Saturday, August 09, 2025

Coaching Wizardry (Notes)

Stand on the shoulders of giants, learning from this granular presentation of the thought processes behind decision-making. 


1. "Leave your inner player behind." Players are self-focused, coaches cannot be. Coaches focus on team performance. 


2. Be consistent in how we present ourself every day. 



3. Good chemistry ulimately reflects practice. Trust starts here. Coaches 'know' how we want practice to 'look'. Make that happen. 


4. What matters in the moment? Exceptional players and coaches know what to give the team in the moment. 



5. Coach from the BOTTOM UP. This reminds me about the Michael Connelly character Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch. "Everybody counts or nobody counts." Dean Smith knew that the reserves on the team often needed more recognition and support. The stars get theirs.



6. The Psychology of Practice


Find balance between addressing a problem and 'spotlighting' a perceived negative. I worked to ask players what we needed to improve upon... "Everything." 

Every excellent team needs 'identity'. "This is our strength." Overemphasis on "need areas" sometimes impacts confidence. 

7. Coaching to the performance. This addresses what's happening real time. 


Keeping our team at optimal "emotional state" is something coaches can impact. 

Summary:


Lagniappe. ChatGPT Plus shared highlights from the Volleyball Coaching Wizards Project. 

The Volleyball Coaching Wizards Project is a compelling effort to distill the wisdom of elite volleyball coaches into accessible, thoughtful guidance for all levels of the sport. Here are its key concepts:


1. Purpose & Scope

  • The goal is to collect and share the coaching philosophies, mental frameworks, and methodologies of highly successful volleyball coaches—from grassroots to national teams, indoor to beach—without focusing solely on drills or tactics. It’s about understanding how they think, how they lead.volleyballcoachingwizards.com+12Google Books+12Amazon+12

  • Its mission is to inspire and inform coaches worldwide and to build a meaningful volleyball coaching literature akin to what exists in other sports.volleyballcoachingwizards.com+3Google Books+3Amazon+3

2. Interview-Based, Human-Centered Approach

  • Rather than formulaic exchanges, the project uses conversational, in-depth interviews to let coaches share their stories, beliefs, challenges, decision‑making processes, and philosophies—going beyond just their resumes.volleyballcoachingwizards.com

  • There's an emphasis on capturing their thinking and thought processes—not just what they do, but why and how they do it.

3. Diverse Voices Across the Sport

4. Multi‑Format Sharing

  • Insights are distributed via books, podcasts, blog posts, video and audio clips, making it easier for coaches to consume—whether they're reading, listening, or watching.volleyballcoachingwizards.com+1

5. Ongoing, Expansive Project

6. Creating a Coaching Legacy

  • A broader ambition of the project is to elevate volleyball coaching into a recognized literature, enriching the intellectual and philosophical foundations of the sport beyond mere playbooks or drill compilations.






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