Coaching Management 12.11

Coaching Management VOL. XII, NO. 11

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Coaching Management Volleyball Edition Postseason 2004

CONTENTS

Vol. XII, No. 11

2 LOCKER ROOM

Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Solving club vs. school team conflicts … Women’s Coaches Academy is a success … Fighting salary inequities in Florida ... A preview of the book, She Can Coach! … How to prevent iron deficiencies in female athletes …

Privacy concerns debated.

Q&A

........................

17

Marysville (Mich.) High School’s John Knuth talks about winning state titles, weekly practice plans, and how to communicate expectations to players.

27

17 COVER STORY

A Matter of Balance

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OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE

Ready, Set, Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 How can you get your athletes to give maximum effort in every aspect of their performance, on every play? Consider the following mental (and life) skills program.

NUTRITION

Carbs: To Cut or Not? Uniforms & Apparel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Web News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Catalog Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Volleyball Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 More Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Publisher Mark Goldberg Art Director Pamela Crawford Art Assistant Dina Stander Business Manager Pennie Small Special Projects Dave Wohlhueter

Editor-in-Chief Eleanor Frankel Associate Editor Dennis Read Assistant Editors R.J. Anderson Kenny Berkowitz David Hill Greg Scholand Laura Smith Administrative Assistant Sharon Barbell

20

There is a myth being perpetuated that you can’t be a competitive volleyball coach and raise a family. In this article, six successful coaching moms explain how to balance the two.

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33

That is the question many athletes are wondering these days as everyone and their best friend seem to be losing weight on low-carb diets.

ADVERTISERS DIRECTORY

Circulation Director Dave Dubin Circulation Manager John Callaghan

Production Manager Kristin Ayers

Circulation Assistant Joan Doria

Production Assistant Jonni Campbell

IT Manager Mark Nye

Ad Materials Coordinator Mike Townsend

Prepress Manager Adam Berenstain

Marketing/Sales Assistant Danielle Catalano

Asst. Production Manager Kristi Kempf

Advertising Sales Associates Diedra Harkenrider, (607) 257-6970, ext. 24 Sheryl Shaffer, (607) 257-6970, ext. 21 Business and Editorial Offices 2488 N. Triphammer Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 257-6970, Fax (607) 257-7328 info@MomentumMedia.com Mailing lists for Coaching Management Volleyball are provided by the Clell Wade Coaches Directory.

COVER PHOTO: STEVE WOLTMAN/UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE SPORTS INFORMATION

38

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The Coaching Management Volleyball edition is published in April and November by MAG, Inc. and is distributed free to college and high school coaches in the United States and Canada. Copyright © 2004 by MAG, Inc. All rights reserved. Text may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without the permission of the publisher. Unsolicited materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a selfaddressed, stamped envelope. Coaching Management is printed by Banta Publications Group, Kansas City, MO. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Coaching Management, P.O. Box 4806, Ithaca, N.Y. 14852.

Printed in the U.S.A.

COACHING MANAGEMENT

1

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bulletin board Club and School Teams in Calif.

Begin Dialogue As in many areas of the nation, club and high school volleyball teams in California haven’t always been on the same page.

Club team tryouts have sometimes conflicted with high school championship games, advice to players from the two coaches may differ, and friction has often arisen.

but a couple of key issues were identified and, perhaps more importantly, there was reason to see that relations could improve. “I think it could lead to a better environment,” says Tom Donaghy, Office Manager for the NCVA, the organizing group for USA Volleyball in the region.

utely right on target here, and I’m going back to my board of directors and recommending some changes in our timelines.

We don’t need to force quality players who are in the CIF playoffs to skip a practice or a match so they can come to our tryouts. That’s totally insensitive and inappropriate.’”

“We would like to see every high school have a club team,” he says. “We believe that if every high school has a club team, it’s going to make the whole sport better, which brings more people to the sport.”

But over the past year, things have started to change, thanks to leaders in both camps opening up dialogue. And their first steps toward some solutions may be a model for others.

No one is suggesting the meetings solved every problem, real or potential. For one thing, the NCVA’s push for more club opportunities conflicts with many high schools’ desire to nurture multiplesport student-athletes. But the NCVA plans to join in on the CIF’s next board meetings, and there seems to be a feeling that both sides are at least willing to hear one another out.

Discussions began in 2003, when the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) organized a meeting with representatives of all club sports, as well as student-athletes and coaches, to discuss problems that had developed between the two structures. A regional constituent organization of USA Volleyball represented the club volleyball community.

“We had become aware of more and more conflicts and more and more issues, some of them through third-party stories and some directly,” says John Tarman, an Assistant Executive Director of the CIF. “We held what we called an interscholastic-club sports summit, on a Saturday in San Diego. It helped to create a greater understanding and appreciation of the different perspectives of the constituents involved in the issue.”

2

COACHING MANAGEMENT

Rosie Manton, competing for Empire 18 Mizuno, passes the ball during a Northern California Volleyball Association game last year. In northern California, club and high school teams are starting to work together to alleviate conflicts.

Tarman also attended this meeting, and he felt the dialogue was extremely positive.

“For example, we said, ‘We understand that club coaches do this for a living, and that many of their athletes do get scholarship offers,’” says Tarman. “‘But why do club tryout dates have to conflict with the CIF playoffs?’

“Everybody looked around the room,” he continues, “and somebody from club volleyball said, ‘You know, you’re absol-

Another issue that emerged was the NCVA’s view that the CIF should better enforce its own rules designed to prevent high school coaches from pressuring their players to join the coaches’ non-school club teams, says Donaghy. Without better enforcement, many in club volleyball believe the coaches who work in both structures may get away with such coercion, eventually leading the CIF to prohibit scholastic coaches from also coaching club teams.

“We feel like we made some progress,” says Tarman. “We all came together. If people had chips on their shoulders, they seemed to leave them at the door because the conversation and the dialogue was not adversarial. It was very collaborative. Clearly, people had the welfare of the studentathletes front and center, and that’s what made the process work.”

Coaches Academy Earns High Marks LaTaya Hilliard-Gray had been thinking about going back to school for a graduate degree.

Lately though, she’s decided to stick with coaching. For one thing, her Winston-Salem State University Rams have found consistency and improvement. Another reason is her involvement in the second annual Women Coaches Academy.

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From there, the CIF-Northern Section and the Northern California Volleyball Association (NCVA) convened a mini-summit of their own a few months later. They gathered in a conference room at a hotel in the San Francisco Bay area and hashed out both conflicts and mutual needs. By no means were all the problems solved,

The other major issue was that many administrators in charge of scheduling the use of their school facilities are reluctant to make their gyms available for club teams. This hurts athletes who want to play more and reach the next level in volleyball, says Donaghy.

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bulletin board “If you ever have a chance to attend this academy, do it,” Hilliard-Gray says. “It changes your whole view of things.

When anyone asks me what I got out of it, I tell them it inspired me and gave me more motivation. It also gave me an adviser, and a mentor.”

The Women Coaches Academy is put on by the National Association for Collegiate Women

is to motivate, and there are three things we try to do,” says Celia Slater, Executive Director of the academy and Special Projects Coordinator at NACWAA. “First is to provide women with a skill base that will help them in their day-to-day challenges, from teaching methods to communicating with their athletic director, student-athletes, and staff. We’re trying to give them

in the field. The third thing is to inspire them and help them see their value in the world of women’s athletics.”

Among the provocative class titles at this year’s academy in Wilmington were “Change is Good—You Go First, Mary,” “How to Coach Yourself in a Losing Season,” “Networking and Internal Politics,” and “Title IX: Facts and Friction about Gender Equity.”

Other topics included public speaking skills, communication strategies, diversity, ethics, and methods of motivating.

Learning better ways to communicate with her supervisor, staff, and studentathletes was the greatest take-home lesson for Hilliard-Gray. “Today’s student-athletes are different from when I was playing,” she says. “I realized I have to let them know that I’m here for them no matter what, as a friend, as a coach, as a mentor.”

