Coaching Management 11.4

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Coaching Management VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON EDITION 2003 VOL. XI, NO. 4 $5.00 Pregame Speeches Understanding Amenorrhea ON THE SAME COURT Communicating with club coaches ON THE SAME COURT Communicating with club coaches Pregame Speeches Understanding Amenorrhea

description

VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON EDITION 2003

Transcript of Coaching Management 11.4

Coaching ManagementV O L L E Y B A L L P R E S E A S O N E D I T I O N 2 0 0 3

VOL. XI, NO. 4 ■ $5.00

■ Pregame Speeches■ Understanding Amenorrhea

ON THE SAME COURTCommunicating with club coaches

ON THE SAME COURTCommunicating with club coaches■ Pregame Speeches■ Understanding Amenorrhea

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Circle No. 1

CONTENTS Coaching ManagementVolleyball Edition Preseason 2003

Vol. XI, No. 4

COACHING MANAGEMENT 1

Cover StoryOn the Same Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18They are often at odds, but club and school coaches can learn to be on thesame page with each other—provided they work at the relationship. It all beginswith opening the doors to each others’ gyms.

In the HuddleThe Eloquent Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Whether to inspire, inform, or both, the pregame speech is your last line of preparation. Don’t leave it to chance.

Sports MedicineOne Out of Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33The latest study shows that one out of four female athletes today suffer fromamenorrhea. And the ramifications for their health are truly frightening.

LOCKER ROOM Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . 2High schools to adopt rally scoring …Title IX update … New cable networkto air college volleyball … Tips oncoaching a record-breaker … A look at HIPAA’s effect on athletics …NCAA rules changes for 2003.

Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14On the verge of collecting her 700thwin, Sacramento State’s DebbyColberg talks about recruiting, having passion for your ideas, andher stint as an athletic director.

Advertising Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

On the cover: Southern Tier (Elmira, N.Y.)Volleyball Club Coach Patti Perone (right) talkswith Corning West (N.Y.) High School HeadCoach Irene Furness at a Southern Tier practiceearlier this spring. Photo by Dede Hatch.

p. 29p. 2

The Volleyball Court. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Catalog Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Uniforms & Apparel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Team Equipment Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45More New Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Web Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

p. 33

Advertising Sales AssociatesDiedra Harkenrider, (607) 257-6970, ext. 24Sheryl Shaffer, (607) 257-6970, ext. 21

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Mailing lists for Coaching Management Volleyball areprovided by the Clell Wade Coaches Directory.

The Coaching Management volleyball edition is publishedin April and December by MAG, Inc. and is distributedfree to college and high school coaches in the UnitedStates and Canada. Copyright © 2003 by MAG, Inc. Allrights reserved. Text may not be reproduced in any man-ner, in whole or in part, without the permission of the pub-lisher. Unsolicited materials will not be returned unlessaccompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.Coaching Management is printed by Banta PublicationsGroup, Kansas City, MO. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to: Coaching Management, P.O. Box 4806, Ithaca,N.Y. 14852.

Printed in the U.S.A.

Publisher Mark GoldbergCirculation Director Mark SheaArt Director Pamela CrawfordArt AssistantDina StanderBusiness ManagerPennie Small

Editor-in-Chief Eleanor FrankelAssociate Editors Jim CatalanoGuillermo MetzAssistant Editors Kenny BerkowitzDavid HillDennis ReadLaura Smith

Production Manager Kristin AyersAsst. Production ManagerKristi KempfProduction Assistants Jonni CampbellHildi GerhartIT ManagerMark Nye

Prepress ManagerAdam Berenstain Ad Materials CoordinatorMike TownsendSpecial Projects Dave WohlhueterAdministrative AssistantsSharon Barbell Daniela ReisAmy Walton

Rally ScoringMoves to HighSchoolsAfter more than five years ofdiscussion, the NFHS VolleyballRules Committee has approvedrally scoring for the 2004-05season. Responsibility for im-plementing the new scoringsystem rests in the hands ofindividual state associations,but after a year-long experi-ment, at least 21 states planto adopt rally scoring thiscoming fall.

“People who watch rally scor-ing are going to find the gamemore exciting than the tradi-tional side-out scoring,” saysCynthia Doyle, NFHS AssistantDirector and liaison to the Vol-leyball Rules Committee. “It’sgoing to encourage people tobe more engaged in the game.There are a lot of good thingsabout rally scoring, and it’sexciting for high schools tomake the change.”

“Rally scoring may be new inthe eyes of the National Fed-eration, but it’s not a newthing,” adds Sheryl Solberg,Chair of the NFHS VolleyballRules Committee and AssistantExecutive Secretary of theNorth Dakota High School Act-ivities Association. “In fact, wehad the only rules code thatdidn’t use rally scoring, and asit’s gradually become morepopular, our committee hasdiscussed it in great detail.”

After contacting state associa-tions for their views about rallyscoring, the rules committeereceived 25 positive responsesand nine negative responses,with 16 associations makingno response. Solberg thencontacted the National Feder-ation Coaches Association andthe National Federation OfficialsAssociation, both of whichresponded positively before

■ Games will be played to 25points, except for the fifthand deciding game, whichwill be played to 15 points.A team must win by twopoints, and there is no scor-ing cap.

■ Let serves will be allowed.

■ Each team will be allowedtwo time-outs per game.

After collecting data fromstates that experimented with

game, so the committeedecided to allow the servesin order to keep the momen-tum of the match.

The committee expects thechange will have some effecton fiscal considerations, sched-uling, and team travel. Statesthat currently use a best two-of-three format may need toraise officials’ pay for thelonger matches, and adminis-trators concerned about theirbudgets may choose to sched-ule more matches in triangu-lars and quadrangulars. Themore consistent match lengthshould make it possible toschedule matches againstmore than one opponent in anight, and will make traveltimes more predictable.

The committee also approvedan interesting rule focusingon unsportsmanlike conductbetween coaches and theirplayers. Under new Rule 12-2-7f, coaches can now be penal-ized for baiting or tauntinganyone involved in the contest,not just their opponents.

“The Federation has taken avery progressive position whenit comes to sportsmanship,”says Doyle. “We have to pro-tect the family atmosphere ofhigh school sports and empha-size that the games should betreated as family events bythe coaches, officials, and fans.”

Title IX CommissionIssues ReportAlthough the Secretary ofEducation’s Commission onOpportunity in Athletics hascompleted its efforts and is-sued its report on Title IX, thefull effect of its work has yetto be determined. UnitedStates Education DepartmentSecretary Rod Paige has notannounced any changes inTitle IX enforcement guide-lines in the wake of the report,but did indicate that he wouldconsider only recommenda-

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2 COACHING MANAGEMENT

the new rules last year, thecommittee found that theaverage length of a rally scoredgame is about 18 minutes,short enough for almost allmatches to be completed inunder two hours. Accordingto Solberg, the data also sug-gests that matches between

the rules committee votedunanimously to adopt rallyscoring at its January meeting.

Under the new rules, whichbecome mandatory for the2004-05 season:

■ All matches will follow a bestthree-of-five game format.

Over the next two seasons, high school teams will join their col-lege counterparts in using rally scoring. Above, Lewis-Palmer(Monument, Colo.) High School player Angela Wiggins returnsa serve during a 2002 state tournament match.

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Other rules changes for 2003 affect the pregame coin toss, wearing of jewelry, and administrationof time-outs. These can be found at: nfhs.org/press/volleyball_rules_changes03.html.

uneven teams will take moretime, compared to side-outscored matches, with fewerblowouts and a higher numberof points for the weaker team.

Some people were concernedthat rally scoring might resultin fewer substitutions, butaccording to last year’s data,the average number of partic-ipants remained nearly thesame. Other statistics showedless than one let serve per

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Circle No. 2

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4 COACHING MANAGEMENT

tions that were unanimouslyapproved by the Commission.

This move took some of themore contentious recommen-dations off the table, but leftseveral other suggestions,

Marketing its programming tothe country’s 17 million collegestudents and 75 million collegealumni, CSTV hopes to createa niche with Olympic-stylestorytelling, and will featuredocumentaries, coaches’ shows,profiles, and news broadcastsfrom its studios in New YorkCity. So far, CSTV has signedagreements with 27 majorcollege athletic conferences,including the Big East, BigSouth, Big Ten, Big 12, IvyLeague, Southland, Mid-Con-tinent, and West Coast.

CSTV intends to begin its vol-leyball coverage with broad-casts of seven to 12 regularseason Division I women’sgames. The program will becalled “The AVCA Game ofthe Week” and will featurematch-ups suggested bycoaches and chosen by theAVCA with help from Bevilac-qua and Shelly Harper, theAVCA’s media consultant.Athletic departments will likelybe required to subsidize anybroadcasts from their school.

Along with looking for high-quality, competitive match-ups,CSTV will be choosing arenasthat have great fans. “Wewant hometown heroes, tradi-tional rivalries, and games thatgo down to the wire,” saysHarper, founder of SharperMedia, located near Houston.“We want schools that canguarantee their stands will befilled with lots of kids yellingand cheering.

“If there are coaches outthere who are interested, theyshould call me, because I cantell them what their optionsare, let them know about therealistic costs of doing business,and help them work throughthat process,” continuesHarper. “It’s a great opportu-nity for schools willing tomake some adjustments togain additional exposure fortheir programs.”

“We’ve been stressing to ourcoaches that if they are lucky

Foudy and former Olympicswimmer Donna de Varonaissued their own minorityreport claiming some of theCommission’s recommenda-tions would increase discrimi-nation against women. They

Cynthia Cooper, co-chair of the Commission on Opportunity inAthletics, speaks during a meeting in late January. She calls thegroup’s final report a “first step in a lengthy public dialogue.”

such as developing clearerguidelines for complying withTitle IX, giving equal weight tothe three prongs currently usedas compliance standards,making clear that the cuttingof men’s sports is a “disfa-vored” way of complying withTitle IX, and establishing uni-form enforcement of Title IX inall regions of the country.

Some commission membersfelt the report opened the doorfor the weakening of Title IXenforcement. Soccer star Julie

are especially concerned aboutthe Commission’s recommen-dation that the Departmentof Education explore differentways of demonstrating equitybeyond the current three-prong test.

There’s little doubt that vol-leyball has reaped great ben-efits from Title IX legislation asthe number of NCAA women’svolleyball teams has grown bymore than 57 percent in thelast 20 years. The men’s gamesaw a 15 percent increase over

the same period, but somecritics point to Title IX as areason behind the reduction inDivision I men’s teams from33 in 1981-82 to 22 in 2000-01.

No timetable has been madepublic for Paige to announceany changes to the guidelinesused to determine Title IXcompliance. The only certain-ties are that the EducationDepartment will not changethe law itself (only Congresscan do that) and that thedebate over Title IX implemen-tation will continue.

CSTV To AirVolleyballToo often, college volleyballfinds itself ignored by televi-sion. Starting with the upcom-ing fall season, a new 24-hourdigital cable network plans tochange that. College SportsTelevision (CSTV) officiallylaunched operations on April7 with a promise to cover thebroadest variety of collegesports—especially women’ssports, including volleyball.

“We see volleyball as part ofa core group of sports that fitperfectly with our mission,”says Chris Bevilacqua, Execu-tive Vice President of CSTV.“It’s a great sport to watch,not only because it’s got greataction, but because it has greatstories, and it fits very nicelyinto a two-hour time slot.”

“We’re very excited to be apart of this,” says KatherineMcConnell, Executive Directorof the American VolleyballCoaches Association (AVCA).“These matches will help volleyball by broadening itsappeal, increasing awarenessof the sport, and reachingadditional fans and support-ers. In the past, it seems asthough volleyball has some-times missed out on some keywindows of opportunity, butnow we’re moving in the rightdirection.”

A copy of the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics’final report, titled “Open To All: Title IX at 30” can befound on the Department of Education’s Web site atwww.ed.gov/pubs/titleixat30/index.html.

A copy of the minority report issued through the NationalWomen’s Law Center can be found on the “Athletics”section of the NWLC Web site www.nwlc.org.

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6 COACHING MANAGEMENT

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Privacy Law MayLimit Injury TalkIf your players never suffer aninjury, you don’t need to worryabout the federal Health Insur-ance Portability and Account-ability Act (HIPAA). Otherwise,you may learn about it first-hand when you find healthcareproviders less willing than theyonce were to talk about themedical details of athletes intheir care. Fortunately, youcan head off any communica-tions troubles by taking a fewadministrative steps beforethe season starts.

Congress adopted HIPAA in1996, with a start date of

enough to be chosen for oneof the broadcasts, they needto be flexible,” adds McCon-nell. “They need to be accom-modating and to recognize thegreater good of being able toshowcase the game.”

CSTV will also get involved withthe men’s collegiate game,broadcasting three conferencechampionships on April 26.

The newly formed College Sports Television network will be lookingto broadcast games next season in arenas with lots of fans. Wiscon-sin, shown above, ranked third in attendance last season amongNCAA Division I women’s teams.

April 14 of this year, primarilyto make it easier for workersto keep their health insurancecoverage when they changejobs. But the law also forbidsmost health care providersfrom disclosing medical infor-mation about patients withouttheir consent, and it’s thisprovision that may prove frus-trating to volleyball coaches.

Healthcare workers affected(called “covered entities” inHIPAA jargon) are any whoconduct electronic transmis-sions of private medical infor-mation. This includes a schoolathletic trainer who bills ath-letes’ insurance companies orauthorizes payments to outsideproviders. Thus, most colle-giate athletic trainers are cov-ered entities; the status ofhigh school athletic trainersvaries.

HIPAA makes it illegal for cov-ered entities to speak freelyabout a student-athlete’s med-ical information. For example,if an athlete becomes injured,the team physician cannot dis-cuss the injury with the mediawithout the athlete’s consent.

Fortunately, the U.S. Depart-ment of Health and HumanServices (HHS) has recentlyclarified the law so coaches arenot kept out of the loop. If ahealthcare worker needs tocommunicate medical infor-mation to a coach for treat-ment purposes and follow-upcare, HIPAA will not stand inthe way.

Since a coach is rarely a “cov-ered entity,” he or she is thenallowed to disclose the infor-mation to anyone he or shewants to. However, it may beprudent for coaches to discloseto anyone else only what’sabsolutely necessary. Thishelps protect the originaltreating health care workersfrom being seen as carelesswith information.

