10,000 Hours or Ten Years of Deliberate Practice

               I posted the question on my facebook if 10,000 hours of deliberate practice made an expert or a master. Out of the votes I got the results broke down to 63% saying no. We can debate the correct answer for years but to me, based on my research, this was the correct answer. Let's face many parents, coaches, and players are great to throw the phrase out, "10,000 hours of practice makes perfect." This is based on the research based on Ericsson (1994) and Gladwell (2008) where both of these physiologists did research on experts in music, chess, and sport to figure out what made an expert. Their studies found that all of the greats had these 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is the key to mastery however it isn't the only factor in making someone great. The poling results from facebook gave me 63% agreeing that 10,000 hours doesn't make a master. That 37% that is completes the 100% is what I believe is the amount of natural talent an athlete needs for the sport he or she wants to be a master in. Nature plays a larger role in being elite then most people want to believe. Remember we are talking masters and elite players here. Deliberate practice makes up the rest of the athlete to be elite. Deliberate practice isn't just practicing in your back yard. This style of practice is defined as:

Deliberate practice refers to a special type of practice that is purposeful and systematic. While regular practice might include mindless repetitions, deliberate practice requires focused attention and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance. (Ericsson et al., n.d.).

            Deliberate practice is the key part here. If an athlete isn't doing deliberate practice then he or she most likely isn't getting better. As a coach, it is our job to make sure the athletes are getting pushed to the limit in deliberate practice. Knowing how to set up a strong practice that is based in excellence and pushing the athletes to be the best. As parents, it is your job to select programs that have smart talented coaches that are going to push your athlete in deliberate practice. Parents it is your job to select a job that isn't just pretending to be a coach and just filling space. Coaching education is important and is easy to access. Allowing a coach to coach your athlete that is just breathing body (most likely a parent wanting to be a coach) is not acceptable. Demand coaching education from your coaches. Get what you pay for. After all, practice isn't enough. It needs to be deliberate practice and if it isn't then the athlete is messing out.

Question: Why so many clubs?

When I was in high school (2002-2006) there was only a handful of clubs for travel volleyball in Western NC. If I didn't go in Charlotte the choices were only three clubs. I had to drive 30-45 minutes to get to these clubs. No club had their own building. They used high school gyms or church gyms which may be further away then 45 minutes. Now there is 30-45 clubs with in a hour drive for volleyball clubs. Baseball, softball, and basketball are have more in the area than volleyball (though volleyball is becoming a large sport in NC).  So what happened in 12 years? Why is there more travel teams or clubs then McDonald's in towns? Is there a need for so many clubs? Are there that many players needing a place to play? Are there that many outstanding coaches who need a place to coach? Let's look at these questions together and hear me out here. 

1. What happened in 12 years. Population change is important factor. There are more players to play. With that comes big business. There is a lot of money to be made in club / travel sports and charlatans want to cash in on this. 

2.  More teams then McDonald's in a town. Pure pettiness. That is why small towns have two or more club teams. Look at the roots of the clubs starts. Most start with a parent being mad their child didn't make the club or travel team they wanted to make or the parent got mad at the coaches for not making their daughter a super star even though the player was never at practice or just plain out sucked.  The parents then go start there on club or team. 

3. Is there a need for so many clubs? No. There is no need for this. In my area alone there is a watering down of talent. Very few clubs will be able to compete for a USAV or AAU national title because teams don't stay together. There have been some that have won recently but the point is how many more teams could go on to win high level titles. We are to watered down.

4. Are there that many players needing a place to play? The decline of high school sports have left athletes who want to get better without much support in the school system.  Who wants to waste time with a coach who is a math teacher and the school begged him or her to coach because they signed up for coed volleyball in college (just using volleyball as the example) or played in middle school. High school programs overall are starving players of the team spirit and the sport. Not all of these programs do this but most. Players need a place to be a family and grow in a sport.

