Coaching Strategy Second Coaching strategy is something I tend to do in the second half of the season (team value 3: know your best game plan). This is when the stats start rolling in and I see where our strengths and weaknesses are and how to exploit and hide them, respectively. With the matches coming in so quickly, I probably did move on to coaching strategy quickly too. I should have focussed more on coaching systems of play a little more before slowly moving on to coaching strategy.
Need to Work on Technique By Employing Technique Analysis I could see that the player’s techniques could be improved. They are young players so it is to be expected. Coaching technique is something I tend not to coach. It is because it’s not one of my strengths and the one training I tried to coach technique, it did not go well. However, I did think that I could employ technique analysis. I could film a player’s technique after a training session and use any of the classrooms for a video feedback system. This is something in my wheelhouse that I could do well in.
Incorporate Weekly Video SessionsI do feel that video replay is such powerful feedback. I already mentioned that the one I held before the ISSTs Finals had the biggest impact on performance. I did hold some video feedback sessions throughout the season but it wasn’t weekly. I wanted to have a regular day (Monday before or after training) but it never really worked out. It is something I will do at the start of next season.
Relatively Equal Match Playing Time My aim is to win the match but I do try and play everybody since they made the effort to come. It does mean in the closer matches, I tend to play the first team a lot more. However, I realised that most of the matches we play are friendlies so the result is actually meaningless (except for boosting confidence). So I should be braver with playing the bench a little more. I could go for equal playing time in the first two sets (I could play the first team in set 1 and the bench in set 2 or split the teams for both sets). If it goes to a deciding third set, I would just play the first team to try and win it.
Needing 12 Players for Training I wanted 12 players on the team. It would allow me to do 6v6 training drills and I could take 12 players in the final tournament. I found that although I had 12 players on the team, attendance was rarely 100% (only 4 times in 19 training sessions and 4 times in 25 matches). It got me thinking whether it was worth selecting a 13 player team. It would allow me to have 12 players at training more often. It would mean cutting a player for the final ISSTs tournament. This can be harsh but it could be a motivating factor that would drive up attendance/ commitment to the team. An easier route to get 12 players would be to play up a Junior Varsity team player if I know I am missing a player.
Incorporate Strength and Conditioning Sessions This is something I wanted to incorporate as there is a gym at the school. However, I was told that it is difficult to hold S&C sessions because the students have so much stuff going on. It was better to have sessions that they can do in their own time. The Assistant Coach actually does this with Junior Varsity team so I think I will just let him organise that for next season.
Final Thoughts
It was an intense but rewarding season. I still can’t believe we were able to overcome ISB in the ISSTs Finals. I am excited to go back next season (assuming ASL wants me back). I can hit the ground running. I know the team will be different as nine players are graduating this academic year.
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