Since returning from the academy, Hilliard-Gray has LaTaya Hilliard-Gray (center), Head Volleyball Coach at Winstonkept in touch with coaches Salem State University, talks with other coaches at last year’s NACWAAshe met, talking about common concerns, both in sponsored Women Coaches Academy. The academy’s goal is to motivate their sports and out. In females to remain in the coaching field. fact, they’ve pledged to raise money to help pay Athletic Administrators a relevant skill base that goes for at least one other coach to (NACWAA) with a grant from beyond X’s and O’s. attend next year’s academy. the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics. Twenty-four “Number two is to provide Plans for 2005 are in flux, larcoaches took part June 3-7 at them with an opportunity to gely because NACWAA isn’t the University of North Carolinacreate a network with other sure how large the NCAA grant Wilmington, and 19 were at women in athletics whom they and other funding sources will the University of Denver June can call on for support,” Slater be, Slater says. Many attendees 19-23. Attendees came from continues. “Many women feel receive financial support from all NCAA divisions, sports, and isolated in athletic departtheir institutions, and some career stages—from two years ments. Often, they’re the only Division III schools use NCAA in the field to 22. woman in the department. We coaches’ scholarship funds as want to build a network of well. This year’s costs were The academy’s ultimate mission women who’ve been to the $1,400 per coach, but that’s is to raise the number of academy, and link them to subject to change, and the enwomen coaching. “Our goal the women who are pioneers tire program could look quite different next year. NACWAA is also talking to other organiDetails and applications are expected to be available zations about creating a similar by the end of 2004 on the academy’s Web site, program for high school www.coachesacademy.com/home.htm. coaches, Slater says.

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COACHING MANAGEMENT

Fighting Salary Inequities Schools crunch all sorts of numbers to evaluate their Title IX compliance—participation numbers, budget numbers, numbers of contests and practices. However, one number that’s often overlooked is the one on coaches’ pay stubs.

When a school fails to compensate coaches of male and female teams equitably, what can coaches do?

Sean O’Flannery faced that question when he signed on as Head Volleyball Coach at Northeast High School in Pinellas County, Fla., in 1999.

Volleyball coaches at Northeast and 15 other Pinellas County high schools were paid $860 a year, while boys’ wrestling coaches earned $1,600 a year. O’Flannery challenged the inequity, and four years later, volleyball coaches finally began taking home the same size paychecks as their wrestling counterparts.

Along the way, O’Flannery learned some lessons about what works and what doesn’t work when tackling a Title IX issue. “The first step was to do my homework,” he says. He began by systematically evaluating the situation to determine if a Title IX violation existed, using materials he obtained from the nearest regional office of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which for him was in Atlanta.

Reading through the OCR materials, O’Flannery realized he needed to determine which boys’ sport offered the best comparison to volleyball.

He decided that wrestling was the best match based on the length of season, the number of athletes, the number and length of practices, and the number of contests.

He obtained an official copy of the pay scales for volleyball and wrestling coaches from

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bulletin board pay scale and that’s final,’” O’Flannery says. “The assistant superintendents were not familiar with how Title IX relates to athletics, so I didn’t get anywhere with them either. And the State of Florida agreed that the school was probably in violation of the state’s Equal Pay Act, but said they had no funding to investigate.”

the district and confirmed the length of each season with the Florida High School Athletic Association.

The next step was moving his complaint carefully along the proper chain of command. For O’Flannery, that meant stating his grievance, in succession, to the district’s athletic director, personnel office, two assistant superintendents, teachers’ union, and finally, the State of Florida. Prior to each meeting or phone call, he sent a copy of his complaint in writing, along with the OCR gender equity evaluation he had completed. He kept copies of each memo to document his efforts, and he was careful to keep his demeanor professional at all times.

“I was courteous and diplomatic,” he says. “My approach at

Sean O’Flannery, Head Coach at Northeast High School in Pinellas County, Fla., successfully challenged his school district regarding pay inequities and saw his salary almost double. each meeting was, ‘I believe there is an inequity here and I’m looking for your help.’”

Each time a meeting with school administrators failed to produce results, O’Flannery politely informed them that he was unsatisfied with their

answer and that he would take his complaint further.

Some officials were more sympathetic than others, but ultimately none were willing to take up his cause. “The athletic director said, ‘That’s the

Still, none of the work O’Flannery did at the local level was wasted, since it paid off when he submitted a formal complaint to the OCR. “The first thing the OCR asks you is, ‘What have you done to resolve the problem?’”he explains. “Before they get involved, they want to see that you have exhausted your other options. I was able to give them a stack of paperwork documenting what I had done.”

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bulletin board Satisfied that O’Flannery had done his homework, the OCR contacted the Pinellas County School District and prepared to investigate. After stalling briefly, the school agreed to equalize volleyball coaching salaries with wrestling, avoiding a full investigation.

ball coaches to $1,900, equal with wrestling. Eight junior varsity volleyball coaches also received increases.

However, the story didn’t end there. Four months later, the district instituted pay raises for all coaches—except volleyball.

Once again, volleyball coaches’ salaries fell below wrestling coaches’ pay, this time by $300.

New Book Is for Female Coaches

“I complained again, and the athletic director said, ‘Volleyball coaches just got pay raises,’” says O’Flannery. “I explained that those were not raises—they were needed simply to reach equity.” After another threat of an OCR investigation, the district raised the salaries of eight varsity volley-

“It was a long road, but it was worth it,” O’Flannery says. “Unless someone speaks up, Title IX violations don’t go away.”

This winter, women who coach will have a new resource for developing their careers: advice from other women who coach.

And not just any women, but women whose names appear in coaching halls of fame, on national championship trophies, and on lists of featured speakers.

In her new book, She Can Coach!, former Head Volleyball Coach at Florida State Univer-

sity Cecile Reynaud creates a window into the lives, philosophies, and strategies of 20 of the nation’s most decorated female coaches. The book’s 20 chapters, each written by a different coach, address an array of topics from a uniquely female perspective, from coaching ethics and motivating student-athletes to managing assistant coaches and developing a coaching philosophy.

The idea of writing a book especially for women who coach occurred to Reynaud several years ago, and when she retired in 2001 after 26 years at Florida State, she decided to make the idea a reality. “As a coach, I was always looking for material to read,” says Reynaud, whose career victories placed her in the top nine among active NCAA Division I coaches before her retire-

Cecile Reynaud’s book for female coaches includes chapters on everything from self-discipline to recruiting. ment. “But almost everything I read was written by male coaches. I saw a need for a book by women coaches for women coaches.”

There has been a decline in the number of women entering

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bulletin board the coaching profession in the past decade, Reynaud adds, partly because female coaches face some unique challenges. “In many cases, they still don’t have the support that men’s programs do,” she says. “They’re the head coach, but they’re also responsible for proofreading the media guide. It’s not uncommon for female coaches to simply get overwhelmed. I wanted to give young coaches a resource that says, ‘This is how some of the top women

have done it.’ I’m hoping this book will give women the information they need to achieve more success and more sanity in their coaching.”

Reynaud began by identifying 20 topics to be covered in the book. “They’re drawn from questions I’ve heard consistently over the years,” she says. “How do you get kids motivated? How do you stay disciplined and teach your athletes discipline? How do you manage your time,

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At every clinic I’ve ever done, these are the things women talk about.”

She wanted readers to hear directly from successful female coaches in their own voices, so the next step was finding coaches willing to write each chapter. “I started researching top female coaches in a variety of sports and at a variety of levels,” she says. “I wanted to speak to a wide audience—high school and Divisions I, II, and III.” Volleyball coaches who contributed chapters were Mary Wise, Head Coach at the University of Florida; Mary Jo Peppler, Director of Coaching for the Coast Volleyball Club in California; and Joan Powell, Head Coach at Coronado (Colo.) High School. The book also contains chapters

by Margie Wright, Head Softball Coach at Fresno State; Nell Fortner, Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Auburn; and Pat Summitt, Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Tennessee.

While the book’s authors coach sports from field hockey to rowing, Reynaud believes the content is easily transferable from court to field to water. As an example, she points to a chapter on team cohesion by College of New Jersey Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach Sharon Pfluger.

“Her team has won six consecutive national championships, and the key to those successes is her understanding of how to treat young women as a team,” Reynaud says. “The principles she discusses are valuable for coaches of any sport.”

The coaches who wrote were extremely candid about their experiences, Reynaud adds. For example, University of Texas Head Swim Coach Jill Sterkel writes about stress management, and she doesn’t sugarcoat her own struggle with the issue. “Sterkel basically says, ‘I lived this.

Let me tell you about it. I had to get medication because I was so stressed out. Let me tell you what I did to lighten up,’” Reynaud says. “It’s amazing to learn from someone at that level sharing that kind of experience.”

While women are the book’s primary audience, Reynaud believes it also offers insight for male coaches. “There is no The book will be available in bookstores in late December and can be pre-ordered on the publisher’s Web site at: www.humankinetics.com.

