The only really effective motivation in achieving success is internal motivation which arises from some cause, drive, wish, need, or reason within the athlete herself.   Each athlete is personally responsible for motivating herself. Her motivation must come from within herself, through her own efforts. No one can do this for her.  An athlete becomes what her thoughts dwell upon. She becomes what she plants in her mind.Planting the goal of success in her mind is one of the athlete's most important personal responsibilities in achieving success. Read The Full Article...

1. Have courage and do not worry.   If you do your best, never lose your temper, and are never outfought or out-hustled, you have nothing to worry about. 
2. Without faith and courage you are lost. 
3. Have respect without fear for every opponent and confidence without cockiness in regard to yourself.

Let me reflect on what you need to do to achieve your best performance.  Some of these thoughts should help you approach your athletic potential.  As a coach, I burn with the desire to help an athlete accelerate the development of a personal philosophy.  The ideas which follow accumulated during decades of helping players achieve personal excellence.
The Olympic motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius" guides our efforts as staff and athletes.  "Swifter, Higher, Stronger."  To win, we must push ourselves, giving all we can for as long as we can, and then, if possible, beyond.  The motto does not translate as "Swiftest, Highest, Strongest" even though the medals are awarded for those attributes.  Rather, Olympism is the pursuit of excellence in yourself and of personal improvement every day, on and off the court.  Remember this about your pursuit, "If it is meant to be, it is up to me...."  Read The Full Article...

While it is important to work out physically to condition your body, you can also become a better player at home by practicing mentally. Championship athletes have known for years that mental practice can help performance. Mental imagery or visualization is the name given to this type of mental practice. It can be done externally observing volleyball players or a videotape, or imagining watching yourself from outside your body. (Golfer Jack Nicklaus calls this "going to the movies") It can also be done internally (feeling" yourself doing the action).  Read The Full Article...

Push the Edge
Find a weakness or hole in your game and get excited about where your game will be after you change it. Be creative. Think up something no one in your sport has dared or perfected.  Read The Full Article...

Experience Success
When learning new skills and strategies, go step-by-step. Start with an easy piece, master it, and then move on to the next easiest piece. Or begin by modifying the skill to something you can do well. Let yourself experience success. Keep track of your personal records and how many times you can break them.  Read The Full Article...

One super-important skill in competition is composure, which I also call mental toughness. The ability to rid oneself of distractions and “focus” is essential in volleyball. This skill becomes increasingly important in challenging matches. Players who carry the emotional baggage from the last play, match, or tournament do not achieve the results that they are capable of.  Pressure and expectations are a reality.  Learning how to effectively deal with these issues can mean the difference between a win and a disappointing loss.  Read The Full Article...

One of the toughest jobs in the world is being a teenager. Everything is in transition. Everything is intense -- even apathy.
Kids on the brink of adulthood have to cope with inconsistencies and conflicts. The desire to be special and different clashes with the need to belong and fit in. The desire for independence collides with  the aversion to self-reliance and personal responsibility.  Here are five suggestions to improve the journey through adolescence:  Read The Full Article...

We want no “one woman” players, no “stars”.  We want a team made up of six women at a time, each of who is a passer, spiker, server, defensive player setter, blocker, etc; in other words, each women should be able to score, out-jump or out-smart an opponent, or prevent the opposing team from scoring, as the occasion demands.  Read The Full Article...

1. Teenage female athletes are less than half as likely to get pregnant as female non-athletes.
2. Physical activity appears to decrease the initiation of high-risk health behavior in adolescent girls, such as smoking.
3.  Research suggests that girls who participate in sports are more likely to experience academic success than those who do not play sports.  Read The Full Article...

It’s both a strength and a weakness of human nature that we’re never satisfied for long. Whatever we have, wherever we are, most of us want more and better. When focused on money or power, our insatiability can turn into happiness-crushing greed, avarice, and obsessive ambition.  Read The Full Article...

Normal Expectations
1. Be ladylike at all times.
2. Be a team player.
3. Be on time whenever time is involved.  Read The Full Article...

In everyone of our playing careers, we were asked to be subs, reserves, backups, specialists, benchwarmers, pine riders, shock troops, the Posse, etc. Whatever the coach called it, being named third team middle blocker was just not quite the same religious experience as when we were told to "get on the floor" as a starter. The nature of the game dictates that many people on volleyball teams will have roles not quite the same as what they ultimately desire. There are many ways to respond to the challenge of coming off of the bench, some good and some bad. Here are a few thoughts on how to make your job as a substitute a positive, meaningful one for you and your team.  Read The Full Article...

