Coaching, Emily B., and Redundancy

Many years ago coaching high school volleyball, I was blessed with a group of ‘professional assassins’ (as declared by two rival coaches) able to walk into a gym and dominate matches with their competitiveness and grit. Of course, they didn’t start that way and one of them wasn’t someone you’d expect to dominate.

That person was Emily B. Emily was a skinny 5’7 girl who, as a freshman, in volleyball terms, was like a horse learning to walk. No power in her arm, no ability to play defense (hadn’t been taught by the Jr High coaches), never started before (again, welcome to the junior high coaches). There are a couple key things about Emily here before getting to the part about redundancy and why she’s one of my FAVORITE players to ever coach.

1 – Emily was ditzy in this positive way that was great to be around as a coach. As a freshman, Emily was on the JV bench. We got to a game where we could use her developing skills…I put her in, told her where to go, what to look for…and when she went in, she didn’t do any of it. I asked, “What did I tell you yo do?” and she just smiled and answered, “I was just so excited to get into a high school game, I forgot. This is so fun.” (How could you ever be mad at a kid with such joy?)

2 – Emily had an incredible work ethic. 5’7 kid who wound up playing middle hitter on 34-3 team. That work ethic got her a spot playing at the NCAA D-2 level…where her teammates refused to believe someone her height could be a middle on a good team.

No longer a middle, Emily wound up a back-row player in college. That’s right…a middle capable of passing (unheard of now in the 21st century)

See why I loved coaching her? She was a great kid who is now a great adult.

Anyways, we got to her senior season, we’re rolling and we’re in a mid-season practice. Things are going smooth and as I’m standing in her vicinity, she goes, “You know, Dietz, we don’t need you.” She said it and immediately turned bright red, stammering an apology. I laughed–because she didn’t mean it as an insult and I took it as a great compliment…which is how it was meant. She meant it as–>we’ve learned enough that we don’t need the coach to be told what to do, we don’t have to communicate through the coach, we can give positive criticism/feedback to each other and take it the right way without worrying about attitudes/the coach keeping bad apples in check. You get the picture.

So, I was redundant in a way. I’d taught, they’d listened, and they executed. They became independent thinkers and I think that carried over into adulthood for them. Isn’t that the point of youth sports? It isn’t about the game, it’s about the life skills–the teamwork, the ability to offer/take criticism and feedback. It’s about learning roles…being on the bench, being a starter, being a mentor to younger kids. It’s about where work ethic can take you in life–help you pursue interests successfully (Emily is a health-care provider AND helps run a family business AND farm in addition to parenting two young gentlemen…like I said, she’s a pretty good adult).

When you are in a gym with young people, remember what sports is about, what it is intended for. It goes far beyond hitting a ball harder or the final score (even though I love winning and hate losing). Few kids can become Olympic or professional athletes, but with work ethic and confidence, every one of them can be a success in ways they define for themselves.

So work on it, strive to be redundant.

And if you’re interested–consider an inexpensive e-book—a collection of essays on coaching for under five bucks. Best off–buy through that link and money goes straight to the cause…not my salary or anything else.

And you can also check out the Dietz Foundation’s blog on education while you’re there: THE BLOG.

And if you’re lookin’ at payin’ taxes to The Man this year, donations to the Foundation are tax-deductible (and go straight to the cause, not my salary), too!