For sure, HIPAA’s effect onathletics is complicated. That’s

why most athletic departmentsare simply asking student-athletes to sign forms allowingtheir medical providers thefreedom to disclose informationas they see fit. These releasescan be modeled after thosealready used by many institu-tions to comply with the Feder-al Educational Records PrivacyAct (FERPA).

HHS says it’s okay to requireathletes to sign releases to beallowed to play, and offersthese guidelines: The releasesmust have an expiration date,such as the end of the sport’sseason or the academic year;must specify who may disclosemedical information; must statewho can receive the informa-tion—the coach, the athleticdirector, and perhaps themedia; and must note that ifthe information is disclosed toa non-covered entity, such as acoach, HIPAA may no longerapply to that information.

Elizabeth Squeglia, a partnerin the Columbus, Ohio, lawfirm of Bricker & Eckler, whohas been focusing her practiceon preparing for HIPAA, saysrelease forms can be fairlystraightforward. “I could seean authorization that readssomething like, ‘My treatingphysician, Dr. Mike Jones, isauthorized to disclose informa-tion regarding any injuries Imight receive during the courseof the season, as well as mygeneral fitness to play, to mycoach or any designatedmember of the coaching staff,’”she says.

“In the past, there has been arelatively free flow of informa-tion between the physiciansand the coaching staff and theother people who have todecide if an athlete can becleared to play,” continuesSqueglia. “The way they haveconducted those discussionsand transferred informationmay have to change, becausethere may need to be anauthorization as a bridge toallow that to occur.”

For more information, seewww.cstv.com on the Web,or contact Shelly Harper,AVCA Media Consultant, at (936) 582-2256, orwww.sharpermedia.net.

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Circle No. 4

Coaching aRecord-SetterWhen fifth-grader CassieWolpern walked into a varsitypractice at Belle Plaine (Minn.)High School seven years agoand had no trouble hangingwith the state-ranked team,Head Coach Donna BrintonHawkins knew she was witnes-sing the start of somethingspecial.

“You showed her somethingonce, and that was all it took,”Brinton Hawkins recalls. “Iknew at that point we hadsomething great coming.”

Last fall, Wolpern shatteredthe national four-year killrecord in convincing fashion toend a high school career thatmore than lived up to its earlypromise. She slammed home

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added the honor to severalshe’d already stacked up:three years on the MinnesotaAll-State Team, five years onthe All-Conference Team,three years as ConferenceMVP, and four Junior OlympicsAll-National Player honors.

When the team returned fromthe tournament, the schoolheld a ceremony to honorWolpern’s achievement. “It’sexciting for a small school likeBelle Plaine to have an athletelike this, and to have an accom-plishment like this for ourrecord books,” Brinton Hawkinssays. “It’s something for theentire school and the commu-nity to be proud of.”

While aware that her starplayer was breathing downthe neck of a national record,Brinton Hawkins says sheavoided making it the focus of

the season. “The team alwayshas to come first,” she says.“You keep the record in theback of your mind, but yourreal focus has to be on thematch in front of you.”

Coaching an exceptional play-er isn’t without challenges.“You have to communicate tothe other players that oneplayer cannot do anythingwithout the support of theteam,” Brinton Hawkins says,“and that this isn’t about oneperson.”

Another challenge? “Sheknows more than I do!” Brin-ton Hawkins says. “She’s hadexceptional, college-levelcoaches in club, and for me,that presented a challenge.

“I told her that my job wasnot really to teach her any-thing, because her knowledge

2,638 spikes in grades ninethrough 12 to break the previ-ous record of 2,463 set byCarry Miller of Jackson, Mich.,in 1999.

Brinton Hawkins learned thatWolpern was within strikingdistance of the national recordfrom her club coach last sum-mer. “When we realized shewas approaching it, we start-ed keeping track to makesure we wouldn’t miss themoment,” she says.

It came on September 21,during the Apple Valley Invita-tional Tournament. The BellePlaine Tigers were playing theHibbing Blue Jackets, andWolpern went into the gameone kill short of the record.When she made the record-breaking play, officials stoppedthe match and presented herwith the game ball. Wolpern

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Circle No. 5

COACHING MANAGEMENT 9

is already so broad. I definedher role as helping improveteam unity and helping otherplayers develop their skills.”

Occasionally, Wolpern wouldget frustrated when she wascapable of a higher level ofplay than the team as a wholecould sustain, but they talkedthrough this issue as well.“We talked about the factthat she was coming back toa different level from the eliteclub she plays in, and thather job was to pick our team’slevel up a notch or two,” Brin-ton Hawkins says. “Settingthat goal kept it challengingfor her.”

Along with playing club vol-leyball, Wolpern was a three-sport athlete at Belle Plaine.“I encourage my players toplay multiple sports,” BrintonHawkins says. “With all the

club teams that go on now,it’s tough. But a small schoollike ours needs athletes toplay more than one sport. Ifthey can keep their gradesup and handle it physicallyand mentally, I think it’sgreat.”

Wolpern will continue hercareer at the University ofSan Diego, where she’ll studybusiness management on a fullvolleyball scholarship. And atBelle Plaine, she’ll be sorelymissed.

“I’ve watched her and askedmyself 100 times, what makesher so good?” says BrintonHawkins. “In the end, I thinkit’s her overall athleticism, herjump and hang time, herquick arm swing, and her courtsense. She seems to knowwhat’s going to happen beforeit happens.”

Belle Plaine (Minn.) High School Head Coach Donna BrintonHawkins poses with senior Cassie Wolpern, who broke thenational high school record for kills this year.

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Circle No. 6

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2003 NCAA RulesChanges AddressFlow, SafetyAt its January meeting in Indi-anapolis, the NCAA Women’sVolleyball Rules Committeeapproved several rules changesfor the 2003 season. Center-line play and the pursuit rulewere among the areas target-ed by the committee.

With hopes of improving theflow of matches, the committeeclarified the centerline ruleregarding play away from theball. Rule 14-2-3-c now reads:“Any body part will be allowedto cross the centerline as longas the encroachment doesnot present a safety hazard,there is no interference withopponents, and some part ofthe encroaching player is on

or over her own court or thecenterline. As a point of em-phasis, an opponent jumpingor moving laterally in the areaof encroachment constitutesa safety hazard.”

According to Debbie Hen-dricks, Head Coach at Metro-politan State and a memberof the Rules Committee, theidea behind the rule changeis to decrease stoppages inplay without compromisingsafety. “It is a common occur-rence for an athlete to fallwith her hand over the linewhile she’s away from theplay, and it’s really not a sig-nificant infraction,” she says.

The pursuit rule was revisedto minimize the potential forinjury. Rule 14-1-1-a now reads:“A player will not be allowedto pursue a ball in the oppo-

nent’s free zone by crossingunder the net or net cables.”The committee wanted tokeep the intent of the pursuitrule, but minimize possiblecollisions or tripping.

“That absolutely was a safetyissue,” Hendricks says. “The[pursuit] rule hasn’t been inplace that long, and lot ofpeople are still unfamiliar withhow to handle those situa-tions. The committee felt therule needed some clarificationfrom a safety standpoint.”

Adds Joan Sitterly, HeadCoach at SUNY Cortland andanother member of the RulesCommittee, “We felt pursuitin this area could be danger-ous, not only with the polebeing there, but also becauseof opposing players who arein close proximity. It’s still

okay to go around the pole.”

The committee also addedexamples of expected crowdbehavior to the rules book. Itnow cites vulgarities, racial orgender-related statements,and physical intimidation asgrounds for potential penal-ties or default if the eventadministration does not act tocorrect the problem afterbeing asked to do so.

Other changes include:

■ The first referee has beenadded to the list of poten-tial causes of non-playerinterference.

■ Stationary exercise equip-ment is now prohibited inthe warm-up area.

■ A disqualification sanctionwill now result in the indivi-

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Circle No. 7

10 COACHING MANAGEMENT

dual being disqualified forthe remainder of the currentmatch and the next matchas well.

■ No timeout will be chargedif a protest lodged by acoach is not upheld.

■ The second referee’s respon-sibilities will be expandedto include assisting withantenna faults on both sidesof the court.

During the 2003 spring sea-son, the rules committee isasking teams to experimentwith having the libero playerserve in one designated rota-tion. This change will not beimplemented for the fall sea-son, but the committee is

eager for coaches to test theidea so it can assess how sucha rule might impact the game.

“If it works, and I foresee thatit will, it addresses the onething I don’t like about thelibero—usually it’s a kidwho’s one of your bestservers and you don’t want totake her out of that servingrole,” Sitterly says. “So that’sa rule change that couldpotentially have a nice impacton that particular position,and on the game.”

Most coaches, even those whowere initially skeptical aboutthe libero, were pleased withits implementation last season.“I had some reservations, but

now I believe it was the cor-rect decision in the evolutionof the game,” says Rich Luen-emann, Head Coach at Wash-ington University (St. Louis).

“Not only has it opened upopportunities for a greatdefensive player, but it’splaced a premium on thoseplayers,” he continues. “Ourlibero here, Nicole Hodgman,is a five-foot spark plugwho’s a fan favorite, and sheelevates the level of our playsimply by playing greatdefense. The rallies are longerand the defensive play is moreexciting.”

Hendricks concurs. “I thinkit’s been a great change,” she

says. “It allows the defensivespecialist to have a greaterimpact in the match and havea more significant role. I felt italso improved ball control forour team.”

Sitterly notes the libero’simpact will only increase incoming seasons. “Like amajority of the other schools,we really haven’t recruited forthe position yet,” she says.“This year, we used a youngplayer who was a bit better atpassing than the middle wehad in, and I think the majorityof schools did the samething. But I think now you’llsee more coaches recruitingfor that position and not justusing someone they alreadyhave. So, as far as its actualeffect on play, it hasn’t hadthe impact I think it will in thefuture.”

For the complete list of 2003 rules changes, go to: http://www1.ncaa.org/membership/governance/sports_and_rules_ctees/playing_rules/volleyball/index.html.

COACHING MANAGEMENT 11Circle No. 8

Circle No. 9

CM: How have you been able to main-tain the level of success you’ve enjoyedover such a long period of time?Colberg: I feel like we’re good teachersof the game. That’s what I do and wheremy background is. I’m willing to spend asmuch effort and time as an individualneeds to improve her fundamentals. So ifan athlete has a certain level of athleticability, I’m pretty confident that I canteach her the skills to get her from PointA to Point B.

How much of your teaching is done ona one-on-one basis as opposed to ateam basis?In the spring, we work with groups offour, but there are four of us coachesworking with four players so we can real-ly concentrate on working with individu-als. In the fall, we’ll often keep a playeror two after practice to work on any fun-damentals we feel they’re behind in. Or ifwe have a freshman who needs a little bitof extra work, we’ll certainly see that shegets it.

How do you feel about placing furtherrestrictions on off-season work?I understand why the NCAA wants to putrestrictions on it, but speaking for myown program, I don’t overdo it. So I real-

ly think it’s going to hurt programs likeours if they start reducing how muchplayers can work with coaches. With alot of the rules, the rich get richer, andin this case, the rich have athletes whoare already very accomplished. Theymight not have to spend the time refin-ing their skills, but we do.

How have you changed as a coachduring your career?I don’t feel like I’ve changed, although Iprobably have. I’m a little bit morerelaxed than I was. I don’t emphasizewinning or losing in this program, Iemphasize just trying to be the best vol-leyball players we can be every time wewalk out on the court—and that seemsto work well. My older players would tellyou that I’m easier now on my presentplayers, but I really don’t believe thatbecause we practice just as hard now.

One thing I have learned over the yearsis no matter what you teach, you hadbetter believe in it. Your passion andyour belief in what you’re doing is whatsells the players.

The best thing you can do as a coach isto listen to and talk with other coachesas much as possible and then try to figure

out what will work with the athletes youhave. What might work with the nationalteam won’t always work with the athletesthat I have. So I have to figure out a waythat I think will work best with our athletes.

How has volleyball changed over theyears you’ve been coaching?It seems to keep cycling. There are fadsthat come along and if you keep teach-ing the way you truly believe in, you’realmost viewed as being out of date. Butif you stick with it long enough, the oldmethods come back around.

How do you go about finding theright players for your program?I don’t know that I have a formula for it,just a gut feeling about what will workhere. A lot of times, we go to places few

Debby Colberg Sacramento State Q A&

14 COACHING MANAGEMENT

For a coach who has stayed at one school for 27 years, Debby Colberghas won a wide range of coach of the year awards. She has been named

the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year five of the pastsix seasons after winning the American Volleyball CoachesAssociation Division II Coach of the Year award in 1989,four Northwest Region Division II Coach of the Year awards,two Golden State Conference Coach of the Year awards,and one Northern California Athletic Conference honor. Shealso led the Hornets to the AIAW National Championshipin 1980 and the NCAA Division II title in 1981.

Since moving to Division I in 1991, her teams have made fiveappearances in the NCAA Division I tournament and three

trips to the National Invitational Volleyball Championships, including arunner-up finish in 1995. Colberg’s career record of 695-248 places herseventh in career wins among active Division I coaches.

A 1970 graduate of Sacramento State, where she played on the school’sinaugural volleyball, women’s basketball, and softball teams, Colbergworked as a teacher and coach in intermediate and high schools aroundSacramento before taking over as the Hornets’ head coach in 1976. InFebruary 1999, she took on the added responsibility of serving as theschool’s athletic director for three years.

In this interview, Colberg talks about recruiting, giving up the athleticdirector’s job, and being married to a volleyball official.

Sophomore outside hitter Sandra Bandimerehelped Sacramento State claim its fourth BigSky Conference tournament crown last year.

Circle No. 10

16 COACHING MANAGEMENT

Q A&others go. For instance, one of our play-ers is from Alaska, and I don’t know thattoo many coaches would go so far to doa home visit with a potential player. Shewas playing in a recreational type ofleague, and some coaches wouldn’trespond to that, but after she sent me avideo, I felt it would be worth my time togo up there. And we got a very goodathlete out of that. So we turn over moreleaves than other people do.

What qualities besides athletic abilitydo you look for?The maturity level is instrumental incoaching kids. It makes it a whole lot eas-ier if I can just talk with them and makean impact. If I have to scream at them toget my point across it’s not going to be

much fun for me or for them, so I’d rathernot work with that kind of player.

I look for a certain maturity level in anyplayer coming into our program. How dothey interact with me on an official visitor when I go to their house? When I callthem on the phone, can they carry on aconversation? Do they have the ability tosit down and talk with me as an adult?How do they interact with their parents?Do they have a good relationship withthem? Because if they do, then they’reprobably going to be respectful andmature around me. That’s something Ilook at pretty closely.

