.png)
UCL Men Coaching Reflection | 2022-23
Introduction
This was my second season coaching UCL Men. Last season was amazing as I coached the team to win BUCS South Eastern Tier 1, BUCS Trophy Cup and BUCS Premier Play-Offs. We essentially won everything we could in BUCS. This season we were going to be in BUCS Premier. I knew life in BUCS Premier was going to be tough since we had to compete with three scholarship teams plus the best of the non-scholarship teams. So how tough was life in BUCS Premier? Did we survive or did we go straight back down? What else did I learn as a coach? Read my reflections below if you want to find out.
For the reflections for all my teams, click on the links below: American School of LondonUCL MenFlaming Six LeopardsFlaming Six CoyotesCoaching OverallPerformance Analysis
UCL Competitions Report
BUCS Premier South | 5th PlaceTwo of my three goals from last season’s reflection were to finish in fourth place in BUCS Premier South and to try and get one win off any of the three scholarship teams. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to achieve either one. The three scholarship teams were on another level to us so we couldn’t get past them. Of the non-scholarship teams, we beat Exeter but we lost to Imperial College London as they had a really good team (two killer wing players plus a great setter to set to them). After that loss, I amended my goal which was to finish in fifth place so we would stay in BUCS Premier for next season. We achieved that when we beat Exeter for the second time. We finished on a 2-8 win-loss record.
BUCS National Championship | 1st Round BUCS Premier South is really used to determine seeds for the BUCS National Championship. My third goal was to go beyond the first round of the BUCS National Championship. We couldn’t quite manage this either as we lost in the first round to Edinburgh. It wasn’t ideal that the match was during Reading Week, so some players went home, and it was away in Edinburgh so some other players couldn’t make the overnight trip. We ended up taking 8 players. If we had the full squad available, I think we could have beaten Edinburgh but it is what it is. It was a fun trip though (minus the loss) as I managed to fit in some sightseeing (I walked up to Arthur’s Seat).
Volleyball England’s Student Cup | 4th Place This was my highest placement at the Student Cup so I was happy with that. The semifinal match was a great encounter versus Anglia Ruskin. They had one lefty opposite that dominated the game. He won the second set on his own as we couldn’t deal with his jump serving. It was a shame that our converted setter (read below) injured his ankle early in the first set (although our second setter did a stellar job) as that could’ve made a difference.
London Varsity vs Kings College | Winners It was nice to be in varsity again and we beat Kings College 3-0. We were clearly the better team but King’s did run us close in the first set. It was nice we ended the season on a win.
UCL Coaching Reflection
Quandary of Converting a Starting Player Into a SetterThe biggest quandary I had with the team was I only had one setter and that setter was better suited as a second setter. He was good but he couldn’t always pinpoint that set to our wing players. We had a lot of good wing players so we couldn’t get the most out of them. Having one setter also creates problems in training where you need 2 setters to play 6v6. My idea was to convert one of the team players into a setter. Most didn’t work out but two had promise. However, they were both starting players and I didn’t want to take one of them out to train them. My hand was forced when the first setter was unavailable for the Student Cup Finals and the first round of the National Championship. So I had to train one of the starting players who was available for both. I also took on a setter from the Mixed team in January as a backup. In the end, the converted setter injured his ankle at the Student Cup Finals and we used the Mixed team setter as our starting setter in the BUCS National Championships.
Focus on Defence Systems I would normally explain what I want in my defense systems and I kind of let the players work it out once they play together. I rely on the player’s experience to read the game. However, I often find players defending in the wrong position. The main issue I have is I didn’t spend the time to explain it. Also, the way I run my drills (6v6, playing out the rally), it’s hard to give immediate feedback when I see players not defending where they should be because the rally is continuing. I should run more drills where I can give that immediate feedback, e.g. only one side is defending. A bigger reason why I should focus on coaching defence systems is that defence is the third most important performance indicator critical to success in volleyball (behind point scoring and attack – see I should focus on coaching defence systems is that defence is the third most important performance indicator critical to success in volleyball (behind point scoring and attack – see link to read more). If we can’t score points, we should at least try to stop the opposition from scoring points via our defence. to read more). If we can’t score points, we should at least try to stop the opposition from scoring points via our defence.
Continual Harsher Cuts at Trials To Manage the Number of TrialistsAt last season’s trials, we had 54 trialists in the first session and it was just too many to manage. We had similar numbers this year and I found it was better to do continual cuts throughout the trials to manage the numbers. We would either do it in groups (when doing the butterfly drill and moving players into groups according to their level) or individually (e.g. during the hitting lines). It is also useful to get the Captain to do the act of cutting the trialists. I found the trialists didn’t pester me for 5-10 minutes to give them another chance, which was time I had to focus on them and not on the trials themselves.
Of course, a downside to this approach is you can miss out on players. Last season, I cut my starting libero this way (he begged to come back and I only let him back in only because I knew somebody had 10 years of playing experience and it was him). This season, I did cut my second/ third setter this way too. He wasn’t BUCS Premier level but he was good enough to do a job if needed (and he did). It would have been useful if I had him at the start of the season.
Final Thoughts
It was a tough season. It was a losing season too. However, at least we didn’t go straight back down to BUCS Tier 1 and I got my highest placement (4th) at the Volleyball England’s Student Cup.
Below is the match video playlist of UCL Men, 2022-23 season, if you’re interested.
Comments