Wednesday, November 16, 2016

From the Roots Up ... Done Right

Some coaches get pulled into their roles because they have a strong sense that coaching is a calling, some because there's just no one else to do the job and still others do it out of a sheer sense of obligation.  I work with coaches of all stripes.  In the case of one Michigan program, the coach is a little bit of a combination of all three of those.

Coach Shannon Zinser, the Varsity Volleyball Coach at Clare High School, accepted the Varsity Volleyball Position last year.  She did this in order to serve her community and try to ensure that her daughter and the rest of the volleyball players' experiences where positive.  Oh, and she'd like to build the program into a winning one if at all possible.

Admittedly and commendably, Shannon doesn't have all the answers on exactly how to do that, so she reached out for help.  It wasn't enough for her to just coach a team as it's been done there in the past.  She is reaching for a much deeper experience for all involved.  In other words, she wanted to grow a program from the roots up.

So she set out to find a way to do that, eagerly finding people who would join her on the mission.  All along the way admitting her shortcomings and knowledge shortfalls while working to overcome them.  She looks for the 'right' people to fill staffing positions and roster spots, just as Herb Brooks did on his mission to shock the world with his 1980 USA Hockey team.  In other words, she's doing it right.

The results this year didn't shock the world, although there were some measurable improvements in overall results.  There is still a long way to go to convince the community and some of the players that this process takes time, but that it will be worth it.  There is also some work to be done to inspire the type of increase in work that needs to be done to improve fundamental skills to reach their big picture goals.   To call on Western Michigan University Football Coach, PJ Fleck's idea about reaching success, it is not a straight line:

Credit: www.whatdriveswinning.com (PJ Fleck)

To do it right, you will get worse, first.  You will see most of your wins behind the scenes.  You will be frustrated and second guessed.  You will have days it doesn't seem worth it.  However, if you stay the course and continue to evolve yourself and inspire your players, their parents and your community, you will find success.  

I commend coaches like Shannon Zinser and her staff that have the gumption to fight the good fight for the right reasons.  Keep moving forward!  

No comments:

Post a Comment