5. Coaches needing a place to coach. No. There is not that many outstanding coaches who need a place to coach. In fact, I believe there needs to be a dramatic scaling back of coaches and more coaching education. Look at the travel teams or the clubs. The coaches are parents or the young adults children of who coaches in the club. Do they know how to coach? No. Do they know how to player develop? No. When I attend tournaments I look around at the clubs there and look at the coaches. Do that next time you go to an event. Look at the coaches and watch them. Do you think these coaches are outstanding? I bet you will see my point. 

Should there be higher education for coaches at the youth level?

Should club or travel team coaches have higher education? Often times in travel or club volleyball, coaches are chosen based off of playing experiences or past coaching experience. This can range from playing at the highest level in the USA which would be playing on the national team or international play to only playing in middle school. Most commonly coaches have played in high school. Coaching experience ranges from coaching in NCAA to coaching recreational team for the local boosters club. According to the USA Today article by Jason Smith (2017), Paying to Play: How Much Do Club Sports Cost?, travel or club volleyball can cost upwards of $8000-$10,00.00 a year for the elite teams. These are teams that do national tournaments and do travel out of the state a lot. To look at an average team. Not the elite top teams nor the less competitive teams but at a team that is ranked middle of the road so to speak.  The cost is between $3000-$6000.00 a season. 

Should club or travel team coaches have higher education? A normal club volleyball season runs for 6 months. These 6 months are filled with tournaments and practices. The article by Smith (2017) adds that most parents (40% of them) believe that their child will get a college scholarship that will pay for half of the students tuition. With these numbers wouldn't it serve to reason that higher coaching education should be required to coach club or travel teams? Parents are paying coaches to equip their child with skills to get them money for being an athlete and not only an athlete but a top athlete at that. There are many factors that play a role in an athletes ability to on a college roster. DNA makes up most of the factors (tall, explosive quickness, self-motivated, etc,) however, coaching and skills make up the rest. 

Club or travel coaches should have higher education. The reason is you get what you pay for. Does education make a coach good or bad? That is based on the person who is the coach; What education does is take a good coach and prepare him or her to be a better coach. A coach who understands methods of coaching past X's and O's. Knowing the game is highly important to teaching an athlete how to play but what about rest and recovery methods or off-season workout plans that are sport specific? There is more to volleyball and being an athlete than just sort of knowing how to play the game. There is more to coaching than being willing. Parents should call for higher education among club and travel coaches. Parents should get their moneys worth.  

http://usatodayhss.com/2017/paying-to-play-how-much-do-club-sports-cost

Volleyball 101

Top terms I believe every volleyball player needs to know and understand.  

• In System: The setter gets the ball in target. He or she is setting from target which allows a team to run a full offense.
• Out of System: The setter gets the ball NOT in target. This forces the setter to set limited options. This can also cause a easier ball to defend from hitters. 
• The Corners: When a coach refers to "put the ball in a corner" he or she means to hit, push, or pass the ball to deep spot 1 (right side) and deep spot 2 (left side). Getting the ball to this spot can cause a team to get out of system or give up the point.
• Seam: The seam can be used in two different ways. The first way is with blockers. When a team is blocking with two or three blockers, a seam is created between the blockers bodies. The space in between the blockers is what is called the seam. The second use of the word in volleyball is for serve receive. The space between the passers is referred to as the seam. Putting the ball in the seam means serving the ball in between the two passers so there is confusion as to who gets the ball. 
• The Pins: The antennas. 
• Read Blocking: Read blocking means the blockers are allow to set their block based on their read of the hitter. 
• Set Blocking: The block is set based on what the coach has told the blockers. It is pre-set and not changed by where the hitter moves.
• The BIC: A back row attack that goes over the middle front hitter. The set is tight to slightly in front of the ten foot line to allow the hitter to hit the ball close to the front row.

These are just a few terms. As I see the need for this list to grow I will add to it. 