How much did the switch to rally scor-ing change the way you coached?I wasn’t in favor of rally scoring and Ithought I would hate it. So I decided thatfirst year that I would just ignore thescoring system and get on with coaching.To me, it’s made the better games shorterand the poorer games longer. But I don’tknow that it’s changed much of what Ido, except I may call timeouts or submore quickly—I probably react a little bitsooner than I did with side-out scoring.

You were near .500 at midseasonbefore finishing strong. What changedtoward the end of the season?My teams have always started off slow.We’ve tried to figure out what we’re

doing here that leads us to start slow andfinish pretty strong, but we still don’tknow. In the beginning of the season, Iexperiment with lineups trying to find thebest combinations, and I give all the kidsplaying time—I’m sure both hurt our con-sistency. This year, I decided I wouldemphasize starting off a little bit faster,so we hit the team drills, and worked moreon team offense and team defense muchearlier. But it didn’t seem to have muchof an impact. We still did the same thing!

How do you help your players feel con-fident without feeling overconfident?They say teams take on the personality ofthe coach and I think we’re pretty business-like. I don’t like to fire them up, and Idon’t like to berate them a lot. I just tell

them the things we need to do to improve.At practices, we ask them to be betterplayers when they leave than they werewhen they showed up.

How do you make academics a priorityin your program?I talk to my players about it all the time.We set individual and team goals, but Ialso make it clear to our team that evenduring the season, if there’s a big testand there’s a study group they need toattend to pass that test, then they shouldbe there—they can miss practice forthose types of things.

You spent three years as both athleticdirector and volleyball coach at Sacra-mento State. How difficult was it tocombine those two roles?It didn’t have much impact on my coaching,and I think that was because of my yearsof experience. But it was hard from apersonal aspect. Everybody thinks I gaveit up for some big reason, but essentiallyI wanted more time with my family, esp-ecially my son, who is finishing high school.Being the athletic director took awayfrom my personal life and certainly madelife more stressful because the hours wereso long. Plus, I’m a coach at heart and Ididn’t care for the administrative part ofthe job: pushing papers, writing reports,reading all the rules changes—thosetypes of things were difficult for me to do.

After your experience, what do youthink coaches should consider if they’dlike to move into an administrativeposition?Most people should probably do it a stepat a time, so you don’t suddenly have thewhole responsibility of the departmenton your shoulders. I don’t think there’sanything wrong with making the movefrom coaching to administration, but aftermy experience I don’t understand whyanyone would want to. I just love coach-ing too much. I sort of resent anythingthat takes away from coaching and, ofcourse, there were a lot of times whenthat happened.

Have you ever thought of moving to a school in a more competitive conference?I have thought about it many times. Iapplied for the job at the University ofthe Pacific at the same time I was adopt-ing my son. They called me and saidthey had set an interview for a certainday. And I said ‘That’s the day I’m flyingto El Salvador to pick up my son,’ andthat was the end of my interview. I didn’thave the option of rescheduling it toanother day.

The other difficult part is that I have ahusband who works at UC-Davis whoreally likes his job. To move to anotherpart of the country would be a big sacrifice for my husband, and also for my son.

I consider myself a blue collar type ofcoach, and I like the level where I’mcoaching—not that there haven’t beentimes when I would have liked to workwith the best athletes in the country. Butthat brings a whole new set of problemsI don’t have to deal with now. Here, Ican really just concentrate on coachingkids who want to play volleyball andthat’s really rewarding.

Your husband has been involved inofficiating for many years. What’s themost common misconception coacheshave about officials?Having lived with an official, I know thatthey really do care about their perfor-mance. My husband takes it to heartwhen he feels he hasn’t had a good night.They take a lot of pride in their officiat-ing, and when coaches are unreasonablycritical I think it hurts them.

Plus, I really can’t whine to him aboutofficiating. One thing I’ve learned is thatofficials stick together. If I complain, heusually takes the official’s side, so I’vejust given up.

“Everybody thinks I gave up [the athletic directorposition] for some big reason, but essentially Iwanted more time with my family. Plus, I’m acoach at heart and I didn’t care for the admin-istrative part of the job.”

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op quiz: What are your high school volleyballplayers doing once your season ends? Theincreasingly common answer is: playing volley-ball for someone else. That someone is theirclub coach, and teaming up with him or her can

be a powerful way to ensure that your program is improving,even while your sport is out of season.

The roles that club and high school volleyball play in stu-dent-athletes’ lives vary tremendously by region, but the factremains that many players compete in both. “Our kids aregoing to be involved in both high school and club—it’s asimple fact,” says Louise Crocco, Head Coach at CardinalGibbons High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. “As high schoolcoaches, it’s vital for us to get involved with area club coach-es in any way we can to make sure that our players are get-ting the most out of both programs.”

Marybeth Lebo, Head Coach at LaPorte (Ind.) High School,agrees. “The way I look at it, the club coaches in my area are incharge of my kids when I’m not around and they’re teachingthem during the time that I’m not able to coach them, so it’scrucial that I have a good rapport with them,” she says.

Building a RelationshipWorking effectively with club coaches starts by building a

relationship with them. Club coach Patti Perone, who foundedthe Southern Tier Volleyball Club in Elmira, N.Y., believesthe communication process should start even before any play-ers try out for a club team.

“Some coaches suggest that their players try out for clubteams without knowing what they’re all about,” Perone says.“We like to communicate with the coaches beforehand andlet them know that our club requires a decent commitment,that we travel a lot, and that it’s going to be very hard for astudent-athlete to play a spring high school sport if she’splaying for us. Coaches can help kids shop around and finda club that suits their goals.”

Beyond an initial phone call, high school coaches shouldconsider having regular communication with club coaches. “Ibelieve in having an open-door policy,” says Perone, “andsome of my players’ high school coaches make a habit of stop-

18 COACHING MANAGEMENT

Corning West (N.Y.) High SchoolHead Coach Irene Furness (left)and Southern Tier Volleyball ClubCoach Patti Perone watch a clubteam practice earlier this spring.PHOTO BY DEDE HATCH.

PON THE

They are often at odds,but club and school coaches can learnto be on the same page with eachother—provided they work at therelationship. It all begins with openingthe doors to each others’ gyms.

ping by practice to chat and see what we’re doing. Coachesshouldn’t be afraid to pick up the phone and talk to theirplayers’ club coach, either. We’re all in this together.”

High school coaches can foster better relations with clubcoaches by having open-door policies of their own. Anddon’t overlook more practical ways you can help the clubs inyour area. “If a high school coach offered to help us with get-ting access to a facility, that would be a great way to build arelationship,” Perone says. “In-house coaches usually havemore pull when it comes to gaining access to a facility, andwe are always appreciative of their help.”

Attending coaching clinics together is another way to setthe stage for a successful collaboration, according to RobinHumlan, Head Coach at Martinsville (Va.) High School. “Thatcan get everybody on the same wavelength,” she says. “The keyis that everybody feels like they’re focused on the same goals.”

On The CourtOnce the channels of communication are established, a

common topic of conversation is court skills. This almostalways includes telling the club coach about an individualplayer’s role on the high school team and finding ways towork together to build the skills she needs to fill that role.

“As high school coaches, we want the club season to helpthe player succeed when she gets back to school,” says Crocco.“So we communicate to the club coach, ‘This is where thisstudent is most likely to be playing, and it would be advanta-geous if she could play there during club.’ Most club coachesare willing to take our requests into consideration, becausethey want to build continuity and cooperation in their rela-tionship with our school.”

Bob McFarland, Coach at Nova (Ohio) Volleyball Cluband Head Coach at Stow (Ohio) High School, says his clubwants to accommodate high school coaches’ wishes wheneverpossible, but that can happen only when the high schoolcoach communicates those wishes at the right time. “Whena high school coach says, ‘I’d like Susie to work as an outsidehitter,’ my response is, ‘We’re going to keep that in mind anddo what we can to make that happen.’

COVER STORY

Laura Smith is an Assistant Editor at Coaching Management.

COACHIING MANAGEMENT 19

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Circle No. 11

“But sometimes, we get coaches com-ing in after the fact and saying, ‘I wishyou’d let Susie hit outside more,’” hecontinues. “By then, it’s too late. I thinkthe communication has to take place inthe initial stage. Coaches need to com-municate their plans to the club coach,or the club coach won’t be able to fol-low through on what the high schoolcoach wants.”

However, high school coaches agreethat you won’t get far by trying to dictatethe club coach’s agenda. “You really can’ttell somebody what to do when they’recoaching a team,” says Dave Cross, HeadCoach at Keystone (Ohio) High Schooland National Director of the “Yes I Can!”camp series. “But you can develop a rela-tionship with them and say, ‘This is whatI need, and if you can help me out, that’sgreat.’ The time you’ve invested buildinga good rapport will usually pay off andthey’ll help you out. But sometimes, itcomes down to the fact that they’re thecoach, they have the final say, and youjust have to bite your tongue.”

In cases like that, it’s best to acceptthe different situations presented by cluband high school ball, and to coach yourplayers to be flexible, Crocco says. “Weunderstand that because of the numberand types of kids that club coaches mayhave on their teams, sometimes our play-ers are going to be playing a differentrole than we would ideally like,” she says.

“I always tell my players, ‘I may trainyou in one spot, and you may end upplaying something else in club andsomething else again in college,’”agrees Jodi Manore, Head Coach atBeford (Mich.) High School. I tell themthat they need to be good enough ath-letes to make the switch if necessary.”

But being assigned to a different posi-tion doesn’t mean a player can’t keepworking on the skills she’ll need for herhigh school team. High school coachescan ask their players’ club coaches ifthere are specialized training sessionstheir players can attend, or encouragethe players themselves to initiate thetraining sessions.

“Sometimes, we need a player to dosomething she doesn’t do in highschool, but we still try to work in oppor-tunities for her to improve other skills,”Perone says. “For example, if a player setsin high school and does something elsefor us, when we have our setter trainings,we make sure to have her participate.”

Conflicts in TechniqueBeyond questions about what posi-

tions student-athletes will be playing,teaching specific techniques can be atricky area to discuss. When Crocco en-counters a club coach teaching a tech-nique differently than she would, shetends to tread very lightly.

“I tell my athletes, ‘I don’t ever wantyou to tell your club coach, ‘That’s notthe way my high school coach teachesit,’” Crocco says. “That’s the worst thingthey can say to another coach. That

immediately puts club coaches on thedefensive and raises the hair on the backof their necks.

“Instead, I explain to my players thatthe reason they’re going to other placesto play is to encounter different ways ofdoing things; one way is not right andthe other wrong,” Crocco continues. “It’sgood for them to learn that early onbecause at every level they play, they’regoing to encounter different ways ofdoing things.”

Lebo agrees. “Most of the time, if

COVER STORY

COACHIING MANAGEMENT 21

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Circle No. 12

the club coach is teaching somethingdifferently from how I would teach it,I’m going to be quiet about it unless it’sreally offensive or out of context.”

As a club coach, Perone says she doesnot get offended when high schoolcoaches communicate with her aboutdifferences in techniques, as long as theyapproach her in a collaborative way. “Ithink it would be ideal to approach clubcoaches casually and ask why they areteaching a certain technique the waythey are,” she says. “You may hear some-thing you hadn’t thought about.Chances are, the coach isn’t trying toconfuse the player or undermine thehigh school coach—they think whatthey’re doing is going to make her a bet-ter player. By approaching it with anopen perspective, both coaches shouldbe able to work out their differences andeven learn from each other.”

However, when you really feel some-thing needs to be changed, one approach

that Cross suggests is talking with theplayer first and encouraging her to takethe initiative. “A perfect example of thatjust happened on my team,” Cross says. “Ihave a freshman setter, and her clubcoach had been teaching her to take astep with each foot when she serves. Wehad just spent the entire high school sea-son working on getting her to take thatstep out. However, the club coach felt shewasn’t serving deep enough, so he putthe steps back in.

“I asked the player to go back to herclub coach and explain to him whatwe’d worked on during the high schoolseason to get her over that habit, and totell him that when she comes back tohigh school, she’s going to have to re-learn it all over again,” he continues.“She discussed it with him, he agreed,and it worked out fine.

“In that case, I felt it worked well togo through the athlete, because I didn’tknow the coach very well, and I wantedthe player to understand why we weredoing what we were doing and be partof the communication process.”

When there is a conflict, “The mainproblems often come when everybody’s

egos are involved,” Crocco says. “Themost important challenge is for the twocoaches to demonstrate respect foreach other, and that will lead to bettercommunication.”

College Recruiting If a player hopes to continue playing

in college, high school and club coachesdefinitely need to work together onrecruiting issues. “After I send a collegecoach a tape and make sure they havethe player’s club schedule,” says Cross,“then I’ll communicate with the clubcoach to make sure he knows that playerX is looking at college Y, and the coachwill be at next weekend’s tournament tosee her.”

“I’m in constant contact with collegecoaches,” says Lebo, “and I’m in a posi-tion to tell the club coach who might bethere on a given weekend to watch. Icampaign for my players who are lookingfor scholarships, because club coaches

have too many players to focus the ener-gy on each player that I can. I call 10 to15 college coaches weekly to build a rap-port with them and stay in the loopabout what is available, and then I passthat information on to the club coach.

“As high school coaches, we’re in agreat position to provide college coacheswith a lot of information about a stu-dent,” Lebo continues. “A player mayplay for a club coach for one year, butwe coach them over several years, so wereally know them. We also know theirparents, their academics, their familysituations, and what their needs are.”

As a club coach, Perone agrees. “Welove to get calls from high school coachesto talk about a player’s recruitment situ-ation,” she says. “They often know theplayer better than we do, because theysee them in every-day situations.”

Because he knows his players well,Cross also says he helps guide interac-tions between college coaches and play-ers. “With some players, you want themto know the college coach is there, andwith others, you don’t,” he says. “So I’llchat with the club coach and dependingon which type of player I’m dealing

with, I’ll push him in one direction orthe other.”

When a player is looking to earn acollege scholarship, her high schooland club coaches should also talk aboutwhether the club she is in will help herachieve that goal. “High school coachesknow clubs by reputation and success,”McFarland says, “and a lot of timeswhen a player is looking to work towarda scholarship, they’ll call us and say, ‘Ihave a player who is looking to set in the16s. What are your 16s setters lookinglike?’ That ensures she’s going to be ina club that will work to her advantage.”