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bulletin board doubt that this is a different kind of coaching book, and there are things in here you’d never find in a book for men,” she says. “But particularly for men who work with female student-athletes, I think there is a lot of wisdom here.”

Too Much Information?

When it comes to collegiate athletic department media guides and Web sites, the general rule is: the more the better. The more information you can give the media, fans, and recruits, the more effective these promotional pieces become.

A handful of schools are revisiting this idea, however, in the wake of privacy concerns. At

Oregon State University, Sports Information Director Steve Fenk has decided to omit athletes’ birth dates and middle initials after a state police lieutenant recommended removing the information because it can be used in identity theft.

“He said that if you have a birth date, you can just about do anything,” Fenk says. “You can get a Social Security card, a birth certificate, whatever.”

Because beat reporters often ask for athletes’ birth dates, Fenk included that information in private e-mails to writers covering Oregon State.

At least two other universities have withheld similar information. The University of Florida took athletes’ birth dates, middle names, and parents’ names off its athletics Web site a year ago, according to its sports

information department. The University of Miami kept the same information out of its 2004 football guides.

At Oregon State, the question of which details to include isn’t settled, in part because this isn’t the first time athlete bios have been at issue. In 2001, a gymnastics studentathlete received harassing phone calls from a man she suspected called her parents, who were listed in the media guide along with her hometown, and persuaded them to share her campus number by posing as a writer seeking an interview. Then this spring, a young woman disappeared from an off-campus apartment complex where several Oregon State female swimmers lived, and police suspected that the abductor had mistaken the victim for one of the athletes.

At Oregon State University, administrators have decided to omit athletes’ birth dates and middle initials from media guides in the wake of privacy concerns. They also removed mug shots of female swimmers from their Web site.

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Although hometowns and parents’ names remain in the media guides, Oregon State removed mugshots of the swimmers from its online media guide, and Fenk says he can imagine a day when all athletes’ portraits will no longer be included. “That’s just my own theory,” he says. “I can see it possibly getting to that point. It’s a really sad commentary.”

NCAA Division I institutions have a ways to go in detecting and treating the condition.

Colleges Fall Short in Testing for Iron Deficiencies

“We found that there really wasn’t anything consistent,” says Chris Rosenbloom, Nutrition Consultant for the Georgia Tech athletic department, Associate Professor at Georgia State University, and one of the study’s authors. “A lot of schools weren’t testing, and of those that were testing, some were just testing fresh-

Iron deficiency affects 60 percent of female athletes in the United States, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And a new study has found that most

An anonymous online survey was sent to 94 NCAA Division I-A schools to determine current practices in screening and treating athletes for iron deficiency. Only 43 percent of the 54 respondents indicated that their institutions screened for iron deficiency in female athletes.

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Such deficiencies can be curtailed with a diet that includes iron-fortified grains and a source of vitamin C to help with absorption.

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men and some were testing but not following up. In addition, different schools were using different cutoff values for what they defined as anemia.”

LESLIE CERIER

Rosenbloom believes all athletes should be tested at least once a year. “And it would be wise not to do just hemoglobin and hematocrit tests, but also to look at their iron and ferritin levels,” she says.

“One of the misconceptions is that, ‘Well, I had a finger stick and my hemoglobin was okay, therefore I’m fine,’ but sometimes, the athlete really isn’t fine.”

Female athletes are particularly at risk, says Rosenbloom, because they usually are more restrictive with their diets and may not eat enough iron-rich foods. “A lot of female athletes are vegetarian or semi-vegetarian,” she says, “which cuts out a lot of good iron sources.”

Another common misconception among athletes is that because iron is found in grains, breads, and cereals, those sources alone provide adequate amounts to satisfy a vegetarian diet. “You have to make sure that if you are eating ironfortified grains, you are also getting a good vitamin C source

to help with absorption,” says Rosenbloom. “There are things that an athlete can do to make a vegetarian diet work, but it’s harder to get adequate iron if you don’t eat meat.”

Rosenbloom notes that all athletes lose some iron in sweat.

And when athletes take a lot of over-the-counter antiinflammatory medications like ibuprofen or aspirin, those drugs can cause minor gastrointestinal blood loss. “When you add those things up, you can easily have an athlete who has iron deficiency anemia or iron deficiency without anemia,” she explains.

There are also some misconceptions that iron supplements are a cure-all. “My philosophy is that if you know someone is already irondepleted, have them take iron supplements to prevent a true deficiency, and of course add food sources high in iron into their diets,” says Rosenbloom. “But coaches and athletic trainers should avoid promising the athlete that just because they take an iron supplement, they are going to dramatically improve their performance right away. Iron deficiency does not occur overnight, and the remedies also take time.”

For more information on iron deficiencies, visit the Iron Disorders Institute at www.irondisorders.org or The Centers for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov and enter “iron deficiency” in the search window. To read an article on nutrition for vegetarian athletes, go to www.athleticsearch.com and enter “vegetarian” into the search window.

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John Knuth Marysville High School

With 918 wins in 20 seasons, John Knuth ranks among the all-time leaders in career volleyball victories by a high school coach. But an even more impressive number is 69, the number of losses Marysville (Mich.) High School has suffered in those 20 seasons with Knuth as its head coach, which includes an active streak of eight consecutive Class B state titles.

After winning more than 90 percent of the matches he’s coached, it’s no surprise that numerous awards have followed.

He’s won six consecutive Coach of the Year honors from the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association, and in 2002, he was named National Volleyball Coach of the Year by the NFHS Coaches Association.

Marysville’s success on the court, which includes a 192-match winning streak from 1996-2002, is mirrored in the classroom. For 10 years running, the Vikings have earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award, which requires each player to maintain at least a 3.3 grade point average for the entire season.

The 2004 Marysville squad celebrates its Michigan High School Athletic Association Class B state championship, its eighth in as many years. Coach Knuth stands in the back row, second from right.

CM: To what do you attribute your teams’ consistent success?

Knuth: I have been blessed with good athletes who have allowed me to be part of their lives. Beyond that, I have never believed that I was going to win any match or game that I’ve gone into. I always believe that it can happen, but I never feel that it definitely will. That is just my personality. I never overlook an opponent, and I do not allow my teams to overlook opponents.

I know that our program has achieved a lot, but we do not spend time reflecting on our achievements. I never mention to this year’s team anything about past teams’ accomplishments. Time goes by very quickly, and what happened last year or five years ago is not really important. I believe that we should try our very best at every moment, and I think that has something to do with our success.

What goes into your weekly practice plan?

Most coaches have general, overall plans that address monthly or seasonal goals.

But I think the really important plan is the

Three years ago, Knuth resigned as a health and physical education teacher at Marysville and took on the challenge of becoming an athletic director. While remaining Head Volleyball Coach at Marysville, he signed on as Athletic Director at nearby CroswellLexington High School. In this interview, we talk to Knuth about his team’s “positive attitude policy,” the nontraditional seasons litigation in Michigan, and how he keeps on winning.

weekly plan. I put a lot of detail into each of my weekly practice plans.

I have on file every weekly practice plan that I’ve ever used, and I sometimes look back at those. But the majority of the plan comes from taking a look at where the team is, and what we need to accomplish. Then I decide what amount of time we need to spend on each skill to improve as a team by the end of the week. I also spend time on scouting to make sure we are prepared with a gameplan for each of our matches, and then I incorporate the gameplan into our weekly practice plan.

You’ve instituted a “positive attitude policy” with your players. What is that policy?

As an athletic director and as a coach, I have three major expectations for athletes. I want them to follow our code of conduct as far as drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and those types of things. The second expectation is that they perform well academically. And the third expectation is that they have a positive attitude.

I tell them that they are fortunate to have the opportunity to play a sport. It’s not

the most important thing in their lives, but it’s what they’re doing at this moment, and just like any other thing that they’re doing at that moment, they should do it the very best they can—and do it with a positive attitude. I demand that from the time they walk into practice and throughout our matches. I demand it of myself as well.

So I have instituted a positive attitude policy. First of all, I tell them that if they are having a bad day and they need a little leeway, to see me before practice and I will give them that. Otherwise, if they are not trying their hardest or if they are complaining, I will send them home from practice. Each athlete and their parents have signed this policy, so they are aware of what I’m asking. Despite being sent home, the athletes know they’re not kicked off the team, and that they’re to come back to the next practice or match ready to play.

How do you communicate your expectations to your players?

