QuestionQUESTION: well since you're a volleyball coach, i wanted to know if you think i have a chance to make the team. ok so ill try to keep this short. im a junior in high school. ive never been on a volleyball team before. i wanted to try out as a freshman but i was too nervous and intimidated.
i would consider myself good. i can pass really well, and i went to a hitters camp over the summer so ive improved my hitting a lott. i havent mastered the overhand serve yet, but i can serve it over the net. i dive all the time to try to save the ball and i hustle to every single ball.
it seems like the coach really likes me. he pulls me aside and talks to me a lot. the first day of camp he was like whoa, ask that girl what her name is. and he always smiles at me.
tryouts have been going on for a week now. and three cuts have already been made and im still here. but im the only one left who has no real game experience besides the freshmen.
the other day the coach called me over and told me he knows how hard it is to be a junior and have no real experience. then he said he was really impressed with my passing ability and aggressiveness.
do you think he meant this in a good way, like i have a chance to make the team? or in a bad way, like i impressed him, but he doesnt think ill make it? (like to let me down easy)
and if you were choosing players for your team (jv) would you pick a girl who hasnt played before (on a team) over a sophomore that was on the freshmen team assuming she was more skilled?
what does a coach look for in his volleyball players?
sorry for all the questions in one. im just really nervous and i really want to make the team. thanks in advance
ANSWER: Good evening and welcome to www.allexperts.com. It's great to hear from you!
Before I go on, please realize the following. (a) I haven't seen you. (b) I haven't met your coach, so I have no idea if what he says is sincere or "letting you down easy". (c) Most importantly, I haven't seen your competition to make the team. Why is that the most important? B/c here in Roanoke, if you were a junior rookie, you'd have 0% chance of making some of the public school teams that compete for their conference championship each year. But a few miles down the road, you'd have a 100% chance of making tat private school team b/c their team is so weak and/or they only have 15 or 20 girls in the entire high school.
In order to keep a player, the girl must offer something to the team. This may be passing, serving, spiking, etc. Or it may be just cheering, enthusiasm, hustle, energy.
This is what I look for in volleyball players:
Can she help the team this year?
If not, can she help the team next year? or the year after?
If the answer to that question is also no, then there's no reason to keep her.
After 3 girls have been cut, the coach must believe you have more to offer than they do! So that's a real positive for you! Maybe he thinks you can pass/dig. Or maybe he thinks you can be a role model for hustle/spirit.
But you must promise me that if you make the team, you won't fuss about playing time or starting acting selfish when you don't get to play much. If there are 6 or 8 girls who are better than you (and you probably already know if that's the case), then you aren't expecting much playing time. And if some of these girls have been playing school ball and club ball since the 7th grade, then you don't expect to play ahead of them.
So, if you make the team as a rookie junior, REJOICE!! And keep on rejoicing throughout the season. B/c most rookie juniors can't make a team.
If you don't make the team, then that just means the other girls were better. That's all. It's to be expected, and it's normal.
Finally, you asked a question about who I would take on my team? First, I would almost never let a junior play JV. Why? (a) The only way I'd keep a junior on JV is if there weren't enough 8th and 9th and 10th graders trying out. (b) I've let 2 juniors play JV, and neither one even tried out the next year, even though they promised. Grrrrrr. Plus (c) JV is the place where girls are supposed to be getting ready to play varsity. JV is the building ground for our varsity program. Keep a junior on there who has 1 more year? And cut a 9th grader who has 3 more years? That makes no sense.
Once again: Can you help the program this year? or next year? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, you have a chance to make the team. Make sure at your next practice that you continue to do everything in your power to give the coach a reason to keep you!
GOOD LUCK, please tell me how it goes, and please visit me at www.coachhouser.com! I think you'll like all the smiling faces, and maybe you can convince your coach to invite my staff to yoru school to direct a camp next summer!!
Coach Houser
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks so much. Another thing I forgot to mention is that it's only 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders that try out and we have our own freshmen team.
AnswerSo your school has 3 teams for 9th - 12th grade?
And 8th graders aren't allowed to tryout for any team?
If that's the case, you have a better chance of making a team!
If you can't follow up again, you may choose to email me at
[email protected].
Coach Houser