Off The Court IssuesAnother area where high school and

club coaches can combine forces is inhelping young athletes deal with non-vol-leyball issues. “A lot of times, playersdon’t know their club coach very well, sothey’re more likely to let their highschool coach in on what’s going on in

their lives,” Cross says. “A kid might tellme, ‘Coach, my grades are down, and mymom might make me quit,’ or ‘I’m goingthrough a problem at home.’ I’ll com-municate with the club coach aboutthose sorts of issues, with the understand-ing that it’s confidential information.”

“I’ve picked up the phone andtalked to a player’s high school coachwhen I think there might be a problem,and we work together to help the play-er,” Perone says. “High school coachesknow what the player went through dur-ing her high school season, and they seethe kid on a day to day basis.”

Another important area for collabora-tion involves any injuries or other med-ical issues. “If a player is hurt, youdefinitely need to work together,” Crosssays. “You need to make sure the clubcoach knows the situation, because if youhave a very motivated athlete who isinjured but can still get out there andplay, she may not even tell the club coachthat she’s hurt.”

Strength and conditioning also rep-resent possibilities for partnering. “Itwould be ideal for the two coaches towork together on conditioning pro-

22 COACHING MANAGEMENT

COVER STORY

“It would be ideal for the two coaches to work togetheron conditioning programs … That’s something I’d liketo see us sharing ideas on more than we do.”

Circle No. 13

grams, so that when players step intotheir high school season from club,they’re in shape, and vice versa,” saysManore. “That’s something I’d like tosee us working together and sharingideas on more than we do.”

Battling BurnoutThe trend for high school volleyball

players to bounce from high schoolcoach to club coach and back withoutmuch of a breather in between is grow-ing, and the possibility that young ath-letes will suffer burnout is growingalong with it. “In the last 10 years, I’veseen volleyball become a year-roundsport for high school students,” Lebosays. “They go from high school to cluband from club to summer conditioningand then into the high school season.The focus is on having kids touchingballs all the time.”

Coaches suggest being on the lookoutfor warning signs of burnout. “You canoften see it just by looking at a player,”Perone says. “Her physical appearancegives it away. She looks exhausted and

she’s lost her passion for the game.”Burnout is evident on the court, too.

“When a player is reaching the overloadpoint, she gets mentally tired and can’tkeep her focus,” Cross says. “Since somuch of volleyball is mental, that showsin her game.”

What can high school and clubcoaches do together to ensure that play-ers—even the ones who love the gameand don’t want to miss a single prac-tice—aren’t being pushed too hard?The solution starts with establishingshared priorities, according to Manore.

“I think we need to talk about the factthat these are very young athletes andthey’re being pulled in a lot of differentdirections,” she says. “Both coaches haveto agree that the welfare of the athletescomes first, and then they can begin towork together.”

To stop burnout before it starts,coaches need a comprehensive pictureof what their players’ athletic commit-ments are, according to Cross. This ofteninvolves taking a look at a player’s com-plete schedule, including communicat-

ing with her club coach about her clubresponsibilities.

“You have to approach the situationby figuring out what time is available inher schedule where she can take abreak,” he says. “Most girls who are play-ing club are also working out four orfive days a week, playing in a leaguesomewhere, and going to open gyms.They may be playing and conditioninga lot more than either coach is aware of,so it helps to communicate about theirentire list of volleyball activities.”

Once that analysis is done, coachescan work together to find places where anat-risk athlete can step back without sacri-ficing performance. “At that point, youcan tell the athlete, ‘You don’t need to beat this open gym, and you can take thisweek off from working your legs—they’regetting completely dead,’” Cross says.“It’s difficult for a player to miss any clubor high school practices, but by workingtogether, you can usually find spots inher schedule where she can ease off.”

It’s important that club and highschool coaches send a consistent mes-

24 COACHING MANAGEMENT

COVER STORY

Circle No. 14

sage when it comes to helping athletestake it easier on themselves, Cross adds,because young athletes need to feel thatthey’re not letting their coaches downby taking downtime. “The messageneeds to be, ‘It’s okay to rest,’” he says.“They need to be thinking, ‘Coach isn’tmad that I’m not there. This is cool withhim, so I can really relax.’”

Calendar ControlSome coaches also believe that high

school and club coaches should worktogether on the bigger issue behind

player burnout: the length of the sea-sons. “One thing I really dislike is howearly club starts now,” says McFarland.“In the mid-1980’s, our high school sea-son would end in November or Decem-ber, and the Junior Olympic seasondidn’t start until the end of January, oreven February, so the players wouldhave up to two and a half months of novolleyball. They came back from those

weeks off rested and stronger, and I wasalways amazed at the mental gainsthey’d made. It was like they’d had achance while they were away to absorbwhat we’d been teaching.

“There’s so much pressure on kidsnow that they can’t afford to take thatkind of time off, and the schedule doesn’tallow it,” he continues. “I think we’reputting too much demand on our kids.”

Peg Scofield, former Head Coachand current administrator at Yale Uni-versity, believes there is room for nego-tiation in both high school and club

seasons to buy volleyball players a pieceof their summers back. “In my opinion,if there was enough of a push to do it,you could easily shorten both seasonswithout losing anything,” she says.“Club season goes on longer than itneeds to—there is no reason for it. Andwhy does conditioning for the highschool season have to start so earlywhen 90 percent of the players have

been training hard in club through thefirst week in July? When you look at theway the current system is set up, thesummer is the key time to considermaking changes.”

Scofield believes that if high schooland club coaches talked, USA Volleyballwould listen. “If they were well-net-worked and well-represented, coachescould take their concerns about the sys-tem to the Junior Olympics,” she says.“They are open to suggestions like that,because they want issues about student-athlete welfare to be heard. But right

now, there are no complaints, so thereis no call to change anything. It has tocome from the volleyball family itself.”

And that “volleyball family” will onlyget stronger with better communication.Whether it’s large issues or small—changing the system or helping a fresh-man perfect her serve—when highschool and club coaches talk, the playersbenefit. ■

COACHIING MANAGEMENT 25

COVER STORY

With players working hard year-round in both club and high schoolball, keeping them motivatedoften means keeping the season

fun, and that means doing something differ-ent once in a while. Here, we’ve collected ahandful of innovative ideas designed tore-motivate players.

Boffer Ball: “When my players are gettinga little bored with the routine, there’snothing like Boffer Ball to get them jazzedto play again,” says Dave Cross, HeadCoach at Keystone (Ohio) High School.What you’ll need: one water noodle (yes,the pool toy) for every two players, half ofone color and half of another; four cones;and a beach ball. Cut the water noodles inhalf (easily done with a box cutter) andhand them out; the two colors make upthe two teams.

“Set up goals at each end of the gym usingthe cones, and allow one girl for each teamto play goalie,” Cross says. “The rest of theplayers use the water noodles to knock thebeach ball through the cones, and they aren’tallowed to kick, catch, or throw the ball.

“Because it’s difficult to get any speed onthe ball at all with the water noodles, it’sgreat for teaching teamwork—they have to

strategize to get it past the goalie. We useit as a warm-up instead of jogging, and itgets them mentally warmed up too.They’re running around, yelling, hittingeach other with the noodles, getting intocompetitive mode, and usually laughinglike crazy. And the best part is, it has noth-ing to do with volleyball.”

Hanging ’Round: There’s nothing like aropes course to build teamwork and breakup the monotony, according to severalcoaches. “It’s a change in the action, butwe’re still doing something together,” saysMarybeth Lebo, Head Coach at La Porte(Ind.) High School. A ropes course has theadded benefit of helping you sort out whowill be the natural leaders on your teamand who’s more likely to follow. Check anearby nature center to see if they offer aropes course.

A Day in the Life: “Each summer, everyplayer on my team has to spend an entireday with another player,” says Lebo. “Theymay go to the dentist with her, or to thegrocery store, or her grandparents’ house.Usually they sit down to dinner with theentire family. It builds great rapport on theteam, because they are able to see eachother in a little different light and under-stand each other in a deeper way. That

kind of solidarity keeps us together whenthings get tough.”

Night In: “Especially for girls, I believe keep-ing their interest and motivation depends onmaking sure they feel connected and valuedon the team,” says Martinsville (Va.) HighSchool Head Coach Robin Humlan. “Sowe do team lock-ins where on a Friday orSaturday night, everybody has to be in thegym by 9 p.m. and then we lock thedoors. We play games or just talk. Onenight, we took our sleeping bags outsideand watched a meteor shower together.It’s like a giant slumber party, and it givesthem a great feeling about the team.”

Dance Break: “Last year, we were gettingready for a tournament, and we had a longbreak without a game,” says Tania Price,Head Coach at Merrillville (Ind.) High School.“Everybody was getting pretty tired of thepractice routine. Then my assistant coachcame up with the idea of holding a dancecompetition. Each group had to choreo-graph a dance to a certain song and performit for the entire team. It was a great exer-cise in communication; it really broughtsome leaders to the fore, because some-body had to take charge. It was fun and itcompletely took the edge off, because itwas so completely different.”

NO VOLLEYBALLS ALLOWED

by Vern GambettaGambetta Sports Training Systems

There is no question that the feet are extremely important involleyball because it is the feet that are in contact with theground inmovement. Allmovement isinitiated off theground.Ultimately it isthe feet thatmust absorbshock onground contactand then usethose forces topropel thebody in thedesired direc-tion. The pur-pose of foot-work is to getthe player inposition to hit,block or pass.The followingare some sim-ple basic exercises that can make a big difference in yourplayer’s performance:

� Jump Rope - Jump rope works hand/foot and hand/eyecoordination. A basic routine that the athlete can use daily as awarm-up is: double leg jumps, stride jumps, crossover jumps,single leg jumps and finish with combinations. You can dothese in a series with a prescribed number of jumps for eachexercise or for a set time period for each exercise.

� Speed Ladder - The key to using the speed laddereffectively is to understand that the goal is optimum speed,which is defined as speed that can be controlled. There is atendency to go too fast which results in the athlete being out of

control. The emphasis should be on getting the feet back downto the ground quickly. Time in the air is time wasted! There isno limit to the drills that can be done on the speed foot ladder.Let your imagination be your guide. Once basic drills are mas-tered incorporate the ball.

� Ball Drop Reaction - The partner drops the ballfrom head height. The person executing the drill must react andbump the ball before the ball hits the floor. This forces the play-er to get their feet in position to make the play. Make the drillmore difficult by lowering the distance of the drop or movingfarther away. A variation of the drill is to have the player standfacing the wall, about six feet away. The partner will then throwthe ball up against the wall and the player must move quickly inorder to get under the ball to perform a back set (hitting the ballto a player behind you) to the partner who threw the ball.

� Low Hurdles - Use six or twelve inch hurdles. Set fourto eight hurdles in a line and have the players move laterallythrough the hurdles. The emphasis should be on getting thefeet down quickly, not floating in the air. Use five hurdles placedin parallel rows so the players have to execute the drill in onedirection and immediately repeat in the opposite direction. Thegoal is to get two steps between each hurdle.

� Low Box Quick Step - Use a four-inch high box ofsturdy construction approximately thirty inches square. Step onand off the box as quickly as possible. Continue the drill untilthe rhythm falls off. The drills can be done straight ahead, sideto side or with a combination of boxes. For lateral movement,stand at the side of the box and quickly step with both feet ontop of the box and quickly step down on the other side; contin-ue moving laterally until the rhythm is lost.

Choose two to three daily in season. The total time devoted tofootwork drills should be about ten minutes in season and fif-teen to twenty minutes total per day in the off season. The drillscan also be distributed throughout practice to complement vol-leyball skills. Be sure to allow enough rest between drills sothat quality is maintained. Learn to execute the action correctlythen add speed. Design volleyball specific drills that are deriva-tives of the generic footwork drills to insure the improved foot-work will transfer to the game.

Training TipsTraining Tips

Coaching Management and Power Systems have teamed up to provide you with the following volleyballtraining tips from the nationally recognized strength & conditioning specialist Vern Gambetta, president ofGambetta Sports Training Systems.

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Circle No. 15

Circle No. 16

oments before a match, volleyballcoaches have one last chance togain an advantage over theiropponents. Some will talk aboutstrategy, and some will talk aboutnerves. Some will try to calmtheir players down, and some willtry to pump them up.

“The pregame speech is very impor-tant,” says Julie Jenkins, Head Coach atTrinity University (Texas). “It’s a reviewof what you’ve been doing all week toprepare for that match. But it’s impor-tant to do your homework, to know whatto expect, and to know that you’re pre-pared for making that speech.”

“The right pregame speech can helpyou, but the wrong one can hurt you just

as much,” says Duncan McFarland,Head Coach at the University of Cali-fornia-San Diego. “It’s a double-edgedsword, so it’s best to think it over insteadof just going out there and winging it.”

Solidifying the StrategyAll coaches use at least part of the

pregame talk to discuss game strategy.The amount of strategy talk can varygreatly based on the coach’s personality,the team’s attitude, and the opponent’squality.

Jenkins begins the process of prepar-ing her pregame talk at the start of the

Kenny Berkowitz is an Assistant Editor atCoaching Management.

COACHING MANAGEMENT 29

University of Miami Head Coach Nicole Lantagne Welch uses her pregame speechto help her players “be really fired up about playing their best.”

BY KENNY BERKOWITZ

MThe Eloquent Edge

Whether to inspire, inform, orboth, the pregame speech isyour last line of preparation.Don’t leave it to chance.

IN THE HUDDLE

week, when she shares scouting reportswith her student-athletes. Then, ongame day, after her players have fin-ished stretching, she takes 10 minutesto go over the scouting reports onemore time. She talks about manipulat-ing the opponents’ weaknesses, capital-izing on the match-ups, and reading thedefenses. Her goal is simple: to keepher players thinking about strategy andworking through their weekly routine.

“There isn’t a lot of rah-rah in mypregame speeches,” says Jenkins. “They’rebasically a quick review: ‘Here’s whatwe’re going to do offensively. Here’s whatwe’re going to do defensively.’ That’s it.My whole focus is on keeping it simple,and being really clear on our game plan.”

At UCSD, McFarland tries to focushis players on a few key pieces of strate-gy, and works hard to provide the rightamount of info. Presented with toomuch scouting information, his playersthink more about the opponent’s play

than their own. With too little scoutinginformation, he’s seen his team hesitatebefore taking advantage of its opponent’sweaknesses.