I am not big on talking to players individually. Of course, there are some personal circumstances in their lives and when

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those arise I will speak to them alone.

But for any topic that has an impact on the team, I talk to them openly and in front of the team, like a family would do at the supper table.

I also feel it’s important to clearly outline expectations and tell players, “These

you’re just giving love without discipline, or vice versa.

son on the team so that they can support and challenge each other.

How do you promote academic success on your team?

If I have a student who is struggling in class, I have her come to practice but I don’t let her play volleyball. I have her sit

What advice do you give an athlete who is being recruited to play in college?

First, I’ll meet with her parents and explain how the process works. Then I’ll make phone calls to college coaches. It takes some work, but if an athlete of mine wants to play in college, it’s important to me, and I make the time.

“Almost all of the players on my team play three sports, and I think that’s the route to go … You never know what coach is going to touch their lives or what experience they might have that will change their lives, so the more sports the better.” expectations are the price tag for being part of this team.” Then you must be relentless in refusing to lower them. In today’s world, kids love discipline, they love to be in a structured environment, and they respond well to it.

But you also have to coach with love.

Being a good coach is a lot like being a good parent. You won’t get very far if

The advice I give players is that first, they should know they want to go to this particular college. Only then should they consider the opportunity to play.

in the bleachers and work on her homework during that time period. Even if she is eligible to play, I want to make sure she understands that academics are more important than volleyball.

At the beginning of the season, I also have each player give me three to five academic goals for the year in writing. I compile them and give the entire list to each per-

I’m also careful not to push a player to think about college scholarships, no matter how talented she is. I have had players with the ability to play at the Division I level who wanted to go on and just be students, and I tell them that’s great.

There is nothing wrong with that. Or if they wish to play some other sport, I try to help them with that goal too.

Do many of your players participate in club volleyball?

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Some of our kids get involved, but it’s mostly when they are younger. We place an emphasis on playing multiple sports instead. Almost all of the players on my team play three sports, and I think that’s the route to go.

I remember growing up, I was really into basketball and thought about quitting football. But when I reflect back on the highlights of my high school career, football ended up being my best sport. You never know what coach is going to touch their lives or what experience they might have that will change their lives, so the more sports the better.

for my athletic director job to make sure that I’m organized for the week ahead.

During that day, every moment is taken up.

How has being an AD for the past three years changed your perspective as a coach?

I’d like to think it’s made me a better coach. It’s given me a broader perspective and allowed me to look at coaching more from a management point of view. It’s easier to see how the decisions I make as

a coach have an effect on a bigger scale than just with my volleyball program.

What do athletic directors wish coaches understood better?

That they should do their jobs with passion and not get sucked into negativity.

Beyond that, I like to see them focus on organizational skills. It’s important that everybody is on the same page, and it takes everybody making a big effort at organization to accomplish that.

Michigan high schools play girls’ volleyball in the winter, but an ongoing court case may switch your season to the fall. How do you feel about the change?

My personal feeling is that the winter volleyball season is fine the way it is. But since it looks like it’s going to change, let’s find ways to make this a positive thing for our student-athletes. Everything will be fine after one year of the new system. People won’t even remember that volleyball was ever played in the winter.

Do you believe that having girls play in a nontraditional season presents a gender equity issue?

I know that some people have questioned whether it causes our players to lose scholarship opportunities. I personally have not experienced that to a high degree. Most of my players are recruited in their junior year, so it hasn’t been a big issue. However, this year, I do have a senior player who is being affected by the nontraditional season to some extent, because she is not able to play in front of a college coach who wanted to see her play some more. I think it’s going to work out okay as far as her scholarship is concerned, but if she was playing in the fall, they would definitely be able to come out and take a look at her.

How do you manage your time while being an athletic director at one school and a coach at another?

In the fall and spring, I don’t do anything with regard to coaching, but during the winter season, my schedule is very hectic.

I put in a normal day as an athletic director, then I go to Marysville and coach volleyball practice, and then I return to Croswell-Lexington to help with varsity basketball games and other activities.

Sunday is the day that has changed since I took on both roles. Now I devote Sundays to doing all of my practice plans, and I also spend a great deal of time planning Request No. 116 COACHING MANAGEMENT

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STEVE WOLTMAN/UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Head Coach Kathy Litzau poses with her family: husband Steve and children (left to right) Kayce, Danielle, Nicholas, and Lauren. Below: UWM in action.

A MATTER OF BALANCE

COVER STORY

W

hen JoyLynn Tracy, Head Coach at Wright State University, became pregnant, she was repeatedly asked a question that exasperated her: Are you going to stop coaching now?

“A lot of people asked me that question, which I thought was so ridiculous,” she says, “because no one asked my husband if he was going to stop coaching.

Why do people think women can’t do both?”

Tracy’s son Mattaus is now almost four, and she and her husband, Wright State Head Men’s Soccer Coach Mike Tracy, both continue to be successful coaches. Tracy concedes that raising a family while holding down a demanding job is not always easy, but it’s certainly doable.

“We need to give women credit,” says Tracy. “I don’t want women to think that if they want to coach, they can’t have children, because it’s not true. Not at all. Yes, the people around you have to be supportive of what you’re doing.

But it can work.”

How do you make it work? How do you juggle the demands of being a parent and a committed coach in a profession that is traditionally male-dominated?

How do you find time to nurture both your own children and a team of a dozen young women?

Starting Right The first step to balancing life as a head coach and mother, says Carrie

Yerty, Head Coach at the University of Memphis, is to choose an athletic department that will support your decision to have children. “As you’re picking your institution, it’s critical to find a place that provides a family-friendly environment,” advises Yerty, whose sons are five and two years old. “Find a department that’s a good fit, with an athletic director who will allow you to do the things you need to do personally as well as athletically.”

At the time she interviewed for the head coaching position at Memphis, Yerty was 25 years old and ready to start a family. As she came to campus, she looked for signs that other female coaches there had children, and was encouraged to see that the head women’s basketball coach and head women’s track coach were both raising families while directing highly successful, competitive programs.

To Yerty, it was an important sign that the department was supportive, and when she was asked about her goals, she chose to be completely honest. “I told them that I wanted to coach at a highly competitive level, raise a family, and share my family philosophy with my team,” says Yerty. “And that was accepted very well.

“I think honesty is the best policy, right from the beginning,” she continues. “It’s important that your administration is aware you’re planning to raise a family, because if they’re looking for someone who is going to be all business, that department may not be the place for you.”

There is a myth being perpetuated that you can’t be a competitive volleyball coach and raise a family. In this article, six successful coaching moms explain how to balance parenting and a coaching career at the highest levels of the game.

BY KENNY BERKOWITZ

Along with giving honest answers, Yerty encourages coaching candidates to ask questions to gauge an athletic director’s family-friendliness: What are the department’s policies on maternity leave?

What kind of schedule are coaches expected to work? Are practice hours flexible? Does the department allow coaches to travel with their children?

What events does the university hold for children? Are there on-campus daycare facilities?

The answers she got were an important part of her decision to take the job, and eight seasons later, Yerty’s philosophy of treating her team like family produced the best single-season winning percentage in school history. Within her first three years, she turned the team into a contender, and in the fourth, when her son WesLee was born, her Lady Tigers were the first visitors to come to the hospital.

“The women I coach are able to see that I can have a full-time job and raise a family at the same time,” says Yerty.

“I’d like to think that’s a positive role model for them, whether they’re planning to go into coaching or any other profession. And it’s wonderful for my student-athletes to see that the administration supports it, too.”

Planning The Details While administrative support is critical, balancing work and family does require more attention to organizing your life. You need to plan thoroughly, manage your time well, and communicate as often as possible with people on both sides of your life.

Cindy Fredrick, Head Coach at the University of Iowa, and her husband, Associate Head Coach Mashallah Farokhmanesh, decided to have only one child, and to plan the birth for mid-April. “For us, breastfeeding was going to be an important part of bonding between mother and child,” says Fredrick. “We thought that was crucial, and that’s why Kenny Berkowitz is an Assistant Editor at Coaching Management.

COACHING MANAGEMENT

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COVER STORY

we had our baby in April, because we knew that would be toward the end of our spring season. By having the birth during the offseason, we got to spend more time with our newborn.”

For Kathy Litzau, Head Coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who has four children under the age of seven, juggling work and home has necessitated learning how to manage her time more efficiently. “Since my children were born, I’ve become an incredible time manager,” says Litzau. “I was pretty good before, but now every minute of my time is accounted for—and I love it. The key to managing your time effectively is to communicate with everyone in your family, on your staff, and on your team.

