Connect Magazine - Term 1, 2023

Focus on a Coach

   Mike Marshall with the Senior Boys Volleyball Team  by KingsWay School

A day in the life of a Volleyball Coach

In every volleyball match I’ve watched, there comes a moment in the game when you sense special energy welling up in a team. An energy which lifts the team to new heights they didn’t think possible and a feeling of camaraderie that often transcends anything they have experienced. This happens when the team is all in sync, and their movement flows. When serves are so good, the opposition finds them hard to return. When pickups are spot on and travel high into the 3-metre zone. When the setting is so accurate, the attackers find it easy to time their swings, and when spikes are hit so hard, they are powering past any defensive blocks. This is nirvana for any volleyball coach to achieve with their team, even if only briefly.

I had the pleasure of witnessing such a moment when our team played against our nemesis opposition at the recent Auckland champs held in March this year. Nemesis in that we had come oh so close to beating them in the regular super league season on a few occasions, but due to a few tough calls, we always came up short and ended up losing. As a result of the way the draws were calculated, come day 2 of the tournament, we were scheduled to play against our old foe. It was to be the first match of the day for us. Our team knew who we would be playing the night before, so we had plenty of time to stew over how our current rotation would work in our attacking and defensive patterns. 

At game time, our team was pumped and raring to go. We came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders, built a sizeable cushion in points, 11 in fact and controlled the set. The energy was flowing. It’s difficult, though, to keep that momentum the whole set, and the opposition came back at us. It got close at one stage, with them clawing back to a 3-point margin, but we managed to close out the first set. 1-0 to us. In the second set, we lost focus and were well beaten by some strong serving. 1-1. Third and deciding set ebbed and flowed to a point where it was 13-12 in our favour after some more strong serving from them. The scoreline was tight as it was the first team to 15 points that won the match. I call a timeout to gather the troops and remind them how close we are to winning the game. Only a power play to win the side out (1 point) and then a strong serve to finish the game, the match point. Opposition serves, our pickup is good, the set is accurate, and the ball is hammered home in a perfect spike. Good vibes are building. The team gather for their celebratory point clap with enthusiasm. 14-12, and so far all is going according to plan. Now for the strong serve from us, except this time, there is too much adrenaline flowing, and the serve is hit hard and goes long. 14-13. We can obtain victory now with a side out. I shout to the team to focus on this point. I don’t want the opposition to get a sniff of victory as we had previously lost to them from this position. We retrieve their serve accurately to our setter, we attack and end up spiking the ball powerfully, but they somehow manage to pick up our shot and get the ball back over the net. Our team rallies again to set up another spike attempt, except this time our spiker intelligently chooses to hit over the block with heavy topspin, so the ball lands deep in the open court. Game over, and we win against our nemesis team for the first time this year. Nirvana! The team were thrilled and celebrated accordingly with a huge release of energy. It was a fantastic victory.

These special moments keep me wanting to come back for more as a coach. Seeing how the team can play and gel as a unit and being part of that special energy is so motivating. I’ll be there for them in the next season to enjoy many more memorable moments.

Mike Marshall
Senior School Volleyball Coach