“I haven’t had many speeches thatbackfired, but I’ve had several where Ierred by focusing too much on our oppo-nent,” says McFarland. “They didn’t havethe desired effect because the playerswere focusing too much on the otherteam. We weren’t serving and passingand doing the things we had controlover, because we were too worriedabout our opponents.”

To find the right balance, McFarlanddepends upon input from his assistantcoach, who looks over McFarland’s out-line before he delivers the actual speech.That way, she can signal him if he’s wan-dered off-point or if his speech goes ontoo long. “I’ll go over the key points withmy assistant coach,” he says. “I want toknow what she thinks I should omit,

because our biggest danger is for me toovercoach the team before the match.”

Whatever amount of info is right foryour team, Jenkins suggests you keep itconsistent throughout the season. “Ifyou suddenly give your team a 10-pagescouting report, when they normally geta two-page scouting report, how do youexpect your players to absorb all of thatinformation?” she says.

For many coaches, another part ofthe strategy is to give the team new chal-lenges. At the University of New Haven,Head Coach Robin Salters keeps herpregame message lively by creating newgoals for each contest, especially oneswhere she expects her team to dominatethe action. In some contests, the Charg-ers will aim for a specific number of kills,or a particular ace-to-error ratio, or willuse the match to master a difficult shot.

“Whatever goals we set this past sea-son, we achieved them nine times out of10,” says Salters. “The players really

responded. It freesthem from thinking toomuch about technique,and gives them a focuson that particular day.”

At Trinity, where thevolleyball team went 30-0 in the 2002 regularseason, goals were also aconstant presence inpregame talks. “We’ll setgoals for ourselves, espe-cially against weaker

opponents,” says Jenkins. “We have ateam statistician, and we’re very aware oftrying to break team records. It gets ourplayers pretty fired up, and keeps themplaying at the best of their abilities.”

Add in InspirationAlong with the specifics of game

strategy, most coaches provide sometype of emotional support during theirpregame address. This runs the spec-trum from charging your players up togetting them calmed down. Which endof the spectrum you choose dependsupon your own personality and theneeds of the team.

“Some coaches are statistical and logi-cal,” says Diane Flick, Head Coach atWestern Washington State. “I’m muchmore of a feeling coach. I want to explainto them that every day is an opportunity.

“I’ll package it in a lot of different ways,but the general message is the same,” she

continues. “‘You’re one of only 16 peopleon this campus who can say you’re part ofthis team. So I want you to take this oppor-tunity to keep pushing forward—to enjoythis time for what it is.’”

To add to the enthusiasm, Flick likesto use current events to make her talkssound fresh, connecting with the ideasthat are already on her players’ minds.“Sometimes I center a pregame speechon events that are happening around theworld, or on campus,” she says. “Like afterSeptember 11, I said, ‘There are somepeople out there who don’t have anopportunity to ever play again. And weneed to honor them with this game today,because we have that opportunity.’”

At the University of Miami, HeadCoach Nicole Lantagne Welch also likesto be inspirational. “Typically, I’ll remindthe team about a couple of key thingswe’re going to do against our oppo-nent,” she says. “Then I talk about howthere’s always more on the line than justthe match itself. I want to push their but-tons, because I want to get their adrena-line going. I want them to be really firedup about playing their best.”

Coaches who use inspirational speech-es also work hard to present their wordsthe right way. “Sometimes, it’s not what Isay, it’s how I say it,” says Flick. “I couldhave some really great information, areal gem of a speech, but if I say it in amonotone, it’s not going to work. If Idon’t bring my enthusiasm to the table, Ican’t expect my players to, either.”

Welch uses only a handful of notes,and tries to keep her speeches feelingunrehearsed. She also tries to make herspeeches sound different for every match.

Flick also says she carefully watchesher players while they talk to see if herwords are having the right effect. “I cansee it in their body language,” says Flick.“If they’re sitting a little taller, lookingeager to get on the floor, and their eyesare really focused, they’re ready.”

Relax ’emOther coaches eschew inspirational

speeches and prefer to put their playerson an even keel before a game. “I’m notgoing to walk into our locker room, bitethe head off a frog, and challenge ourplayers to kill the other team,” says Stan-ford University Head Coach John Dun-ning, who describes his approach to thepregame speech as factual. “I’m notlooking to excite them, and I’m not

IN THE HUDDLE

30 COACHING MANAGEMENT

“Our pregame time is more of adiscussion than a speech. Iwant them to have input intothe meeting, to have owner-ship in what we’re doing. Welearn from each other.”

IN THE HUDDLE

looking to motivate them. I’m lookingto relax them, and to let them take theirinspiration from being part of the big-ger process that we do every day.

“What you do during the pregamespeech has to fit with the way youapproach the game on a daily basis,”continues Dunning. “It has to do withprocess, with doing things the same way,until you get your team in the rightframe of mind. Our approach is basedon reminders, and it’s based on rein-forcing a sense of team. We use facts tohelp frame the match and to underlinehow important it is to meet our goals.”

At UCSD, McFarland also useshumor to relax players before the game.“I’ll tell a joke, relax them a little bit, tryto get them to smile,” he says. “I don’twant them to lose sight of the joy of play-ing the game.”

Like the more inspirational mindedcoaches, Dunning watches his players’reactions as he speaks. “As you’re givingyour speech, keep looking in your players’eyes,” advises Dunning. “You want to see ifthey’re reacting to what you say, and ifthey’re truly engaged. If they’re interact-ing as teammates, instead of beingstressed and solitary, then your speech isworking.”

Player InvolvementWhether you focus on pumping

them up or calming them down, it helpsto make your players active participantsin the pregame talk and not passive lis-teners. “We’ll talk about the feelings thatare coming on before the match, and ifit’s a big game, I might even ask, ‘Who’snervous?’” says Flick. “Because, manytimes, people are trying to mask theiremotions rather than deal with them. Ifthey see somebody put up her hand,everybody realizes they’re not the onlyone who’s scared. It legitimizes theirfeelings, and they realize they can chan-nel those feelings out on the court.”

Dunning involves his players by invit-ing them to post mock strategies on thechalkboard to lighten the mood. Andinstead of talking about the game’s strat-egy himself, he expects his players toanswer questions and present the game-plan in their own words.

“Our pregame is very interactive,”says Dunning. “I’m not usually the onewho gives the reminders about strate-gy—the players do that. If they can tellme the strategy themselves, it’s going to

be much more effective than if I have totell them again.”

Although Jenkins does 95 percent ofthe talking before the game, she stillmakes sure her players are activelyinvolved. “Our pregame time is more of adiscussion than a speech,” say Jenkins. “Iwant them to have input into the meeting,to have ownership in what we’re doing.We learn from each other.”

However, Jenkins warns against allow-ing an athlete to give her own pregamespeech, remembering the time she let

one of her players do so before a bigmatch. “It was so emotional, we were allcrying before we went onto the court,”says Jenkins. “That will never happenagain.”

Salters also listens to her players’feedback. “Some of my players have toldme that they prefer a simpler speech, soI don’t give them long lectures,” shesays. “But at the end, I always bring thespeech back to the team and what we’reabout to do. We do our cheer, and I leadthem onto the court.” ■

COACHING MANAGEMENT 31

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Circle No. 18

ost of us envision student-athletes as the picture of health—lithe, muscular, and hardy.But imagine intercollegiatevolleyball competitions where80-year-old women jump highfor a block and dive for a dig.

It sounds inconceivable, but some ofthe players on your team who appearyoung and strong on the outside mayactually be as frail on the inside as theseimagined elderly athletes. And the rea-son is secondary amenorrhea, a condi-tion whereby women do not get theirmenstrual periods.

A recent study by Dr. Michelle Cam-eron, orthopedic surgeon and spoke-sperson for the American Academy ofOrthopedic Surgeons, found the preva-lence of amenorrhea in collegiatefemale varsity athletes to be 28 percent,compared to two to five percent in thegeneral population. Older studies esti-mate that at least 10 to 20 percent of allfemale athletes have the condition.While these figures have not been bro-ken down by sport, volleyball players areamong the sufferers.

But why does the incidence appearto be growing? What are the long-termramifications of skipping one’s period?And how do you implement preventionstrategies?

Defining DysfunctionWhen a woman’s reproductive system

is functioning normally, her brain’s hypo-thalamus releases a hormone called gon-adotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) atregular intervals. GnRH acts on the pitu-itary gland, causing the cyclic rise and fallof lutenizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). These mes-

sengers tell her body to produce matureeggs, ovulate, and make estrogen. A dis-ruption of normal menstruation occurswhen the hypothalamus stops releasingthe GnRH that sets the cycle in motion.

Technically, any missed periods con-stitute amenorrhea. Some medical stud-ies define amenorrhea as missing a year’sworth of periods after menarche (firstperiod) has taken place. Other physi-cians feel three months or more withouta cycle is cause for concern. But more

COACHING MANAGEMENT 33

SPORTS MEDICINE

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Shelly is Wilson is a former Assistant Editorat Coaching Management.

MThe latest study shows that oneout of four female athletestoday suffer from amenorrhea.And the ramifications for theirhealth are truly frightening.

BY SHELLY WILSON

OneOut ofFour

and more professionals are pointing tomenstrual dysfunction of any kind as asubstantial warning.

“If a female misses a period, there’san indication that there’s somethinggoing on that should be cause foralarm,” says Dr. Bill Evans, Director ofthe Nutrition, Metabolism, and ExerciseLaboratory at the University of Arkansasfor Medical Sciences. “Evidence showsthat if a woman is irregular, she poten-tially has other health problems.”

Until recently, scientists believedthat amenorrhea was a result of lowbody fat. But research over the last 15years indicates that this is not the case.Rather, amenorrhea appears to bemulti-causal. Among the factors thatbring on amenorrhea are congenitalabnormalities of the reproductive tract,metabolic or endocrine disorders(including malnutrition), stress, tumorsor cysts, or combinations of the above.

In athletes, however, the vast majorityof cases of amenorrhea stem from animbalance between activity level andnutritional intake. For example, a femalestudent-athlete who menstruates duringher off-season may lose her periods oncepreseason training begins because sheincreases her activity level without corre-spondingly increasing her nutritionalintake. Her body can’t sustain all func-tions without adequate calories andnutrition, and reproductive mechanismsare among the first to shut down.

The DangersAmong the most widely known health

risks associated with amenorrhea is theearly onset of osteoporosis—the cripplingdisease of low bone mass and bone fragili-ty. Because amenorrhea, like menopause,affects the body’s estrogen levels, bonedevelopment is compromised.

A 1997 article in The Physician and Sports-medicine states that decreased estrogenlevels in young women can leach away asmuch as two to six percent of total bonemass per year. And the results of a Univer-sity of Arkansas study released in July2002 show that two percent of college-age women already have osteoporosis anda further 15 percent have sustained sig-nificant losses in bone density and maybe on their way to developing the disease.

Why is estrogen so important tobone mass? Contrary to popular belief,estrogen doesn’t actually build bones.Rather, it ensures that one’s bones

absorb calcium, which they need to staystrong. Also, estrogen conserves the cal-cium in bones by encouraging otherbody systems to make more efficient useof the calcium available in one’s diet.

Estrogen also helps maintain a bal-ance between the rate of bone destruc-tion and bone reformation. Generally,children and teens grow new bonefaster than they destroy old, which iswhy their bones grow in thickness andlength. Amenorrheic athletes, however,lack the estrogen to stave off bone-destructing cells.

“You build bone and fill your bonebank until you’re about 25,” says Jill

Thein-Nissenbaum, Faculty Associate atthe University of Wisconsin, who studiesamenorrhea. “After that, you start tolose bone. But amenorrheic athletes failto fill their bone bank optimally, so

they’re really setting themselves up forsignificant problems later in life.”

“Girls think they need bone forheight, and once they reach their height,what does it matter?” adds Heidi Skolnik,President of Nutrition Conditioning,Inc., in Fort Lee, N.J., who works withathletes at Princeton University. “But it’snot just the length of bone that matters,it’s the density of your bone. And you laydown all the density you will ever have inyour lifetime in your teenage years. If afemale athlete misses that window, shecan’t make it back.”

The toll amenorrhea can take on ayoung athlete’s bones can also be felt

immediately. For those still competing,low bone density often leads to stress frac-tures. “We did a survey years ago withwomen runners,” says Evans. “And itturned out that the women who were

SPORTS MEDICINE

34 COACHING MANAGEMENT

Today, the most favoredtreatment of exercise-relatedsecondary amenorrhea comesnot in the form of estrogen sup-

plementation, but through changes toan athlete’s diet under the guidance ofa licensed nutritionist. And while coach-es should never attempt to treat amen-orrhea themselves, there are nutritionalrecommendations they can make thatmay help prevent the onset of amenor-rhea in the first place.

“Amenorrhea frequently stems from over-exercise and under-eating,” explainsHeidi Skolnik, President of NutritionConditioning, Inc., in Fort Lee, N.J. “It’san energy deficit thing. A female athletemay think she is eating healthfully butmay be 500 calories shy of what sheneeds. She may not be anorexic or evenlosing weight, but she’s not giving herbody what it needs to sustain itself at anoptimum healthy level. So athletes needto make sure that when they step up theirtraining that they also step up their foodintake. Their calories in need to be equiv-alent to their calories out.”

One dietary way to prevent amenorrheais to insist on the inclusion of fat in yourplayers’ diets. “Athletes confuse eatingfat with getting fat,” explains Nancy Clark,Director of Nutrition Services at SportsMedicine Associates, in Brookline, Mass.“But that’s not true. Fat is a part of thebody’s nervous system, it’s a component

of hormones, and it’s important in allow-ing certain vitamins to get absorbed. Atleast 20 percent of an athlete’s caloriesshouldcomefrom fat.

“Nuts,peanutbutter, salmon, and olive oil are allhealthy fat options,” continues Clark.“Female student-athletes should try toinclude a little fat at each meal. Thatcould mean using two-percent milk oncereal or substituting a light salad dress-ing for a fat-free one.”

Another important nutritional defense isadequate protein. “Insufficient proteinhas been linked with amenorrhea inconjunction with low calorie intake,”explains Clark. “Amenorrheic athletestend to eat less protein than their regu-larly menstruating counterparts. Andwhen calories are low, the body’s pro-tein needs actually increase.”

Calcium and Vitamin D are also importantbecause of the positive role they play inthe prevention of osteoporosis and theminimization of bone-density damageshould a female athlete suffer amenorrhea.“I would look for some dairy with eachmeal, so they have at least three dairyitems a day—like milk on cereal, yogurt atlunch, milk with dinner, or low-fat cheeseon a sandwich,” Clark says.