“For example, all my players have my cell phone number, and if they ever need to reach me, they’re free to call,” she continues. “And I meet with my players every two weeks during the offseason, just to talk, to make sure they’re doing okay.”

At home, Litzau and her husband maintain clear lines of communication, coordinating their schedules months in advance. To avoid conflicts, he plans his business trips during the spring and summer. When their children get sick during the volleyball season, he brings them home from school or daycare.

When they get sick during the offseason, she picks them up. Around the house, they don’t have specific duties.

Whoever gets home first cooks dinner, and whoever has time to mow the lawn mows the lawn.

“We call it tag-team parenting, and it works extremely well for us,” says Litzau.

“My family is my team, my number one priority, and my husband and I make sure that family comes first. We just balance each other so well, and he just steps in wherever I leave off. That’s why I’m able to be a coach and mother, and still be fairly stress-free. No matter where I go, my children know where I am and when I’m coming home. They know that Mommy loves her job and Mommy loves them.”

Finding the Right Support Even if you don’t have the kind of tag-team husband that Litzau has, there are other places to find support, which is critical. The first place to look is your athletic department staff. And the first thing to do is become a better delegator.

“I’ve learned that I can’t do it all myself,” says Cookie Stevens, Head Coach at Florida International University, whose two sons are now 20 and 17.

“So I’ve found assistants who are strong in detail work, and we’ve been able to balance each other out.”

Tracy has also learned to delegate some of her administrative responsibilities to her associate head coach and the student assistants who work with the team. And she’s learned to identify the strengths of her co-workers in the

department and find appropriate tasks to challenge them. “The smart thing is to ask yourself, ‘What one thing can the equipment manager do to help?’” she says. “‘What’s one thing sports information can do?’ Instead of delegating everything to your assistant, find a way to divide the tasks.

“Sometimes, it’s just a matter of finding people within your department who are willing to help,” continues Tracy.

“When you work with people for a while, you learn what gets them fired up. For

GETTING BETTER

M

otherhood hasn’t just enriched JoyLynn Tracy’s life.

It’s improved her coaching.

Like many others who balance the roles, she finds the patience and perspective gained in parenting make her a better leader of athletes.

parents—especially now that her son Ali is almost ready for college. “Being a mother has made me a better coach,” says Fredrick, Head Coach at the University of Iowa.

“Because I understand how I’d like my child to be treated, I can better take care of other people’s children. It’s helped me to stop and listen a little bit more, to really hear what my student-athletes are telling me.”

“Being a mother has taught me to let go of With four children under seven years old, things with my athletes, to relax a little bit Kathy Litzau agrees that motherhood has more,” says Tracy, Head Coach at Wright made her more sympathetic to her athletes.

State University, whose son Mattaus is almost “Being a mother has definitely made me a four years old. “Before Mattaus was born, more patient coach,” says Litzau, Head Coach I used to carry losses around with me. A at the University of lot. When we lost, it Wisconsin-Milwaukee. would take me a long “It’s helped me really time to get over it. I’m understand the concept still not wild about losing, of being part of a team, but after a loss, I can go made me more aware of home and play with my issues outside the game child. He doesn’t care itself. It’s given me a whether I’ve won or greater awareness of my lost—he just wants his athletes as individuals, mom. He wants to play because I now look at and smile and laugh, and them as somebody’s that helps me move on daughter, instead of just much quicker. It’s imposmy players. sible to keep that coach’s scowl on my face when “My goal as a coach has I’ve got a three-year old always been to teach my dancing in front of me.

University of Iowa Head Coach Cindy athletes life skills, but Fredrick says being a parent has since I’ve had children, “When I go to work the made her a better communicator. “It’s that’s really solidified,” next day, it helps my helped me stop and listen a little bit Litzau continues. “Yes, team,” continues Tracy. more, to really hear what my studentthey’re here to play “I don’t overwork them athletes are telling me,” she says. volleyball. But they’re to make up for how they also here to grow as played the night before. people, and one of the things that I’m most We learn from our mistakes and move on. proud of in 12 seasons at UWM is that I We get better as a team because we can have never had a recruited player transfer stay positive, instead of carrying around the from my program. That shows me that negatives.” we’re teaching more than volleyball. Our Motherhood has made Cindy Fredrick feel athletes are growing as people and feeling more responsive to her players and their like a part of this program.”

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COVER STORY

example, if I need a T-shirt design for my tournament, and I know some people in the marketing office who never get a chance to do things like that, I ask them if they’re interested. If they agree, that’s one more thing I can take off my list.”

But often the most important task for a coaching mother to delegate is childcare. The problem is that finding childcare can be a little more difficult for a coach than for a parent who works nine to five.

Yerty has had success finding nannies among members of the team’s booster club. “Because my husband and I don’t have any relatives in Memphis, we’ve gotten a lot of support from the booster club, which has really adopted our family,” says Yerty. “They sometimes

are schoolteachers working close by, and they always offer to help us out.”

Including the Family Sometimes, the hardest part of being a parent and a coach is knowing when family and work can overlap—and when they can’t. To get a good handle on making the right choices, it’s best to have open communication with your athletic director, to start.

“To make things work, talk to your athletic director, and, if needed, encourage him or her to think outside the box,” says Tracy. “Just because something has never been done before doesn’t mean that it can’t be done.”

During her son’s first year, Tracy’s athletic director gave her the flexibility to

“To make things work, talk to your athletic director, and, if needed, encourage him or her to think outside the box ... Just because something has never been done before doesn’t mean that it can’t be done.” pick up our children from school, bring them to the gym, or help us out on weekends. When we do bring our kids on the road, we have a nanny who travels with us, and it’s generally a booster club member. They’ve been there since we started our family, and have been a part of our lives ever since.”

Sharon Clark, Head Coach at Butler University, has also learned the importance of creating a support system around her. “If you have an extended family of friends who understand a coaching lifestyle, balancing work and family is very doable,” says Clark. “My husband and I have built an extended family of friends who can step in when we’re both traveling. My assistant coach also has a child, so our husbands coordinate quite a bit.

Sometimes when we go on the road, my husband will pick up both kids and take care of them until we get back.”

Clark also gets help from another source: athletes who have stayed in town after graduating from her program.

“Former players are some of my best resources,” says Clark. “Some of the athletes who’ve recently finished playing are still pretty attached to our kids, so they’ll fill in for us in a pinch. A couple of them 24

COACHING MANAGEMENT

bring Mattaus to work, and encouraged her to take Mattaus on road trips with the team. He allowed her to maintain a flexible work schedule and spend more time working at home. He trusted Tracy to do her job as she saw fit, and Tracy responded by taking full responsibility for maintaining her sense of professionalism.

“The coach should be responsible for communicating her needs to the athletic director,” says Tracy. “If you’re having problems, it’s important to talk to your athletic director. But your family should never be an excuse if things aren’t going well for your team. You can’t use your family as a crutch, just because you were up with a fussy baby the night before. You have to maintain a professional relationship.”

And even though Mattaus is now a preschooler, Tracy continues to mix work and family when needed. During the season, Tracy arrives at her office at around 9:30 in the morning and leaves at 5:30 to pick up Mattaus from preschool.

Yet, if she has more to do than can fit in that eight-hour time span, she leaves it to do while at home with her family.

“If you can take work home with you, there’s no reason to sit in your office until

9 o’clock at night,” says Tracy. “Being able to utilize the technology that’s available is really, really important. I can very efficiently call recruiting prospects and send e-mails from home, and even though I’m not 100 percent focused on my son while I’m doing it, I’m still with him and very accessible to him.”

In Yerty’s situation, after her son WesLee born, the athletic department made it possible for her to continue working at home, providing a laptop computer, fax machine, and additional telephone line. “I could do most of my work from my house, including recruiting and supervising my staff, and the only time I had to be at school was for practices,” says Yerty. “That’s a critical piece of support for any female who wants to raise a family and compete at a high level.”

Then, when WesLee was old enough to come to work, Yerty set up a place for him in her office, which was quiet enough for feeding and napping. For those first four or five months, she brought WesLee to school every day, carrying him to practice and spending down time together in her office, all with the encouragement of her athletic director. “My administration’s attitude was, ‘If you want to bring the baby to work, and it’s not a distraction to you or the people around you, by all means, please bring him,’” says Yerty.