Whenever you go out-of-doors, draw your shoulders back, keep the head high, and fill the lungs to the utmost; drink in the sunshine; greet your friends with a smile, and put soul into every handshake.  Do not fear being misunderstood and do not waste a minute thinking about your enemies.  Try to fix firmly in your mind what you would like to do; and then, without veering off direction, you will move straight to the goal.  Read The Full Article...

Beyond the winning and the goal,

beyond the glory and the fame,

She feels the flame within her soul,  Read The Full Article...

Splinter Siblings
Dear Coach,
I am becoming frustrated with my lack of court time during matches.  My coach keeps telling me that I am improving, but I keep having to get tweezers on to my splinters after each game.  I have thought about changing clubs but I would prefer to stay where I am, as I enjoy the atmosphere in this club.

Sincerely,
Cushion  Read The Full Article...

Success By John Wooden
Success in coaching or playing should not be based on the number of games won or lost, but rather on the basis of what each individual did in comparison with others when taking into consideration individual abilities, the opponents, the site of the contests, etc.  Read The Full Article...

Volleyball is a sport that values teamwork.  In a volleyball game many plays are dictated purely by the skill of the players.  Many points, though, are also influenced directly and indirectly by the teamwork that occurs before, during and after the play.  Understanding how to maximize your team’s ability to earn the “teamwork points” can help players and team get a competitive advantage and win more games.  Read The Full Article...

In the fast-paced world of juniors volleyball, players are truly in a race against the clock.  Juniors volleyball has never been more cutthroat.  Consider this question; would a coach put a junior or senior on a team if she could not pass or make her serve or hit her spikes over the net?  Would the coach still make this choice if the player had a lot of potential?  Would the coach make the same choice if the player were a freshman or an eighth grader?  The point is, if players can become skilled at a young age they can be successful for their entire career.  The only way to excel in volleyball is to train well.  Many players think that they are doing all that they can do, but are actually unaware of several key components of training that, if mastered, can enhance their lifelong learning, success and fun in the sport of volleyball. Read The Full Article...

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.  Read The Full Article...

It costs nothing, but creates much.  
It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give it.
It happens in a flash, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.  Read The Full Article...

Coach John Wooden's Philosophy of Success The Genesis
UCLA won ten national championships while I was the basketball coach, and Mr. Lawrence Scheidler played a role in all of them. How big a role did he play? Let me tell you a story and then you can decide for yourself.
Mr. Scheidler was a math teacher back at Martinsville High School in Indiana when I was a sophomore. Occasionally he discussed topics other that mathematics. One day in March he instructed the class to write a paper defining success. Mr. Scheidler wanted to get us thinking about the concept of success and whether it just meant getting rich or famous or beating somebody in a ball game.  Read The Full Article...

Let the Season begin!
I look out over the sea of volleyball matches and wonder how a motivated team can separate itself from the enormous number of quality teams involved in volleyball these days?  Most teams run the same basic volleyball systems, use the same skills, have the same amount of practice time, and even have practically the same uniforms.  Read The Full Article...

My Favorite Player
After thirty plus years of coaching in this great sport, I think it is time to tell you who my favorite player is. Every coach has one you see, and I am no different. The player I am talking about I have never measured in height, but I know this player has the biggest heart of the team, and always plays up to a special stature. She is the one who cares about her teammates, on and off the court. The one who came up with the idea of enlarging her sick teammate’s face to life size, putting it on a stick and making sure it is in every picture taken, team or otherwise, when we went on an away trip.  Read The Full Article...

Have you heard of the concept of SMART goals?
We all know that you can't succeed without goals, and the more focused and defined your goals are, the more successful
you will be. Well here is a way of measuring whether your goals defined and focused in the right way.
SMART stands for: Specific/ Measurable/ Achievable/ Result Oriented/ Trackable .  If any of your goals doesn't get a tick against all five of those measures, go back and redefine it until it does.  Remember: Good Enough - Never Is!  What's keeping you from forging past good to GREAT?  Read The Full Article...

"AVERAGE" is what the failures claim to be when their families and friends ask them why they are not successful.

"AVERAGE" is the top of the bottom, the best of the worst. Which of these are you?  Read The Full Article...