NUTRITIONALSTRATEGIES

amenorrheic had a much higher inci-dence of stress fractures than the womenwho were regularly menstruating. So it’snot just an issue of, ‘I’ll develop osteo-porosis when I’m 70 years old.’”

Other effects of early bone loss canpop up only a few years after an athlete’scompeting days end. “I know a patientwho [was amenorrheic, and when shegot older and] wanted to have a baby,she couldn’t because her bones were tooweak to support a pregnancy,” says NancyClark, Director of Sports Nutrition Ser-vices at Sports Medicine Associates inBrookline, Mass.

And amenorrhea may have a moredirect impact on a woman’s fertility.Some healthcare professionals, likeThein-Nissenbaum and Skolnik, believelong-term amenorrhea may prevent reg-ular, reliable, ovulation even after men-struation has returned.

“Women who continue to have boutsof amenorrhea are eventually going todiscontinue ovulating periodically, andthat’s going to make it much more diffi-cult for them to get pregnant,” saysThein-Nissenbaum.

Others believe once an athlete isback on track and menstruation is rein-stated, fertility resumes as normal. Butno one really knows for sure, since doc-tors have only been examining the con-dition for a short time.

“Unfortunately, this condition hasonly been defined in the last 10 or 15years, and the women who were the firstdiagnosed are just now starting to havechildren,” says Thein-Nissenbaum.

Another potentially serious healthimplication of amenorrhea that is onlynow being looked into is heart disease.Although not widely researched yet, theincreased risk in post-menopausal womenfor cardiovascular disease led the Med-ical College of Wisconsin’s Cardiovascu-lar Research Center to undertake a studyof amenorrheic female runners in 2000.It was presented to the American Collegeof Sports Medicine last year.

The Center studied two groups ofwomen, all of whom ran at least 25 milesper week, were at least 18 years old, andwere not on oral birth control. Onegroup, of 11 women, had normal periods.The other group consisted of 10 women,all of whom had missed their periods formore than six months. Because a loss ofblood vessel dilation is believed to be thefirst precursor to the development of

heart disease, each participant’s bloodvessels were examined using ultrasoundto measure their ability to dilate under dif-ferent conditions. The women with amen-orrhea had the vasculature of 50-year-oldpost-menopausal women.

Battle CryWith so much more to be learned

about the effects of the condition, manyphysicians would like to see amenor-

rhea taken more seriously by the athleticpopulation. “There’s a lack of apprecia-tion for the magnitude of the problemand a lack of understanding about whatcauses it,” says Evans. “Athletes aren’t asconcerned as they should be.”

As with many things in sports medi-cine, an ounce of prevention is worth apound of cure, and the key to prevent-ing amenorrhea is communication andeducation. The first step is to educateyour athletes about amenorrhea.

An annual workshop led by coaches orathletic trainers can dispel the myths ath-letes may have learned from formercoaches and even uninformed familydoctors. Particularly powerful are presen-tations from or stories of formerly amen-orrheic athletes. Postings on bulletinboards or handouts can also work well.

Coaches must also work to countermenstruation’s image as a burden andpromote it as an asset necessary for over-all health. “On some teams, amenorrheais looked upon as evidence that they’redoing an appropriate amount of train-ing,” says Thein-Nissenbaum. “If you stillhave your period, the perception is thatyou’re not training hard enough. Butusing amenorrhea as a bar to measureeffective training is completely inappro-priate.”

According to Skolnik, at the highschool level, parents are another groupthat should be addressed. “Send out a let-ter at the beginning of the year informingparents about amenorrhea and lettingthem know that it’s something you look

for, what you do if you find it, why it’simportant, and that it’s something forthem to pay attention to,” she says.

And because amenorrhea can resultfrom exercise that outpaces nutritionalintake, or from rapid weight loss, Thein-Nissenbaum reminds coaches to pro-ceed cautiously when weight loss isrequired for optimum athletic perfor-mance. “One or two pounds per week isideal,” she says. “You don’t want to lose

more than two pounds a week, or theathlete is probably going to get dehy-drated and lose muscle mass. And ath-letes shouldn’t try to lose weight in thepeak of the season, because it’s toomuch stress on the body.”

Early DetectionSince amenorrhea is vastly under

reported by sufferers, medical profes-sionals would like to see educationalefforts coupled with earlier detection ofthe condition in order to minimizehealth risks. Inquiries into athletes’menstrual cycles can begin duringpreparticipation exams. In fact, theAmerican College of Sports Medicine isin the process of rewriting the questionson its preparticipation form related tomenstruation. Until the new form isissued, consider using these questions:

■ When did you first get your period? ■ Are you regular? ■ If you’re not very regular, how reg-

ular are you? ■ How long is your typical cycle? ■ Do you often skip your period? ■ How many times a year do you miss

a period? “Amenorrhea should be on the list

just like everything else,” says Skolnik.“‘Do you sneeze, do you cough, do youhave weak ankles, and do you get yourperiod?’”

Also, don’t accept vague answers. Areply of “normal” to the question “What’syour menstrual cycle like?” can mean verydifferent things to different athletes. It

SPORTS MEDICINE

COACHING MANAGEMENT 35

“A woman should understand that losing herperiod is not natural … nor should it be desiredor emulated. It comes with a number of healthconsequences and should be dealt with as soonas possible if she wants to continue with herathletic career.”

36 COACHING MANAGEMENT

might be normal in some athletes’ mindsto miss their periods for the six months ofpreseason and in-season training.

If during the preparticipation examan athlete states she uses oral birth con-trol, a contraceptive patch, or Lunelle(a monthly birth control shot), athletictrainers or coaches should ask follow-upquestions. “I often ask patients, ‘If youweren’t on the pill, would you have reg-ular menstrual periods?’” says Clark.“And often they say, ‘No, that’s why Iwent on the pill.’”

Also note that a student-athlete usinga form of chemical contraception isn’timmune to developing amenorrhea,despite the estrogen they contain. “Thedose of estrogen a woman gets from thepill is very small compared to her loss ofestrogen as a result of amenorrhea,” saysEvans.

Coaches or athletic trainers shouldalso question female athletes periodical-ly throughout the year about anychanges they’ve experienced in theircycles. “If an athlete is returning after

summer and is answering preparticipa-tion exam questions, she may be able tosay she has her period,” says Skolnik.“But by October, she may not.”

Questions on amenorrhea shouldalso automatically arise whenever afemale athlete suffers an injury. “Whenyou do not get your period, you have anincreased risk for stress fractures,” saysSkolnik, “so I’d absolutely investigatemenstrual history anytime an athletehas a stress fracture.”

“Prolonged delayed healing is anotherthing to look for if they suspect an athletehas amenorrhea,” adds Thein-Nissen-baum. “These are the athletes who getthe stress fractures that take double thetime to heal. They have chronic strainsand sprains from their muscles not beingprovided adequate nutrition.”

Refer When NeededThe causes of amenorrhea can vary

widely, so athletic trainers and coacheswho know of or suspect student-athleteswith amenorrhea should always referthe patient to a physician or gynecolo-gist who’s sensitive to the needs of stu-dent-athletes. Sometimes amenorrheacan’t be corrected by simply cuttingback training or increasing nutritionalconsumption, and coaches who try tocure it on their own delay proper diag-nosis and put the student-athlete at risk.

“There are lots of reasons why youdon’t get your period,” explains Skol-nik. “I had one athlete who looked likeit was caused by the female athlete triad,but she really had polycystic ovarian syn-drome. And it took a good work-upfrom a doctor to figure that out.”

The best thing you can do, sayexperts, is to make sure your student-ath-letes are aware of the condition, under-stand the health problems associatedwith losing one’s period, and learn tocome to you whenever their cycles seemirregular. “A woman should understandthat losing her period is not natural,”says Evans. “It’s not something thatshould be desired or emulated. It comeswith a number of health consequencesand should be dealt with as soon as pos-sible if she wants to continue with herathletic career. Because by the time theystop menstruating, even intermittently, itmeans there’s a problem already.” ■

A version of this article was recently published inour sister magazine, Training & Conditioning.

SPORTS MEDICINE

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American Athletic, Inc. (AAI) manufac-tures a complete line of volleyballequipment. The Elite® System (left) isdesigned for the highest levels of com-

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Whether you prefer the rigidity ofsteel or the weight advantage of alu-minum, Bison has complete court

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EVERSAN, INC.(800) 383-6060, www.eversan.com

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FUTURE PRO, INC.(800) 328-4625, www.futureproinc.com

Future Pro has easy-to-order packagesof affordable, versatile Match Pointsteel and aluminum volleyball systems.

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The competition volleyball line at FuturePro has equipment for all levels of playand budgets. The super rigid Centerline

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COACHING MANAGEMENT 37

The Volleyball Court

padded cable covers; and post paddingin your choice of 12 colors. System is alsoavailable with steel standards.

Circle No. 44 on Reader Inquiry Card

GARED SPORTS (800) 325-2628, www.garedsports.com

The SSI Collegiate 7200 System fromGared remains the company’s mostpopular volleyball system. Net height is

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The SSI Varsity 7100 System from GaredSports offers top quality standards with-out all the extra features for programs

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JAYPRO SPORTS(800) 243-0533, www.jaypro.com

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Jaypro’s new 3” steel volleyball system(PVB-3000) combinessteel’s strength (bot-tom section) with alu-minum’s light weight(top section) in classicstyle. With theFlexNet, tension isput directly on thenet headband; noextra cables, straps, or

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PORTER ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT(800) 94-PORTER, www.porter-ath.com

The Powr-Line® Professional VolleyballSystem, from Porter AthleticEquipment, is designed to accommo-

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A breakthrough design for volleyballequipment, Porter’s Powr-Net® Systemattaches overhead and is electronicallypowered. This system is ideal for facili-ties requiring instant and frequent

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38 COACHING MANAGEMENT

“We use the AirCAT for drills duringpractices for our setters and hitters. Ican be anywhere in the gym and oper-ate the system. It is the best for maxi-mizing the coach’s time. We used it totrain 650 players this season and stillhad time for other things! It’s the bestmachine in the USA!”

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CUSTOMERTESTIMONIAL�

The Volleyball Court

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Circle No. 52 on Reader Inquiry Card

Introducing the New Collegiate 3000Series, a revolutionary new design intelescopic and fixed pole volleyball sys-

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Circle No. 53 on Reader Inquiry Card

SPIKE NASHBAR(800) SPIKE-IT,www.spikenashbar.com

Spike Nashbar offers the Top TrainerBlock N’ Cover, the most innovativeblock n’ cover training device availabletoday. With a net system, this trainingtool is used to teach and enhance yourplayers’ skills of covering their attackersand/or hitting around a block. The Block

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The Spike Catcher™ Training System,also from Spike Nashbar, is a patentedvolleyball training system made of an

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COACHING MANAGEMENT 39

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40 COACHING MANAGEMENT

ADVERT ISERS D IRECTORYCIRCLE COMPANY PAGE NO. NO.

PRODUCTS D IRECTORYCIRCLE COMPANY PAGE NO. NO.

35 . . . . Airborne Athletics (AirCAT TEAM ). . . 37

36 . . . . Airborne Athletics (Networks) . . . . . . 37

59 . . . . All Volleyball, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

38 . . . . American Athletic, Inc. (Elite System). 37

37 . . . . American Athletic, Inc. (Web site). . . 37

39 . . . . Bison (Centerline Elite) . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

40 . . . . Bison (Centerline Portable Elite) . . . . . . 37

68 . . . . Cho-Pat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

75 . . . . CompuSports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

69 . . . . Digital Scout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

76 . . . . Dimensional Software (Volleyball Ace) 47

60 . . . . Dynamic Team Sports (Cypress jersey) 42

61 . . . . Dynamic Team Sports (Elite Series) . . 42

42 . . . . Eversan (Model 9765) . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

41 . . . . Eversan (portables) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

44 . . . . Future Pro (Centerline Elite Aluminum System) 37

43 . . . . Future Pro (Match Point) . . . . . . . . . . 37

45 . . . . Gared Sports (Collegiate 7200 System). 38

46 . . . . Gared Sports (Varsity 7100 System) . . . 38

77 . . . . Gatorade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

62 . . . . Greg Larson Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

48 . . . . Jaypro (PVB-3000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

47 . . . . Jaypro (referee stand) . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

63 . . . . JAZ Athletic Wear . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

49 . . . . JV Pro, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

64 . . . . Moyer Sports U.S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . 43

65 . . . . Moyer Sports U.S.A. (custom team apparel)43

50 . . . . Porter (Powr-Line) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

51 . . . . Porter (Powr-Net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

78 . . . . Power Systems (catalog) . . . . . . . . . 49

71 . . . . Power Systems (Plyo Jumper) . . . . . . 45

72 . . . . Power Systems (Reaction Ball) . . . . . . 45

70 . . . . PowerLung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

67 . . . . Pro Look Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

66 . . . . Pro Look Sports (volleyball uniform) . . 43

53 . . . . Schelde (Collegiate 3000 Series). . . . . . 39

52 . . . . Schelde (upgrade kit) . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

54 . . . . Spike Nashbar (Block N’ Cover) . . . . . 39

55 . . . . Spike Nashbar (Spike Catcher) . . . . . . 39

57 . . . . Sports Imports (Attack Volleyball Machine) 41

56 . . . . Sports Imports (Senoh net systems). . . 41

58 . . . . Sports Tutor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

73 . . . . Talent Sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

74 . . . . Xvest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

29 . . . . AirCAT (Airborne Athletics). . . . . . . . . BC

24 . . . . All Volleyball, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

12 . . . . American Athletic, Inc. . . . . . . . . . 21

21 . . . . Cho-Pat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

20 . . . . Digital Scout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

28 . . . . Dynamic Team Sports . . . . . . . . . IBC

26 . . . . eFundraising.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

3 . . . . Eversan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

14 . . . . Future Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

8 . . . . Gared Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2 . . . . Gatorade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

6 . . . . Jaypro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

11 . . . . JAZ Athletic Wear . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

25 . . . . JV Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

23 . . . . Moyer Sports U.S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . 41

4 . . . . Networks (Airborne Athletics) . . . . . . . . 7

19 . . . . Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

15 . . . . Power Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

22 . . . . PowerLung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

9 . . . . Pro Look Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13

17 . . . . Schelde North America . . . . . . . . . 31

1 . . . . Spike Nashbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC

10 . . . . SportCampTshirts.com . . . . . . . . . 15

16 . . . . Sports Imports (Attack Volleyball) . . . . 28

13 . . . . Sports Imports (Senoh Volleyball) . . . . 23

18 . . . . Volleyball ACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

7 . . . . Volleyball Tutor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5 . . . . Xvest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Dual Action Knee StrapDual Action Knee StrapStrengthens and tightens kneecapmechanism byapplying pressureupon the tendonabove and belowthe kneecap andlessens the devel-opment of iliotibialband and overusesyndromes.Sizes: Sm - XL

(Now Patented)

Achilles Tendon StrapAchilles Tendon StrapThis patenteddevice will reducestress upon theAchilles Tendonand provide effec-tive relief frompain and discom-fort associatedwith AchillesTendonitis.Sizes: S, M, L

I.T.B. StrapI.T.B. StrapApplies compres-sion at the area ofdiscomfort, usual-ly above the kneejoint or upperthigh, to preventthe snapping orfriction of the iliotibial band.

