"I feel like my coach doesn't like me, that's why I'm sitting on the bench all the time."
"Whenever my high school coach watches me, I feel so nervous I can't function!"
"I feel like my love for volleyball has been sucked right out of me."
Sounds familiar? We all have those moments (athletes and coaches alike!) where we are feeling a certain way, and blaming those feelings on our circumstances.
Luckily, as our 17s coach Kori Cooper has been known to say, our feelings are the one thing we have ultimate control over. No one can decide what we choose to feel about a situation.
A popular saying in our awesome sport is, "Volleyball is 90% mental... and the other 90% physical." Although that is said with some humor to it, really, it's true. Because volleyball, like life, is a game of mistakes. Whichever team can recover the quickest from its mistakes wins.
So, how do you recover from your mistakes?
This is where things get a little tricky. There is a line to be walked between focusing on the next ball that's coming, and learning enough from the past mistake to not repeat it. How can you, in a practical way, analyze what went wrong the first time and then safely move on?
1) A different kind of "feeling"...
How did your body feel when you made that mistake? Now before you go accusing us of contradicting ourselves, we're not talking about how it felt emotionally. How did it feel physically? Did you notice where your body was positioned, what point of the ball you contacted, where your eyes were directed... these are all things that can affect your accuracy during play. The more aware we become of our bodies and what we are actually doing at the point of a mistake the more likely we are to not repeat that same mistake. So first thing's first, figure out how it felt when you made the error.
2) Let it roll off...
Clinging to a mistake that happened during the last play, or multiple plays ago, is similar to tying 20 pound weights to your ankles. Go ahead, go tie some weights to your ankles and see if you can play ball that way. It's definitely difficult, if not altogether impossible. When a mistake happens, take ownership of it, and then move on. If your mind is lingering on the last play, how will you be able to focus on the play at hand? We all know where a lack of focus leads. How many of you have heard your coach, at some point in your career, scream from the bench, "Girls, it's time to get focused! Let's go!"
3) A forward thinker...
If you've taken your mistake in step 1 and analyzed it, this is the point where you determine what can change to make it better the next time. Missed your serve because you felt yourself cross your body? Focus on swinging straight through the next time you get to the service line. Get aced because you didn't use the angles of your platform properly and watch the ball in? Focus on the next time you'll pass that ball keeping your eyes glued to it and take control, using your proper body mechanics. Same can be said for every other area of play as well. If you can not only realize what you did WRONG, but figure out what you can do RIGHT that will make the play better next time, you'll be headed full force toward a win.
Everyone knows that female athletes are emotional players most of the time, which can be of tremendous benefit. However, sometimes the emotions can also get in the way, particularly when it comes to having a "next ball" mentality. If you can be real with yourself after making a mistake, no matter at what point in the game or how loudly the coach is ripping you from the sidelines, your chances of being successful the second time around increase substantially. So remember, what was your body doing that had a negative impact on the results, take ownership of the mistake and then let it roll off, and wrap it up with determining how you are going to make it better the next go 'round.
Cheers!
- Amarillo Juniors
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