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Flaming Six Coyotes Coaching Reflection | 2022-23

Writer: goldenstateservicesj
goldenstateservicesj
Apr 28, 2023
4 min read

Introduction

This was my second season at Flaming Six Coyotes.  I had a great first season as I coached the team to be crowned London Women’s Division 1B Champions.  This meant we got promoted into London Premier.  It was seven years since Flaming Six last had a women’s team in London Premier.  So what was life going to be like in the top league in London?  Will we survive or will we go straight back down?  What else did I learn as a coach?  Read my reflections below to find out.

F6 Coyotes Competition Report

London Women Premier | 8th Place (Relegated to London Division 1)We had a decent start with a draw and a win in our first three matches.  It quickly went downhill as it was losses after that with one overturned win in there.  As the losses piled up, you soon realised there are levels to this game.  London Premier is much a higher level compared to Division 1.  

I did come up with a game plan to save our season and avoid relegation.  I identified two pivotal matches against the two bottom teams (we were the third) that if we won, we would avoid being in the bottom two and automatic relegation.  I felt the game plan was working because we had great performances (and stats) against the two top teams in the league.  We gave ourselves every chance to win but we were just beaten by the better team (they had better stats).  When it came to the two pivotal matches against the two bottom teams, it was unfortunately two losses.  We went without a lot of players, including our two main setters, and that was too much to overcome.  We still had one more match but we were mathematically relegated so the season was effectively over.  I did come up with a game plan to save our season and avoid relegation.  I identified two pivotal matches against the two bottom teams (we were the third) that if we won, we would avoid being in the bottom two and automatic relegation.  I felt the game plan was working because we had great performances (and stats) against the two top teams in the league.  We gave ourselves every chance to win but we were just beaten by the better team (they had better stats).  When it came to the two pivotal matches against the two bottom teams, it was unfortunately two losses.  We went without a lot of players, including our two main setters, and that was too much to overcome.  We still had one more match but we were mathematically relegated so the season was effectively over.  We finished the season in 8th place with a 2-1-11 win-draw-loss record.  We finished the season in 8th place with a 2-1-11 win-draw-loss record.  

Flaming Six Coyotes 2022/23

F6 Coyotes Coaching Reflection

Focus on Your Own Game Plan As we had consecutive losses, I wanted to focus on our own performance (something we can control) and not the match result (something we can’t fully control).  I found we had numerous matches with a negative point-scoring performance.  It means we committed more errors than we scored points and you can’t win matches like that.  I came up with a four-point game plan, based on our season stats, that would help give us a positive point-scoring performance.  I’ll be happy if we had a positive point-scoring performance, even a small positive, because it would give us every chance to win the match.  If we lose because the other team had a better point-scoring performance then I can live with that.  I do generally work towards a game plan (Team Value 3: Know Your Best Game Plan) but it was the first time I laid it out like that and specifically worked on it for 8 weeks.  I did feel it was beneficial because it was something I could constantly focus on in training and I could really hammer the game plan to the players. 

Spend More Time Coaching Defence Systems I would normally explain what I want in my defence systems and I kind of let the players work it out when they play together.  I trusted their experience to read the game.  However, I often saw players not defending where they should defend, e.g. players in 2 and 4 don’t defend the tips from a middle attack.  I also had some players outright ask me where they should defend.  This tells me I haven’t coached them properly.  I probably glossed over it too quickly that the players didn’t fully understand the systems of play, similar to what I did at the American School of London.  So I should spend time coaching defence systems.  It is especially the case that defence is often the third most important performance indicator critical to success in volleyball (behind point scoring and attack – click on this link to read more).  If we struggle to score points, we should at least try to stop the opposition from scoring points via our defence.

Be Proactive in Recruiting Those Killer PlayersTo compete at London Premier, you need at least one killer attacker that can hit 25+%.  If you have two then life is more comfortable at London Premier.  Knowing this, I should be proactive in trying to recruit those players.  Of course, I need to know which players are unattached and at that level.  I would also probably need to be more persistent in recruiting those players too.  This is going to be harder now we at back in Division 1 so this could be more pertinent when we go back up to London Premier.  

Next Season

The aim is to retain the team, especially the Premier level players I have, so we can bounce straight back up to London Premier.  I still have unfinished business in London Premier.  

You can watch all the matches below.  

 
 
 

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