NEW

Sizes: XS - XL

Cho-Pat® Knee StrapCho-Pat® Knee StrapCho-Pat’s OriginalKnee Strap isdesigned to allevi-ate certain kneediscomforts due tooveruse syndromes,arthritis, and otherforms of degenera-tion. Nearly twomillion sold! Sizes: XS - XXL

Call 800-221-1601 (toll free) or 609-261-1336 or

visit www.cho-pat.com to learnmore about Cho-Pat’s innovative

sports/medicine devices.

Cho-Pat®

PRODUCTS FOR ACTIVE LIFESTYLES

All Products Made in the U.S.A.

Circle No. 21

Power Systems, Inc.(800) 321-6975, www.power-systems.com

Since 1986 Power Systems has made it a number one priority tobecome a leading supplier of sport training, health and fitness prod-ucts. Its new 2003 catalog is re-worked to provide the best possibleresource for all your training needs. Included areas are core strength,medicine balls, speed, plyometrics, agility, strength equipment,strength accessories and flooring. You’ll find the catalog full of newproducts as well as some products that we've improved upon. Notonly will you find these changes, but you will also find that the com-pany has lowered some of its prices enabling the customer to get pre-mium products at great pricing.

Circle No. 78 on Reader Inquiry Card

Catalog Showcase

The Volleyball Court

allows it to drop through and return itto you instantly. Take it to your favoriteplace to play, whether it be a sandcourt, grass, indoor, backyard, or thebeach. It is easy to set up and includesThe Spike Catcher block-coverage con-version kit and carry bag. It is availablefrom Spike Nashbar for $299.90, plusfreight and surcharge.

Circle No. 55 on Reader Inquiry Card

SPORTS IMPORTS, INC.(800) 556-3198, www.sportsimports.com

Sports Imports is starting its 26th yearof providing Senoh net systems to vol-leyball programs throughout the coun-

try. In thattime, SportsImports hasinstalledmore sys-tems thananyone else.

Sports Imports has chosen to remainfocused only on volleyball rather thanbe distracted by other sports. The com-pany has also chosen to have SportsImports people make personal visits to

your facility rather than being repre-sented by a dealer or middleman.Sports Imports believes that this is thebest way to ensure tailored equipmentfor your specific program. SportsImports and Senoh—the first, the best,the most widely used; yesterday, today,and tomorrow.

Circle No. 56 on Reader Inquiry Card

The Attack Volleyball Machine, distrib-uted by Sports Imports, challenges pro-fessional men’s and women’s volleyballprograms. Ball speeds are up to 70

mph with accuracy andrepeatability assured inevery drill. The throw-ing-head release pointsadjust from 5’ to 9’6”,from setting to men’sover-the-net serving andspiking heights.Horizontal and verticalthrowing-head move-ment allows the coachto instantly target any

point on the court, simulating realgame situations.

Circle No. 57 on Reader Inquiry Card

SPORTS TUTOR(800) 448-8867, www.sportstutorinc.com

The Gold and Silver Model VolleyballTutors, from Sports Tutor, both canvary ball trajectory and speed to pro-

duce any desiredset or pass, andcan also deliverserves at speedsup to 60 mph.The Gold Modelcan automatical-ly throw six vol-leyballs at inter-vals rangingfrom 5 to 20 sec-onds. It is com-

pletely portable, and is available witheither AC or battery power. The SilverModel has a release point 5-1/2 feethigh, and features a separate dial tocontrol the amount of topspin orunderspin. Priced from $899.

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COACHING MANAGEMENT 41

*See us on the internet www.moyersports.com

•Breakaway Pants•Uniforms •Warm-ups•Bags •Jackets

1-800-255-5299 ext. 6*Free Color Catalog

Moyer Sports U.S.A.3290 Pine Orchard Ln. Ellicott City, Md. 21042

Circle No. 22Circle No. 23

Uniforms & Apparel

eFundraising.com is the #1 sourcefor all your team’s fund-raisingneeds!

I n f o r m a t i o n f r o m . . .

eFundraising is a subsidiary of QSP and Reader’s Digest offering sportsteams quality service and your choice of proven fund-raising programswhere your team can earn up to 90% profit. Our products includescratch cards, three different magazine programs, World’s FinestChocolate candy bars, and a large variety of gift brochures. Please callus now at 1-800-561-8388 for your free fund-raising information kit. Oneof our experienced fund-raising consultants will answer all your fund-raising questions.

Visit our Web site at

www.efundraising.comfor more information on our products.

Call us toll-free at 800.561.8388

Visit us at www.efundraising.com

ALL VOLLEYBALL, INC.(800) 416-4658, www.allvolleyball.com

All Volleyball, Inc., serves the specificneeds of volleyball coaches and players.Whatever the need—uniforms, campshirts, volleyballs, ball carts, bags, shoes,

warm-ups, novel-ties, gifts, etc.,All Volleyball’sone-stop volley-ball shop con-cept is a hit with

middle and high school, college, andclub coaches across the country.Offering all the top brands and manyprivate labels, the company can workwith any budget, any age group, or anylevel of competition. All Volleyball pro-vides customized lettering, numbering,and embroidery services as well as cus-tom design assistance and pre-designedartwork to choose from. Contact thecompany for all your volleyball needs.

Circle No. 59 on Reader Inquiry Card

DYNAMIC TEAM SPORTS(800) 437-6223, www.dynamicteamsports.com

Dynamic Team Sports offers the best inteam uniforms. The Cypress jersey isDynamic’s most popular sleeveless shirtyet. Made of Dynamic’s 75-percent

polyester, and 25-percent cottonAerofibre, the Cypress is designed with

comfortanddurabili-ty inmind.Choosefromhome

and away combinations in 10 stock col-ors, or ask about custom colors foreven more possibilities.

Circle No. 60 on Reader Inquiry Card

Dynamic’s Elite Series is a revolution-ary line of custom uniforms sure tomake your team stand above the com-petition. And get this—all the artwork,

logos, and num-bers are sublimat-ed into the gar-ments—light-weight, breath-able fabric. Thiseliminates theheavy, stickysilkscreen thatcould peel, crack,

or fade. You pick the colors for yourown unique look.

Circle No. 61 on Reader Inquiry Card

GREG LARSON SPORTS(800) 950-3320, www.glssports.com

Promote your team with this greatlooking Volleyball tackle twill. Place onhooded or crew-neck sweatshirt in

your schoolcolors. Greatfor staff attire,fund-raising,pre-gamewarm-ups, andthat long roadtrip home

after a successful match. Contact GLSfor the newest graphics and don’t for-get to ask for the 2003 Full LineEquipment. Set the standard; team upwith Greg Larson Sports.

Circle No. 62 on Reader Inquiry Card

JAZ ATHLETIC WEAR(800) 477-9843

JAZ Athletic Wear,has the mostextensive line ofcustom uniformsdesigned exclusive-ly for female ath-letes by femaleathletes. The com-pany’s lineincludes: jerseys,

42 COACHING MANAGEMENT

shorts, tights, and warm-ups—all madewith the best athletic fabrics in theindustry. All tops are available sleevelessor any kind of sleeves. JAZ AthleticWear’s poly-cotton allows you to feelthe comfort and absorbency of cottonand the durability of poly. This fabric iscool and looks great.

Circle No. 63 on Reader Inquiry Card

MOYER SPORTS(800) 255-5299, ext. 3, www.moyersports.com

Moyer Sports is a leading distributorand manufacturer of custom uniforms,warm-ups, jackets, bags, and more.

Since 1981, Moyer has sold directly tothe school athletic market. The compa-ny’s state-of-the-art lettering facilityoffers custom tackle twill, swiss embroi-dery, and silkscreen services. Uniquedesigns, top-quality merchandise, andpersonal service allow Moyer to be yournumber-one apparel supplier.

Circle No. 64 on Reader Inquiry Card

Moyer Sports offers a full line of stockand custom team apparel, warm-ups,travel suits, jackets, jerseys, and bags.

Top names such asadidas, Mizuno,Bike, Dynamic TeamSports, and Moyer’sCustom Line areamong the manybrands available.The company’s in-house lettering facil-ity enables Moyer tooffer quicker servicethan the competi-

tion. A free color catalog is available. Circle No. 65 on Reader Inquiry Card

PRO LOOK SPORTS (888) 937-3156,www.prolooksports.com

Pro Look Sports, renowned for its bas-ketball uniforms, makes the absolutebest high-end volleyball uniform at anextremely modest price. Like its basket-ball products, quality is never sacrificed.All uniforms carry custom Tackle Twilland embroidery, as opposed to com-

petitors’ inferiorproducts containingsilk-screen. All uni-forms come with atwo-year guaranteeand all upgrades arefree. There are nominimum orderrestrictions.

Circle No. 66 onReader Inquiry Card

Pro Look Sports has become the fastestgrowing team sportswear company in sixyears for one reason: fully custom, quali-

ty uniforms. Pro Look’suniforms are made ofthe finest materialsavailable; cut and sewnto your exact specifica-tions. There are noadditional costs forembroidered logos orfor soft tackle-twillnames and numbers. Allwork is backed by atwo-year guarantee.

Circle No. 67 on Reader Inquiry Card

Uniforms & Apparel

COACHING MANAGEMENT 43

Team uniforms, camp shirts, shoes, equipment,training aids, protective gear, coaching needs,

novelties, jewelery, fun wear and more

ALL VOLLEYBALL, iNC.9942 Kennerly Rd. St. Louis, MO 63128

e-mail: [email protected]

WWW.ALLVOLLEYBALL.COM

YOUR ONE STOP VOLLEYBALL SHOP

Serving the volleyball community since 1995

800/416-4658

JV PROScoring Tables

2600 Harrison Ave. • Rockford IL 61108Phone: 815-229-1600 • 800-962-2440 • Fax: 815-229-3308Webpage: @http://www.jvpro.com E-mail: [email protected]

NEW! LED Possession Arrows& Bonus Lights Brighter, Bigger, Safer• Two styles to choose from, Free-Standing or Bleacher.• Heavy duty padding in your choice of school colors.• High quality laminated table top with safe,

rounded corners.• Bleacher will also convert to Free-Standing

style in seconds without tools.• Folds to 16 inches for storage, extends

only 14 inches on to the court.• All models include locking casters

for easy placement.• Enclosed UL light fixtures.

Heavy duty chairs in yourschool colors with logo or mascot areavailable to match your scoring table.

Circle No. 24 Circle No. 25

C U S T O M E R T E S T I M O N I A L

Airborne Athletics

116 W. Main Street Belle Plaine, MN 56011 Phone: (888) 887-7453

www.aircatvolleyball.com

As the “Official Volleyball Training Machine ofthe USAV,” the AirCAT Team is recognized asthe industry’s top training machine for setting,passing, serve receive, hitting, digging, tip-ping, and blocking drills.

As the Most Valuable Player of USA Volleyball 75thAnniversary All-ERA Team, Karch Kiraly is known for hisdevotion to the game, his strong training ethic, and theincredible longevity of his very successful career. Heapproves of the USAV endorsement of the AirCAT say-ing, “I’ve been playing world class volleyball for almost 25years. I’ve seen a lot of training devices but the AirCAT isthe first one where I’ve thought, ‘I could really use that inmy training.’ I could have used it at any time during mycareer. I think it is going revolutionize volleyball training.”

Thousands of colleges, high schools, clubs, and individu-als throughout the United States currently own theAirCAT with the numbers growing every day. DougCampbell, President of Airborne Athletics, Inc.—the com-pany that produces the AirCAT—says, “Many of our earli-est customers are still using and loving their original sys-tems. I hear from our very first customer twice a year andRalph always tells me how much he still loves hismachine.”

The AirCAT Team launches up to 1,100 balls per houron its automatic timer or can be run using a remote con-trol. Because the machine uses Consistent AirTechnology™ and not spinning wheels, balls are deliveredwith unequaled precision and without destroying costly vol-leyballs.

Airborne Athletics also offers the AirCAT Solo, for indi-vidual volleyball training, and NetworKs, the portable nettraining station that catches and collects volleyballs.

44 COACHING MANAGEMENT

Team EquipmentCho-Pat’s Counter-Force Knee Wrap is a versatile and dynam-

ic approach to the pain and discomfort asso-ciated with knee injuries, wear and tear, oroveruse syndromes. Constructed of heavy-duty, stretchable, fabric-covered neoprene,the wrap reinforces and warms the knee tohelp alleviate patellar pain. Adjustablestraps can give an added level of kneecapsupport while still allowing the user fullmobility. Contact Cho-Pat at (800) 221-1601

or visit www.cho-pat.com for more information.Circle No. 68 on Reader Inquiry Card

Know more, win more with Digital Scout. “Get ready to ele-vate your coaching to the next level”—Chris Powers, HeadCoach, Christian Fellowship School, Lakewood, Colo. Digital

Scout Statware statistical software forvolleyball is getting great reviews fromcoaches nationwide. The Digital Scoutsystem is easy to use. Choose from fourdifferent modes to track team and playerperformance your way. Get instantanalysis at the match on your Palm OShandheld computer and print press-ready statistics reports from your PC rightafter. Track rotations, rate passing (0-3),

and rate serves and attacks (0-4 or +/-/0). Digital Scout is agreat coaching tool. Go to www.digitalscout.com or call (800)249-1189 for more information.