But it’s also important to know when your child should be watched by someone else. “During his first year, I used to travel with my son, but I would always bring a nanny to take care of him, to make sure he wouldn’t take my attention away from the team,” says Tracy.

“The people around you need to see that when you’re at a match, your team comes first. It wouldn’t be appropriate for Mattaus to sit on the bench with me.

Coaching is my job, so I always bring someone to watch him on the road.

When we’re in the gym, I’m the coach, and when we’ve finished playing and we’re back in the hotel, I’m his mother.

“Coaching is my career, and I don’t think it’s fair to my athletes to have my son with us all the time,” she continues. “My team has always been very supportive, because I’m respectful of them. When it’s time to play or practice, I want to be able to focus completely on my team.”

When children get older, however, sometimes they can be an asset at practices. While coaching at Miami-Dade

COVER STORY

Community College, Stevens brought her sons to practice as soon as they were interested. “When they got big enough, they then started training with my team,” says Stevens. “As a result, they’ve become really good players.”

Her older son, now 20 years old, plays for Ohio State University, and her younger son, now 17, has been a member of the youth national team for USA Volleyball. They started practicing with her teams when they were in fifth and sixth grades, and kept going until they reached high school, when they had grown too tall to provide realistic competition.

“The boys learned discipline and commitment, and developed a really strong work ethic,” says Stevens. “At the beginning, when guys typically learn a lot about hitting, my sons learned about passing and defense. And the girls on my teams always appreciated them coming in because they presented a new challenge, with bigger blocks and stronger hitting.”

But even while they are young, the interactions with the team can prove meaningful. “Coaching is such a unique opportunity, because your players and your staff become intermixed with your family,” says Yerty. “As they go through the program, my athletes get very attached to my children, and my children get very attached to my athletes.

It’s truly become a family environment.”

Time For Yourself As much as the mother-coach role takes planning, finding support, and understanding the balance, it also requires one more critical component: time for recharging. “As women coaches, we try to take care of everyone else around us and we forget about ourselves,” says Stevens. “We’re the last person we think about, and in hindsight—I’ve been doing this for over 20 years—it probably would have been better for me if I had taken time for myself, even if it was only three hours in the middle of the week, to give myself a chance to recharge. That’s what I do now—by taking walks and listening to music—and it really makes a difference.”

“A lot of women coaches never get any alone time,” agrees Fredrick, who relaxes with regularly scheduled massages. “It’s important for coaches to remember to take time for themselves, and that means time away from family

and away from everybody. If you do occasional things just for yourself, it makes a huge difference. You become a better parent and a better coach.”

It’s also important to realize that working more hours doesn’t always bring more success. “Some coaches get pretty excited about working long days,” says Tracy. “And when you start coaching, it’s easy to think that way: ‘If I’m going to beat this other coach, I need to spend more time in the office.’

But it’s all in the way you look at it. If

someone works in the office 80 hours a week, does that make them a better coach than me? Of course not. We’re different types of coaches, and that kind of schedule may work for some people, but it wouldn’t work for me. I need a life outside coaching in order to be a happy, well-rounded individual.

“There’s a difference between working hard and working smart,” continues Tracy. “And the key to balancing your family and your job is to figure out how to work smart.” ■

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Request No. 118 COACHING MANAGEMENT

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Request No. 119

OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE

Ready, Set, Focus

How can you get your athletes to give maximum effort in every aspect of their performance, on every play? Consider the following mental (and life) skills program.

BY MITCH LYONS

PETER KUHNLEIN/KP STUDIOS

IN MOST ATHLETIC PROGRAMS, coaching is more of an art than a science. Every coach has his or her own strategies, style, and methods of motivation. The common understanding is that there is no “one right way” to coach a team.

But there is one area of coaching that could benefit from more science and less art: teaching athletes the mental skills necessary to succeed in sports. To fully reach their potential, athletes need to be taught how to “think to win” in a structured way.

Through research and trial and error with my own teams, I’ve developed a program for teaching the mental side of sports that I’d like to share with other coaches. Its premise is actually pretty simple: If you teach athletes how to be aware of their thinking process and remain positive in all that they do, their performance will improve.

Most mistakes made by athletes are mental mistakes. When a player botches a

serve, it is not because she can’t put the ball in play, but because some mental lapse caused her to not execute at that point in time. When an athlete is not concentrating during practice, it is a mental problem, not a physical one. If you can teach your athletes to recognize this, corrections become more permanent.

As a result, practices are more efficient—players end up learning more in a shorter period of time. And athletes

are more effective during competition.

I’ve used the program with teams at many different levels—youth, high school, and college—and I’ve watched these squads consistently give the most effort they can, have fun, and perform better than anyone thought possible.

Here’s the best part: You will also be teaching skills that will help your student-athletes succeed in life. Teaching athletes how to think inside and outside the classroom setting and to be positive even when faced with a pervasive negativism in our society can help them be leaders as adults.

Mitch Lyons is an Assistant Coach for Men’s Basketball at Lasell College. He is also the President of GetPsychedSports.org, Inc., a nonprofit corporation based in Newton, Mass.

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The Game of Life The program I describe in this article aims to make athletes winners both on and off the court. Most of you probably already subscribe to this ideal. We all want to win, but any good coach also thrives on seeing an awkward freshman mature into a confident senior leader.

And we certainly aren’t the first generation of coaches to think this way. For example, today, we take the concept of teamwork for granted, but 100 years ago it was a new idea. Back in 1906, Luther Halsey Gulick, the first Physical Activity Director for New York City, started high schools operating sports programs (for boys) because, in his words, “Through the loyalty and selfsacrifice developed in team games, we are laying the foundations for wider loyalty and a more discerning self-devotion to the great national ideals on which democracy rests.”

Gulick was amazingly successful.

Today, not only do players and members of educational institutions understand “loyalty to the whole,” but entire communities support their home teams with abandon. We regularly pepper our speech with sports metaphors because the teamwork lessons in sports are clearly what we experience in our everyday lives.

Gulick’s vision also included teaching morals through sports. And while most coaches would agree with the idea that we should be teaching life skills on our teams, this concept has proven more difficult. One hundred years later, we still don’t have a standard method for teaching these types of lessons. We point out right from wrong during teachable moments, and we hold our athletes accountable to a code of conduct, but I think we can do more. I think we can teach life skills—through mental skills training—in a systematic way. I think the time is ripe to fulfill Gulick’s ideal of using sport to shape society.

Studies in sports psychology say that performance can be improved through building an athlete’s self-worth. Our program combines self-talk, goal-setting, visualization techniques, and a positive environment to help athletes enhance their performance in any sport.

These same mental skills help today’s young people find the right path and succeed in life. My belief is that low selfworth contributes to many of our adolescents’ problems (violence, addictions, 28

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eating disorders). We must teach young people how to find success by building their own feelings of value in our society.

If our society’s negative attitudes promote feelings of hopelessness, we must teach young people how to create a positive atmosphere in which people flourish and are empowered. Mental skill training fills those needs for your team, your school, and our society as a whole.

The Program A main tenet of the program and sport psychology is that people who engage in positive thinking and feel good about themselves will probably perform better in anything they do. But what is not so obvious is that self-worth and positive thinking need to be taught.

Helping your teammates, focusing, and even working hard are all skills. They may seem like simple skills to adults, but to youngsters they can be difficult.

Thus, we need to teach them, just as we teach sport-specific skills.

Here are the six major skills we teach in the program: ■ Give maximum physical effort because when we do we feel good about ourselves.

■ Be positive with ourselves and with others because people perform better and learn faster in a positive environment.

■ Set written goals because they promote preparedness, which leads to feeling confident.

■ Be task-oriented and not outcomeoriented, because our own performance is all we can control and success is more likely when we think about the details than when we focus on the final product.

■ Visualize performing tasks successfully outside of practice.

■ Meditate to learn how to change harmful thoughts to helpful ones.

You may already talk about these things, but are your athletes getting the message? Is there a text that your players follow? Are they absolutely certain what they are trying to accomplish through sports? Do all players on your team understand the concepts?

On the teams I coach or advise, the program starts with a 90-minute workshop where we introduce the principles of the curriculum. Athletes are also given a text to read and are tested on it with a short open-book quiz. By reading and writing about the skills, the athletes

better understand their meaning and importance. We then apply those skills at every practice and game, without fail.

We push ourselves as coaches the way we ask players to push themselves.

Of the six major skills, the three we concentrate on most are effort, goals, and creating a positive environment. We work as a team on these areas and also ask each athlete to think about them individually. In the following sections, I’ll elaborate on these three points.

