Being a director of a club I hear from our families as well as families in other clubs in the area. Many people, outside of our club, seek my advice concerning their daughter and one of the most common concerns is playing time. I also have parents ask me how to handle "mean" coaches, "unfair" coaching and lack of coaching. I can not tell you how often the term "I pay just as much as everyone else/I pay a lot of money so my daughter..... (fill in your own frustration)". So at the end of the day what does your money really buy?
If you take the fees that your club collects you can break it down to specific purchases, gym rental, tournament registrations, membership fees, coaches stipends, coaches travels, player warms ups, etc, etc.
So what can you expect from paying your fees? Let me start with what you can not expect and that is playing time. Volleyball is a competitive sport and playing time will not be fair/equal for all athletes, the athletes on the court will be the athletes that add to the success of a team. If you child wants to be on the court more not only will they need to improve, but improve enough to "beat out" another teammate for a position. If you want a guarantee of your child being on the court 100% of the time you'll need to do one of two things, find a volleyball team with only 6 players or have your child play an individual sport (ie. tennis).
You can also not expect a "perfect" experience. Each season there are challenges to overcome and some of those challenges mean little or no playing time, personality conflicts between athletes, personality conflicts between coach and player, lack of team success. There are no guarantees that your child will have a "perfect" experience meaning that there will be some challenges to overcome and to believe so is naive or a lack of experience with team sports. You can expect opportunities to teach your child and learn and grow for the positive... more later.
You can not expect a bid to the Junior National Championship. Paying lots of money or choosing a specific club does not guarantee a trip to the National Championship. It does not guarantee a "successful"/winning season. Success will be dependent on a number of factors, however, it takes only one or two challenges or personalities to keep a team from success/winning.
What should you expect from paying your club fees? I believe there are five things parents should expect from paying club fees they are:
1) Paying your fees should include the coach giving feedback/instruction to all players. You can and should expect the coach to teach and train your athlete especially at practices. If your child is not coach able you may find the coach giving less and less feedback to them. Being coach able means making effort to change according to what the coach is teaching. Although you child may not be on the court for competition they should have the coaches feedback at practices, which leads to the next expectation.
2) Every athlete should have opportunities, at practice, to work on skills and to improve. While a team is preparing for competition it may not be possible to work with every athlete on every position. However, athletes, throughout the season, should have opportunities to work on their specific skill sets as well as other areas of the game. Every athlete should be given opportunity to improve at practices.
3) You can expect that your athlete improve throughout the season. You do not want your child to move backwards but forwards and your club fees should include improvement in skills and understanding of the game.
4) Being coached at the club level you should expect the coach to make "game adjustments" towards the success of a team. If a player is not performing well then the coach should try to adjust to place the strongest team on the court. That adjustment may mean substituting a player or making an adjustment of rotation, moving players on the court to take advantage of strengths or hide weaknesses. There are factors that limit coaching decisions, such as substitution rules, but in general the coach should be making adjustments in response to what is happening on the court.
5) If you are lucky, your child and you will have a wonderful experience, but as mentioned above, there are always unforeseen challenges. You should expect opportunities to learn and grow towards a positive end. Use these challenges to work with your child to see the positive and develop character. It is easy to get upset and mad and walk away with bitterness and resentment but it takes character and integrity to work through challenges. Learning to stick with difficulties and see them through teaches your child to work with others even when it becomes difficult. Working with others during difficult times is a skill that will become more important when they have to work with others in their careers or when then have a spouse and children of their own. You should expect your coach to work with you during challenges that come up. Coaches should work towards resolution and character development.
When looking at clubs and coaches for your child it's up to you to do your research. Be sure to visit with other parents, always take their opinion with a grain of salt, coaches are people and we're not perfect. However, if a coach is receiving a majority of bad press you may want to avoid them versus a coach who receives a majority of good press. Talk to club directors about their programs and coaches and avoid clubs that speak negatively of other clubs, it demonstrates their attitude towards sportsmanship. If possible, watch them coaching and training athletes, how do they speak to them? How do they handle themselves?
If you are currently frustrated with your child's club or coach I would encourage to follow through on your commitment and finish the season. But be sure to watch other clubs and coaches for the remained of the season because there is always next year.
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