#ccvc #volleyball #setsinthecity #volleyball101 #girlsvolleyball #boysvolleyball #volleyballterms 

Getting stronger

I have been a gym rat since I was 12 years old. I love being in a gym and I love working out.  I have always been strong and from a very young age I knew I was strong. Going to the gym a few times a week as been apart of my life since I was 18 years old and working with a trainer. In college I worked out and even took classes in it.  Since starting out coaching I have noticed that most athletes don't have a proper workout routine and most players don't see the need in making their athlete get stronger. I am not sure why not. Everyone can be stronger. No one to my knowledge as ever said "I would do some much better in sports or life if I was weaker." That is crazy to think about! You may not want to sell tickets to your "gun show" but being stronger is always better. Shoulders and arms are a key element that I feel gets overlooked. Basic arm and shoulder workouts can be simple. Push Ups.

I watched last night young male athletes who are in good shape struggle with push ups. They were different kinds of push ups but they struggled through them. The trainer went push up for push up with them but the 10 years plus young males still struggled. The one athlete who is in weight training in high school sited that his problem was he ran a lot during weight training but the truth is he just wasn't very strong. This isn't okay.  We need to bring back strong! I encourage you to do some push ups today! Be stronger!

100 wins

February 13th, 2017 could be a record setting day for women's sports and really sports in general. The University of Connecticut is women's basketball team goes for 100 straight wins in NCAA D1 basketball.

   What an amazing feat. As a coach I am always happy with back to back wins but to think about 100 in row! Wow. This record didn't happen over night. UCONN just didn't win 99 games in a row in one week or even month. We are talking since 2014 they have been working hard to get these wins. UCONN has graduated players, added new players, and are playing in big games or normal games. 

The coach is one thing that has remained the same. Coach Geno has become one of the best coaches in the sport of basketball if not the best. If he coached men he would be the all time greatest coach of basketball. Sadly, he coaches women therefore may people say he doesn't have competition he would have if coaching men.  That just sounds like sour grapes to me. He has played within the same rules and guidelines that all other teams both male an female have in the NCAA. 100 wins. Just take time to count to 100! Even that takes time. If UCONN wins tonight they will have won 4000 minutes of basketball.  Let that set in. Good luck tonight UCONN! 

Kind of like picking out fruit

When selecting a travel team for your child what should you look for?

A question I get asked a lot of times just reworded. Volleyball is my thing so I always get parents asking me to tell them about my club or my favorite way it's worded... "so what do ya'll do?" I am in the south so we get the "ya'll" thrown in there. I am never sure how to answer this question. The sales rep inside me wants to give an answer fitted to who I am talking to but the coach in me wants to tell them about all the smart hard work we put in to volleyball. I end up giving the parent a general overview of what my club does and gives to the athletes.  The reason for that kind of answer is parents don't know or don't know how to phrase what they are looking for in travel sports teams.

Recently I learned about the joys of cooking with bananas.  I knew about banana bread or banana pudding (again, I am in the south) and like everyone else I knew about just eating them! For the three ways I just listed to use bananas for cooking or eating, all require a ripe to very ripe banana; therefore, when going banana shopping you would look for the ripest ones the store offered. What about soup? Banana fries?  There is a whole world of dishes that require green bananas and would require you selecting the greenest bananas the store had to offer. If you didn't find the kind of banana's you wanted at one store you would simply switch stores till you found what you wanted or made a compromise.

Bananas are a easy metaphor for us to see. When picking out a travel team you have to know what end product you want to make. You don't pick up green bananas and make banana pudding with them.  If you want your child to be a great shooter in basketball then you have 1. ID that is what you want. 2. Find a team that has coaches that focus on shooting. 3. Will allow your child the chance to get to shoot. 4. Alumni or teams that scored a lot of points. 5. Will take your child.

Figure out what you are looking for in a club. Ask your child what he or she wants to do with the sport. If they are just wanting to be a team and have friends... don't waste $$$ on that. Look for cheaper clubs.  If your child wants to be the next Mad Bum (MLB pitcher) then you better find a team that has good pitching coaches. Don't just ask directors or coaches what they do in general terms. Ask particular questions and have reasons for asking. Picking a travel team is kind of like picking a fruit. You don't pick the rotten ones and you know what you want to do with it when you buy it.