Maximum Physical Effort Giving maximum physical effort is a mental skill, not an emotional event.

While emotion may aid us, we must make the conscious choice to give all the effort we can muster for as long as we can sustain it. The following points are what we tell our athletes and show them in writing: Accept that each practice is a game in itself. The game is, “How long can I keep up my maximum physical effort?”

Identify maximum physical effort as if it were a separate goal so that you know how it feels kinesthetically, how it feels emotionally, and what it looks like visually. Identify maximum effort in practice when it is happening so you know what it is.

Demand that you make a choice whether to give all you have—or not.

Don’t kid yourself with your answer.

Expect consequences for bad choices that do not fit the identity of the team.

Each person on the team has been asked to give something they have complete control over: their effort.

Ask, before each drill, “What am I thinking about?” (Answer: My level of effort.) During the drill, when the effort level sags, ask, “What am I thinking about?” Sometimes we just forget to give maximum physical effort as our thoughts go elsewhere, especially during long routine drills.

Rate your effort after each drill, individually and as a team, until maximum effort is the rule, not the exception.

This means completing each drill all the way through without shortcuts.

(Shortcuts do not improve self-worth, but drive it downward.)

Work all sides of a practice drill, so it is truly game-like (e.g., the defense on an offensive drill should play as if it were a real game).

Stop and reflect on how confident

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OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE

and prepared you feel when you work as hard as you can all practice, every practice. Stop to reflect on how good you feel as a person after you’ve worked as hard as you can.

Notice each physical letdown and consciously try to reduce the number of letdowns.

Support teammates, whether you are on or off the court. During games, bench players should help the players in the game achieve the level of effort everyone practices daily.

Naturally, athletes who have the commitment toward maximum effort in every practice will play better in games. But more importantly, each member of the team learns how to raise his or her selfworth. They feel more confident and prepared and have learned that hard work has more dividends than just playing better. They respect themselves.

Writing Goals Setting written goals is another way to gain self-worth. Before practice every day,

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A M E R I C A Request No. 121

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COACHING MANAGEMENT

1-888-SCHELDE (724-3533)

each athlete must write down three goals to be worked on that day. Why should you insist that players construct written goals?

1. Scientific evidence shows that setting goals, with a coach’s feedback, improves players’ performance.

2. When players write down what they have to do to improve, they remember goals better and make more progress.

3. Setting daily goals helps players transition to practice time. By handing in their goal books as they come into the gym, athletes think about their sport and clear their minds of whatever they have just been doing.

4. The discipline required to run a play all the way through is the same type of discipline required to bring written goals every day. I have found that if you inform kids of what is expected of them, they see parallels between what they do off the court and what they can accomplish on it. As coaches, we establish discipline in a number of ways, and goal-setting can be one of them.

The type of goals set is very important.

Goals should be challenging, yet realistic.

They should be performance-related, specific, and quantifiable. And they should be short-term, as we want success every day so athletes can see their own progress.

For example, a goal of “making better passes” is not specific enough. Instead, the coach should work with the athlete to discover how to achieve that goal. If the athlete is not getting her arms level during her passes, then that should be the focus. A better goal for this athlete could be, “Think level platform every time I am on defense.”

Giving feedback on goals is also important. After the players drop off their goal books and start warming up, I, as an assistant coach, make the time to read their goals, make comments, and try to remember their goals during practice so I can see how they are doing.

Creating a Positive Environment Being positive all the time is not easy—for coaches or athletes. Thus, the program actively teaches the mental skill of being positive and demands that coaches model it. Here is what we do to make a positive environment a constant: ■ We make sure all athletes understand and accept that people learn faster

OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE

and perform better in a positive environment.

■ We make sure athletes understand that it is a skill to be actively positive. We agree to practice this skill every time we meet and model it for each other.

■ We notice and correct negative behavior as soon as it happens in ourselves and others. We make sure it is corrected in a positive way, such as, “I understand your frustration, but stay positive.” To encourage this, we notice impatience, sarcasm, negative tone, rolled eyes, and other body language in ourselves and others—then we say something about it.

■ We frequently ask ourselves and others, “What are we thinking about?” to determine if we are having negative thoughts that hurt our performance.

Everyone practices replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

■ We encourage loud and frequent support from those not in the drill during practice.

■ We actively attempt and encourage others to see the good in people, get-

ting past old differences for their own happiness and the unity of the team.

■ We teach and model that constructive criticism from others is instruction— it is not about you as a person, but about your play. We recognize defensiveness and practice changing it.

■ We acknowledge as a group that the bench has the most difficult job on the team. As coaches, we must take the time to teach them how to be positive without the self-worth gained from playing. For example, have them work on replacing negative thoughts (“Why aren’t I playing?”) with helpful thoughts (“How could we do that play better?”).

My teams have won many games with insights from the bench.

Too Much Time?

For those of you thinking this all takes too much time, I can tell you from experience that because players learn faster in this environment, the amount you can fit into a practice increases. More importantly, the quality of the practice improves.

What you will find over time is that you are not using more words, just different ones. You can concentrate your critiques on the cause of the error instead of the result, making corrections more permanent. And because the athletes are grounded in the material, they will respond to your coaching much more quickly.

But, beyond this program helping your athletes on the court, it can help create a society that Luther Halsey Gulick began to talk about a century ago, adding in what we now know about the mind-body connection. If we standardize coaching to include practicing the skill of being positive, millions of young people will become adults who know the power of positive thinking. ■ To request a copy of the curriculum offered by GetPsychedSports.org, the author can be contacted at: mitchlyons@getpsychedsports.org.

The group’s Web address is: www.getpsychedsports.org.

Request No. 122 COACHING MANAGEMENT

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Request No. 123

NUTRITION

Carbs: To Cut or Not? That is the question many athletes are wondering these days as everyone and their best friend seem to be losing weight on low-carb diets.

BY LAURA SMITH

F

or decades, sports nutritionists have been preaching the same message: To fuel working muscles, athletes need to get the majority of their calories from carbohydrates.

Lately, though, carbohydrates’ reputation has taken a hit as a new message has been gaining volume: Carbohydrates make you fat.

No one can blame student-athletes for being confused, but what do they really need to know about finding the optimal nutritional balance? And how can you help them separate out the messages that pose risks to their health and performance?

Debunking Myths Hoards of American dieters are taking carb-bashing to heart, gobbling up

10 million copies of low-carb guru Dr. Robert Atkins’ New Diet Revolution since its release in 1992.

Models and celebrities continue to add themselves to the list of those attributing their million dollarphysiques to cutting carbs, and a dizzying array of “low-carb” products compete for space on supermarket shelves.

So should athletes looking to lose a little weight consider low-carb diets? Sports nutritionists have a clear answer: no, never.

Gale Welter, Nutrition Counselor for the University of Arizona athletic department, explains: “Very-low-carbohydrate diets were designed for people who are very overweight and have insulin resistance. Student-athletes, even ones who want to lose weight, are incredibly

unlikely to have insulin resistance. Their glucose uptake is going to be fantastic, just by virtue of their high activity level. These diets were not designed for a population of college athletes.”

But student-athletes are certainly not immune to the marketing. “Studentathletes see their peers losing weight fast on low-carb plans, and they want to try them too,” says Matt Radelet, Associate Athletic Trainer at Arizona. “Along with wanting to lose weight to perform at their best, there are powerful social pressures to Laura Smith is an Assistant Editor at Coaching Management.

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NUTRITION

look a certain way, especially for women in this age group, and that can add up to drastic dieting.

“Over the past year or so, it’s become tough to combat the messages they’re getting,” he continues, “but it’s critical that we educate athletes about the risks.”

Those risks can be both short and long term. A diet that severely shortchanges athletes on carbs saps their muscles of needed glycogen, compromises their performance, and can lead to health problems.

“Carbohydrates are the primary source of fuel for working muscles,” Welter explains. “Athletes trying to eat very-

low-carb diets are taking away their primary fuel and making their bodies jump through additional hoops. They’re at greater risk for losing lean mass. I tell them, ‘Sure, you may lose some weight— you’ll lose some water and some muscle—weight you didn’t want to lose.’”

“A very-low-carb diet is not going to give them the energy they need, so they’re not going to make the strength gains they need to perform at their best,” agrees Suzanne Nelson Steen, Director of Sports Nutrition for the University of Washington athletic department. “By limiting their carbohydrates, they’ll limit their glycogen

H E A LT H Y W E I G H T L O S S

O

ne of the best ways to steer weight-conscious athletes away from diets dangerously low in carbohydrates is to offer tips for a healthy alternative plan. First, it’s important to encourage them to restrict weight-loss efforts to the off-season.

