Board member BJ Le Roy: How to build trust in your team to help it to succeed
Friday, November 20th, 2020
By BJ Le Roy
Badger Region Board Member
I am competitive. As coach, I love to win. As a board member, I’m competing for membership in our organization, as opposed to other activities. As a learner, I want to know more, learn faster, and apply it better. In coach education, I want volleyball coaches to be better than coaches in every other sport.
Most coaches that have been around a while tell the same story; “I wish I could go back and apologize to my first teams…” Coaches (myself included) are typically pretty bad at the start. Some improve.
The big difference between good and bad coaching; “Earn their trust.” If you say that phrase to a new coach, they’ll look at you sideways. It’s far too philosophical for someone that is in the tall grass, struggling to figure out rotations and drills and team systems and “Why are we losing?”
To help your coaching career at any stage, here are some practical ideas to help you build trust, in order of simplest (and most important) to only slightly more taxing. These tips are universal to every level I’ve coached, from toddlers to pros.
Play more
Not practice more…play more during practice. “The game teaches the game.” You’ll see people dismiss this statement, because they don’t understand it. Without the game, you aren’t learning the game; you’re learning something else. It’s that simple.
Doing something that doesn’t resemble playing is not necessarily bad, just inefficient. Coaches want to be creative, but most concocted drills are simply a guess. Why not know? Playing is proven to get you there faster.
Use your creativity with these practice hacks. Modify games for smaller numbers; 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, so that more volleyballs are flying. Use pool noodles woven into the net as extra antennas to create more courts. Learn how to play “speed” style, which has been shown to be the most efficient way to get a lot of game reps. Give points only for specific things, not for every rally. Playing is more fun; learning through play is more efficient; that builds trust.
Talk less
Coaches tend to preach. For the players, this is torture. A friend who coaches boys says, “When I want to punish them, I make them listen to me talk for more than 30 seconds.”
Talking less doesn’t mean teaching less. Rather than preaching to the team, individualize your comments. Rarely does the whole team need the same advice. Pull a player aside to ask questions or redirect their attention. This lets everyone else keep playing (i.e. learning). It also reduces the distracting verbal diarrhea coaches tend to display during practice.
Finally, keep the focus on one thing at a time, even though they are performing all the skills. Example; “Let’s work on hitting around the block.” Then send the player out to pass, play defense, block, set and every once in a while, take a chance at “hitting around the block.” They’ll remember it better if it happens in the game. Remembering better builds trust.
Plan ferociously
Put your coaching energy into planning the season, planning the practice, planning the feedback you’ll give. Practice asking questions, rather than dictating answers. Example; “You hit through the hole in the block that time. What else would have worked?” In your head, practice these conversations with each player so you’re prepared once you’re in the gym.
For newer coaches, you don’t have to know all the answers. “I don’t know, I’ll find out” is a statement that shows you aren’t perfect, and that you’re willing to help the player. It builds trust.
Serve them
“How can I help you?” is the opening line in every service industry. Coaches can learn from this very simple question.
The players pay us; we are their client. As coaches we have agendas, like winning and keeping our jobs. Find out what the player’s agendas are, so that you can help achieve their goals. Trust comes from improving the things they value.
Give choices
Emerging research (now more than 15 years old) shows that giving choices (called “autonomy”) helps player engagement. When they get to choose, it leads to retention and faster improvement. Which leads to trust.
Examples; “Can I coach you right now?” The first time I heard this question, it was a D1 top ten coach, talking to a 13 year old. She said yes (of course). Sometimes a player says yes, but you can tell it’s really “no”. Respect that. It builds trust. Another example; “We’re going to do these two drills…which do you want to do first?” Simple as this is, you’ve given some ownership. Finally; “What do you want to work on tomorrow?” Then plan the ideas into practice.
Losing is the punishment
When I ask teachers how they punish kids that don’t learn, they give me a puzzled look. “You can’t remember 4 x 4? Give me 16 pushups.” It sounds ridiculous, yet coaches use this tactic. Incorrectly disguised as “consequences”, we punish the losing team with running lines, and we punish a player who “didn’t go for it” with pushups.
If we want to treat the gym like a classroom where learning occurs, take a note from the teachers; stop the punishments. Instead, teach. “How can you tell that ball was yours?” Young players often don’t know it was theirs. Lack of effort? You’re off the court. In a real game, lack of effort means you’ll lose, which sends you home early. Punishment erodes trust.
Good coaching is the number one thing that attracts players. It’s not uniforms or trophies or even friends. Coaches build the environment our players experience. The players remember how you made them feel. It’s that feeling (trust) that keeps them coming back.