Circle No. 69 on Reader Inquiry Card

PowerLung® is the original and only integrated exhale andinhale isolated, progressive resistance respiratory strength trainingmachine for all athletes. It is based on 80 years of medical

research; proven to increase respirato-ry muscle strength; inhale and exhale;Tidal Volume >25 percent and PeakExhalation >20 percent; Inhale MusclePower > 40 percent; Exhale Muscle

Power > 150 percent. Studies show asthma sufferers may benefitfrom respiratory muscle training. A player’s body is only as strongas the weakest muscles—the respiratory muscles. Your team isonly as strong as the weakest player—everyone needs PowerLungTraining for increased oxygen. Use PowerLung for stamina andendurance; stronger core body muscles; and reduced heart andrespiratory rates. Oxygen is the limiting factor in sports. Call (800)903-3087 or visit www.powerlung.com for more information.

Circle No. 70 on Reader Inquiry Card

The Plyo Jumper from Power Systems, Inc. is the perfectportable tool for vertical jump training and isgreat for practicing indoors or out. Adjustthe resistance to 40, 80, or 120 lbs. It givesyou the ability to increase body weight by 30percent. Waist belt sizes: 27” to 38”. Anexercise guide is included. Call (800) 321-6975 or visit www.power-systems.com formore information about its products or torequest a catalog.

Circle No. 71 on Reader Inquiry Card

Improve your eye-hand coordination and reaction time withthe Reaction Ball from Power Systems, Inc. Volley or roll itbetween two persons or against a wall. It is made of durable

rubber and bounces randomly andunpredictably causing the athlete to“chase” it. An exercise guide is includ-ed. Call (800) 321-6975 or visitwww.power-systems.com for moreinformation about its products or torequest a catalog.

Circle No. 72 on Reader Inquiry Card

Talent Sports offers Worth AllsportAll-Weather Xtra-Dri® Power Shirts.Long sleeve, Mock Turtle Neck mois-ture management fabric transfers allmoisture away from the body preserv-ing energy for better performance.Talent Sports also carries a Worth ColdWeather Power Shirt. Call (405) 360-

5733 or visit www.talentsportinc.com for more information.Circle No. 73 on Reader Inquiry Card

“I have found the X Vest to be an excellent tool for providingoverloads in both plyometric and strength training, condition-

ing and rehabilitation programs. The fit andadaptability are excellent. The X Vest allowsfor freedom of movement and doesn’t inter-fere with any of the agility, bounding or run-ning programs that I write for a wide varietyof athletes, both collegiate and professional.The X Vest has proven itself in my programs!Thank you for all your efforts and help inimproving my capability as a strength & condi-tioning specialist.”—Donald A. Chu Ph.D., PT,

ATC, CSCS and author of Jumping into Plyometrics. Call (800)697-5658 or visit www.THExVest.com for more information.

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COACHING MANAGEMENT 45

www.efundraising.comCircle No. 26

C U S T O M E R T E S T I M O N I A L

Sports Imports

P.O. Box 21040 Columbus, OH 43221Phone: (800) 556-3198

www.sportsimports.com

Sports Imports is the exclusive distributor of Senoh, theworld's leading volleyball net system. Since 1976, Sports Imports has installed more than 17,000Senoh Systems in gyms and arena across the country,including nearly 90% of Division I college programs. Sports Imports offers incredible direct customer support,customized solutions, construction design services and anunmatched equipment warranty.

“As the former Sweet Home HighSchool volleyball coach for over twentyyears, I’m proud of our win/loss recordand our six New York state titles. Oneedge we’ve had over many competitors isour relationship with Sports Importsand the Senoh Volleyball System. OurSenoh net system is easy to set up, sim-ple to adjust and incredibly durable.With Senoh, our athletes spend lesstime messing with uprights and moretime practicing competitive skills. Andafter 10 years of constant use, our netsystems perform as they did on the firstday. Now our Sports Imports represen-tative tells me we can rejuvenate theuprights to like new condition. Whoknows how long they will last?

“I also want to recommend the folks at Sports Imports. They know our sport, its trends and rulechanges. They even helped us plan our court layout to maximize the facility. It is nice to work with acompany that truly stands behind their product. Sports Imports is the best advantage a coach andteam can have on its side.”

Sally KusHead Volleyball CoachSweet Home High School, NY22 Conference Titles & 6 NY State Titles

46 COACHING MANAGEMENT

More New Products

Easy-Recruiter, from CompuSports,helps college coaches and recruitersmanage athletic recruiting data. Easy-Recruiter can operate in both single-

user andmulti-user(network)environ-ments andadapts tovirtuallyany sport.A collec-

tion of reports is included and the usercan easily modify (customize) thesereports and then save them for futureuse. Easy-Recruiter saves time, ensuresup-to-date information, and makes itquickly and easily accessible to coachesand athletic support staff. Call (800)691-4555 or visit www.compusports.comfor more information.

Circle No. 75 on Reader Inquiry Card

Volleyball Ace Version 4 is the newestversion of handheld stat software fromDimensional Software. Version 4 fea-tures “one tap” automatic volleyballstats and scoring. Stats include per

game andsummarystats,serve andpass rat-ings,points per

rotation and hit charts. Version 4 gener-ates NCAA Box Scores and includes utili-ties to merge manual stats. VolleyballAce accommodates different rules usedat high school, club and collegiate level.Stats automatically upload to aWindows PC or Macintosh for printingand further analysis. Volleyball Ace isavailable from distributors or directlyfrom Dimensional Software. Call (877)223-8225 or visit www.ace4vb.com formore information.

Circle No. 76 on Reader Inquiry Card

Gatorade Thirst Quencher's optimal for-mula contains electrolytes and carbohy-drates. It is based on more than 30 yearsof scientific research and testing.Nothing rehydrates, replenishes andrefuels better than Gatorade ThirstQuencher—not even water. * REHY-DRATE—Gatorade has the flavor to

keep your athletes drinking—and a six-percent carbohydrate solution that'soptimal for speeding fluids back into

their sys-tems. Nofluid isabsorbedfaster thanGatorade.* REPLEN-ISH—Ifyour ath-letes don't

replace the electrolytes they lose whenthey sweat, they risk becoming dehy-drated, which can take them out of thegame. By putting electrolytes back,Gatorade helps athletes drink more,retain fluids and maintain fluid balance.* REFUEL—Unlike water, Gatorade hasthe right amount of carbohydrates (14grams per eight ounces) to give yourathlete's working muscles more energy,help athletes fight fatigue and keeptheir mental edge. For more info, visitwww.gssiweb.com.

Circle No. 77 on Reader Inquiry Card

COACHING MANAGEMENT 47

Spike Nashbar—Your one-stopshop for volleyball equipment.

n e w s f r o m . . .

The largest and most complete source of volleyball products is now in place at Spike Nashbar. Volleyball One,established in 1978 was sold a few weeks ago to the parent company of Spike Nashbar, Matrix Group Limited, Inc.Matrix Group Limited, Inc., of Safety Harbor, Florida is the publisher of VBALL Magazine, Spike Nashbar and Sweet &Powerful catalogs. WrestlingOne was part of the purchase. The sale price was not disclosed. Matrix immediatelyunveiled plans to combine the Spike Nashbar and Volleyball One catalog into a powerful one-stop resource under anew name, Volleyball Express with an updated mailing list of more than 300,000 players, teams, clubs, and coaches.The headquarters will remain in Florida.

Volleyball One was founded in 1978 by Val Keller, a respected volleyball coach and technician on the Americanvolleyball front for many decades. Keller, who was credited with developing a numbering system to identify sets usedby thousands of coaches, passed away in June of 2000. Matrix Group president Louis Orloff said he began discussionswith Keller three years ago about a possible merger. Interest was renewed when Val Keller’s wife, Lucy, contacted himlast fall about a possible sale. “The entire Keller family has made tremendous contributions to the sport of volleyball,”said Orloff. “As competitors I always respected the professional operation they were known for and the stature theygarnered in the volleyball world. I’m glad we were able to structure a deal the Keller family was very comfortable with.Combining Volleyball One & Spike Nashbar will enable us to offer virtually every item available for volleyball players.”

Visit our Web site at

www.spikenashbar.comFax us at 800.370.3424

Call us toll-free at 800.SPIKE.IT

www.spikenashbar.com

Web ConnectionsADAMS USAWWW.ADAMSUSA.COMVisit our Web site for Trace pads, Neumanngloves, Bolco bases, Bucks belts, the latestathletic equipment for youth thru varsity,and information about Youth Clinics forfootball and baseball.

AIRBORNE ATHLETICS, INC.WWW.AIRCATVOLLEYBALL.COMAirborne Athletics, Inc.’s volleyball-trainingsystems include the AirCAT TEAM for insti-tutional or team training and NetworKs,which is a portable net training station thatcatches and collects volleyballs. The AirCATSOLO is a volleyball-training machine forindividuals.

ALL AMERICAN SCOREBOARDSWWW.ALLAMERICANSCOREBOARDS.COMFor more than half a century, All American hasset the standard for quality, value, and reliabili-ty in electronic scoring systems.

CHOICE HOTELSWWW.CHOICESPORTSTRAVEL.COMWith over 4,600 hotels around the world, ChoiceHotels’SM brands—Comfort Inn®, ComfortSuites®, Quality®, Sleep Inn®, Clarion®,MainStay Suites®, Econo Lodge® and RodewayInn®—have a great deal to offer.

CSSI RESILIENT SURFACING PRODUCTS WWW.CARLSURF.COMCSSI Resilient Surfacing Products offers afull line of quality, innovative, and durablerubber resilient flooring products for fit-ness, recreational, playground, commercial,and architectural uses.

EFUNDRAISINGWWW.EFUNDRAISING.COMEarn up to 90-percent profit on scratch-cards, magazines, chocolates, and giftbrochures. Visit the Web site for a freefund-raising information kit.

GARED SPORTS-SSI VOLLEYBALLWWW.GAREDSPORTS.COMGared Sports-SSI Volleyball is an 82 year oldcompany manufacturing equipment and train-ing aids for residential and institutional use for;basketball, volleyball, soccer, and recreation.Gared Sports is the official supplier of basket-ball backboards and goals for all NBA arenas.

TARAFLEX SPORTS FLOORING BY GERFLORWWW.GERFLORTARAFLEX.COMGerflor produces Taraflex Sports Flooringfor basketball, volleyball, tennis and multi-purpose use. Visit the Web site for recentinstallations, flooring technical specifica-tions and applications, company and dis-tributor contact and press information.

LIFE FITNESSWWW.LIFEFITNESS.COMLife Fitness’ cutting-edge Web site integratesthe Life Fitness and Hammer Strength brands,providing in-depth information about the com-pany’s complete lines of cardiovascular andstrength training products.

NEVCO SCOREBOARD COMPANYWWW.NEVCOSCOREBOARDS.COMSince 1934 when the company began,Nevco has been synonymous with superior-quality scoreboards for sports. We have atotal commitment to building a product

that “works”_hour after hour, game aftergame, year after year.

PORTER ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT CO. WWW.PORTER-ATH.COMPorter’s new Web site introduces on-linepurchasing and greatly enhanced featuresthat make it easier than ever for coaches,athletic directors, school administrators,architects, contractors, etc. to purchase itsproduct and obtain detailed informationabout Porter equipment and services.

PRO LOOK SPORTSWWW.PROLOOKSPORTS.COMPro Look Sports makes fully custom, qualityuniforms. Their uniforms are made of thefinest materials; constructed to your exactspecifications. There are no additional costsfor embroidery or soft tackle-twill lettering.

SCHELDE NORTH AMERICAWWW.SCHELDESPORTS.COMAt the Schelde North America Web site, seethe finest competition sports equipment usedin Olympic, professional, collegiate, highschool and club sports throughout the world.Products include Schelde portable basketballgoals, volleyball net systems, tennis net sys-tems, badminton net systems, and Haro hard-wood sports floors.

SPORTS IMPORTSWWW.SPORTSIMPORTS.COMSports Imports is the exclusive distributor ofSenoh volleyball equipment. We provide directservice with regard to court layout, new con-struction design, and equipment recommenda-tions. Check out our new Web site.

Performance Sports Systems—”Raising the Quality Standards ofGymnasium Equipment”

H o w t o o r d e r f r o m . . .

PSS Offers Complete Design Services for Architects, Owners and Contractors:

● Develops accurate specifications and helps determine proper equipment● Manufactures backstops with advanced features that few can match● Let us be your project partner, the single source you need to meet your needs.

PSS has 80 years of experience as a leading manufacturer of institutional quality gymnasium equipmentthat includes ceiling suspended backstops and related accessories, portable basketball units, gymnasiumdivider curtains, wrestling mat storage and carrier systems, wall padding and volleyball, tennis and bad-minton equipment. We would like to hear from you, so call us with any questions you may have regard-ing our products, to request a PSS catalog or for information on the dealer nearest you.

Visit our Web site at

www.perfsports.com .

Fax us at 765.778.4056

Call us toll-free at 800.848.8034

E-mail us at [email protected]

48 COACHING MANAGEMENT

1866

1425

3742

167

15

Miles Ran

Hours Practiced

Miles Traveled

Games Played

Attitudes Uniting inOne Confident Look

30,000

10

18

6

Square Feet of DedicatedProduction Space

Years Experience

Hours a Day

Days a Week

YOUR TEAM

OUR TEAM

800.437.6223www.dynamicteamsports.com

Reflecting your Confidence inOne Personalized Look

Circle No. 28

Tilts to simulatesets, passes, hitsor serves

Adjustable Angle

AirCAT™ makes your players better by providing fast,precise “air fed” tosses for all volleyball drills,while leaving you free to coach

Airborne Athletics116 West Main Street, Belle Plaine, MN 56011

www.aircatvolleyball.com

For a FREE Video and Brochure call toll-free

1-888-88SPIKEor email

[email protected]

“AirCAT ™... it’s like apitching machinefor volleyball”

Built-in battery charger

Battery or A/C operation

Team or Individual

Wireless Remote Control (200' range)Operates by timer orremote (which freesyou to coach)

Perfect for team practice.Also allows players to

train by themselves

Patented Consistent

Air Technology ™

Consistently projectsup to 1100 balls per

hour with air (not withspinning wheels which

can be inconsistentand cause expensive

ball wear)

10 ball capacity (all brands);

no dangerous exposed

moving parts

Auto Ball Feeder

You dial in launch speedand set timed launches

ComputerControlled

Uses air, not spinning wheels!

Approved and Endorsed by

“AirCAT is going to revolutionize volleyball training!”

Karch KiralyProfessional Beach VolleyballPlayer; Former USA National Indoor Player; 3-Time Olympic GoldMedalist

Circle No. 29