Leadership and Coaching: The Burden of Recognition

Be prepared–there’s going to be some rambling along the way this time–this blog wouldn’t get an ‘A’ from a Comp teacher for organization…

So, I don’t hide much of my thinking, especially when it comes to integrity and ethics in coaching. That’s the basis of the speech I gave when I was inducted into the NJCAA HOF.

That got me thinking. There are 94 individuals in the AVCA Hall of Fame. I’m guessing that 20-25 are no longer among the living. That leaves 70 among the living. For the NJCAA, I reckon you have about 50 living coaches, many still active with their teams. So we’re looking at at least 100 living HOF coaches in just those organizations. I have no idea about state-level Hall of Fame coaches or VB coaches within the NAIA.

And of course, then think about other sports and their Halls of Fame, the coaches so honored, not to mention the athletes.

Anyways–It was a great honor to be selected to the Hall. (Duh, right?) There’s a part of me that wants to flaunt that, enjoy the ego rush. It’s there. It’s not small–and when I had a HS referee tell me I needed to learn the rules of the game this year if I was going to coach…I should have kept my mouth shut, but didn’t…and noted the HOF as part of my rebuttal.

Again, anyways–here’s the real surprise for me. I find the HOF selection to be a burden and responsibility!!! That’s right. Burden. Responsibility. The selection means I was selected because I’ve got accomplishments worthy of distinction…so why the burden, why the responsibility?

Because of John Kessel. I hate him. He always says “Grow the game”. He’s right–and who better to do that than coaches honored in Halls of Fame? Who better to help coaches get better or get people to see how awesome volleyball is? Who better to recruit new coaches–not to mention new officials?

Because I know there are better coaches than me out there who weren’t in the right place at the right time to have the success I enjoyed…and still they are working for the kids they coach, regardless of age level or talent. I *OWE* it to those coaches to do what they are doing and to be loud about it, so that their work is appreciated…(people like Jim H, Mary, Elise, Teri, Don C., Kim N., Cathy/George, Kelly D., just a few names…the list goes on into the thousands)

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So…there’s a shortage of coaches, a shortage of officials. Why?

Because, in my opinion, you’ve got a whole lot of me-ism going on, an unwillingness to mentor, an unwillingness to grow the game for the sake of the game–if there’s not something in it for me, why would I help? This fits in with the ‘old boy network’ of administrators hiring coaches–and Officials Supervisors who do the hiring of referees, making sure friends get all the good gigs, whether its conference championship games or games at a State Tournament.

Go through those lists of Hall of Famers (whether it is volleyball or another sport you follow). How many are active trying to better the game? How many have made an active choice to not give back to their sport–which has clearly given them so much in the first place? It’s why I love having Jim Stone as a mentor. He retired from Ohio State…and couldn’t stay away–coached club, helped with multiple colleges, did video work, wrote a REALLY handy book for coaches, and has been 150% en fuego lately with a blog on his volleyball thoughts.

I like seeing Ruth Nelson constantly agitating for more coaching/gym time for little kids and her constant advocacy for Flo Hyman’s legacy and why it remains important. This is my blog for Hyman and Black History Month–but it notes Ruth and her own work in it.

Cecile Reynaud published seven books on volleyball after retiring as a coach (two after her HOF selection) and is now involved in the Pro Volleyball Federation and trying to create a sustainable pro VB league in the US.

Karch Kiraly, in addition to his job running the National Team, takes a ton of time doing videos and promoting the sport–helping kids who have ZERO chance of ever affecting the success of the Olympic team.

So–if you’re a coach who’s in a HOF or been named “Coach of the Year” for a state or a region (or National for that matter)–what are you doing to help the sport?

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Officials don’t have a HOF that I know of–but what are you doing if you’ve been doing it for decades to grow the game, to help develop high-quality officials? Are you willing to work a lopsided HS game in order to mentor a new official in her first year of the sport?

–>We had this in a game recently…an experienced official working with a HS senior who was in her first match on the stand as R1. Was the kid perfect? Nah…but the R2 helped her and both coaching staffs ignored the mistakes to permit her to GROW AS AN OFFICIAL. It was Jr High VB–and both coaching staffs know the shortage of good officials and young officials. Will the kid wind up a good official? Long term–I’d probably bet money on the answer being yes. I hope she had fun…and hope she knows she’s helping younger kids get better and playing a VITAL role in the sport.

Are you willing to go to mentor young officials, give them your cell # for them to ask questions? Have you tried to coordinate things with teams and officials to get further experience for younger officials to give them practical feedback?

The problem–I know officials who refuse to work with anyone other than specific partners (this isn’t a VB comment–this is something that absolutely goes on with basketball and baseball/softball) and who refuse to work non-varsity contests. And then…the officiating pool shrinks–if I’m a young, good official but all the exciting games go to the clique of 50+-yr old white guys who are buddies with ADs, why should I keep working? Why not just go do college games where good officiating gets rewarded and gets paid 2x-5x more than HS contests?

So if you’re one of those top officials–what are YOU doing to help your sport, to help the next generation of officials–because it’s a job where the best officiating is ‘anonymous’ and underappreciated, made tough because of rude spectators who use profanity regularly and sometimes turn violent (ESPN covered basketball, soccer, baseball, and softball violence in the past 12 months against officials by fans)

So–I’ve rambled long enough. I’m frustrated at selfishness, frustrated by adults putting themselves ahead of the athletes they coach, frustrated to see the anger at athletes regarding NIL and accusing athletes of selfishness, greedy for money, the works…they’re kids and they are emulating the actions of their coaches…maybe if more HOFers spoke out and were active promoting their sport, promoting the RIGHT ways of coaching, we’d solve problems with coaching/officiating quality.

With enough effort–maybe we can change the world.

Why not try rather than just shake a fist at the sky? What do you have to lose?

*** Late Note:

For the coming fall, a school south of here is hosting a JV tournament. They are charging below-market rate to enter. There’s a catch, though–each team that enters has to bring along two juniors or seniors from their varsity–those upperclassmen will be responsible for serving in 1-2 matches as R2s, working with experienced refs. The intent is to give practical experience for interested girls who may be curious about becoming officials. I won’t lie–I love this.