“The first thing I tell them is, ‘Don’t try to lose weight during your season, or you will end up decreasing your performance,’” says University of Arizona Nutrition Counselor Gale Welter. “It’s a difficult message to get across, because during their season is exactly when they are under pressure to improve, and they think that they can do that by losing weight. But to lose weight, they have to create an energy deficit, and that really risks decreasing their performance.”

Then, instead of restricting carbs, Welter offers other suggestions. “I tell them to get very tight with the quality of the foods they’re eating, reduce their calories, and depending on their sport, consider increasing the aerobic work they’re doing,” she says. “Athletes in power sports who want to lose fat may think they’re getting a lot of exercise, but they may actually need to get more cardio output going.”

Welter also cautions against trying to lose weight too quickly. “If an athlete chronically over-restricts their calories, the body can over-ride it for a while and get the work done,” she explains. “But they will eventually fall apart, because they can never fully recover until they re-fuel themselves.”

Encouraging athletes to consider their body composition rather than their weight is another way to promote healthy eating. “Body comping is always my preference, instead of looking at a number on the scale,” says Caroline Hodges, Nutrition Counselor at the Elmira (N.Y.) Nutrition Clinic. “It can be very helpful with athletes who think they need to lose weight, because it gives them accurate information about exactly where they are.”

Often, a closer look can reveal that an athlete’s weight is fine as is. “If an athlete believes they should lose weight, I first ask them, ‘Okay, why do you need to do that?’” says University of Arizona Associate Athletic Trainer Matt Radelet. “‘Are you saying that because your performance has dropped off and you think there is a connection? Or are you just saying that because you’ve gained a few pounds over the season?’ If we can’t make a connection between performance and the need for weight loss, we have to seriously ask why they think they need to lose weight.”

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stores, which will limit their ability to exercise at a high intensity. And if they can’t train at a high intensity, they won’t be able to perform at a high intensity.

In addition, they’ll be more prone to injury because they’re fatigued.”

The long-term health consequences are just as damaging. “The biggest danger is that if you’re eating all protein, you’re cutting out foods like bagels, bananas, and breads,” says Nancy Clark, Nutrition Counselor at SportsMedicine Associates in Brookline, Mass., and author of the best-selling Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook. “This means you’re not getting enough fiber or cancer protective phytochemicals. Every major medical association recommends fruits and vegetables and whole grains as part of a healthy diet—and those contain carbs. To eliminate them is counter to a plethora of health wisdom.”

Caroline Hodges, Nutrition Counselor at the Elmira (N.Y.) Nutrition Clinic, who works with Cornell University student-athletes, finds that eating-disordered athletes can be particularly susceptible to the low-carb message.

“Athletes with an underlying eating disorder are the most likely to want to severely restrict carbs, and that is a huge concern,” she says. “Eating-disorder patients are typically very sensitive to serotonin level changes, and because serotonin is a byproduct of carbohydrate metabolism, a low-carbohydrate intake depletes the serotonin levels in the brain. With lower serotonin, these athletes become more depressed and more obsessed, and that makes their eating disorder worse.”

Most sports nutritionists recommend athletes follow a diet that takes 65 percent of its calories from carbohydrates, although they sometimes advise going a bit lower for athletes whose aerobic output is low. Leslie Bonci, Director of Sports Nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, suggests that to help athletes put this percentage into practical terms, athletes might visualize their plate as divided into thirds. “The protein should fit on one third, while the rest of the plate should be covered with carbohydrate-containing grains, fruits, and vegetables,” she says.

Smart Carbs But what can you do when an athlete is set on trying out a low-carb diet? The

NUTRITION

best approach is to ask them to first examine the type of carbohydrates they are consuming.

Many college-age students consume a lot of empty calories. If athletes can recognize which of their carbohydrates are coming from refined sugars and replace them with healthier carbs, both weight loss and increased energy will follow.

“Cutting back on simple sugars will facilitate weight loss without sacrificing energy, so I advise them to make some substitutions,” she continues. “Instead of two big bowls of cereal, how about whole wheat toast with peanut butter and a cup of yogurt or some scrambled eggs? The traditional bagel with cream cheese packs 500 calories. Instead, they can

Timing is another key piece of the puzzle.

In order to fuel themselves for their activity and then recover, athletes need to be eating carbohydrates throughout the day.

“I tell our student-athletes they need to be grazing,” says Nelson Steen. “It’s really important to help them build frequent meals and snacks into their busy schedules because they’re constantly going through the cycle of getting fuel to exercise and then recovering from exercise.”

“When we tell athletes ‘high carb,’ they tend to hear ‘high sugar,’” Nelson Steen says. “I think the best message is, ‘It’s important to eat sufficient carbohydrates, but you’ve got to think about the kinds of carbohydrates you’re eating.’”

“Student-athletes tend to get an overwhelming amount of sugar in their diets,” Clark agrees. “It’s important that we educate them about the fact that carbs come in many different categories, and they aren’t all created equal. You have fruits and vegetables and whole grains, which are very health-promoting.

Then you have Twizzlers and Big Gulp sodas, which is the logical category for an athlete to limit.”

Even foods that don’t appear sugarladen can be replaced with more nutritious carbohydrates. “They may not be eating chips and cookies, but they may be living on white bread, bagels, and cereal,” says Welter. “If that’s the case, they probably don’t realize how many calories they’re taking in, and that could be the source of the unwanted weight.

have a piece of fruit and yogurt, a slice of whole wheat bread, and a soft-boiled egg for fewer calories than that one bagel. They’re always amazed when I point that out.”

Timing Is Everything It’s not only the quantity and quality of carbohydrates that matter for studentathletes. Timing is another key piece of the puzzle. In order to fuel themselves for their activity and then recover, athletes need to be eating carbohydrates throughout the day.

“With their crazy schedules, that issue can become even more important than numbers and percentages,” Nelson Steen says. “I tell our student-athletes they need to be grazing. It’s really important to help them build frequent meals and snacks into their busy schedules because they’re constantly going through the cycle of getting fuel to exercise and then recovering from exercise.”

Along with eating carbs throughout the day, nutritionists have suggestions

for what to consume during the time immediately surrounding practice. Preexercise, athletes need foods high in carbohydrates along with some protein, Welter says, and during practice, she suggests a small amount of a high-carb food.

Post-workout meals and snacks should contain about 6 grams of protein, along with about 35 grams of carbohydrate, Nelson Steen says. “It’s also important for them to eat their postworkout carbs within 15 or 30 minutes, because there is an enzyme active in their bodies at that time that encourages glycogen repletion,” she explains.

Educating Your Athletes Getting your athletes to understand the science and not believe the hype can be done through workshops, handouts, and individual counseling. The key is making the information easy and convenient.

“I try to give my athletes very practical strategies,” Nelson Steen says. “I give them recipes and quick, easy ways they can get fuel so they can feel better during practice and make the strength gains they need.”

Knowing what’s in your school’s cafeteria can be another great way to help student-athletes choose healthy carbs throughout the day. “I have listings of foods that are in every dining hall and eating area,” says Nelson Steen, “so we can talk about what their actual choices are.”

Even if your educational efforts cannot include guidance from on-staff nutritionists, you can still inform your athletes with a simple message. “It’s all about balance,” Nelson Steen says. “The next extreme diet they come across may look attractive, but it’s up to us to arm them with the information to choose reasonable behaviors that are going to be best for their health and their performance.” ■ This article originally appeared in Coaching Management’s sister publication, Training & Conditioning.

HANDOUTS

At the University of Arizona, Nutrition Counselor Gale Welter helps her athletes make good food choices through handouts she posts on her department’s Web site. Topics include “Fast Food Best Bets,” “Pack & Go Foods,” “Power Switches,” and guidelines specifically for volleyball players. They can be found at:

www.health.Arizona.edu > click on Online Library > click on Nutrition > click on Sports Nutrition

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Request No. 124

Uniforms & Apparel NeuEdge Sportswear 800-486-2788 WWW.NEUEDGESPORTS.COM NeuEdge Sportswear is a domestic sportswear manufacturer specializing in state-ofthe-art custom-sublimated uniforms. The company’s dyed uniforms feature a wide variety of graphics and lettering that is guaranteed never to crack, peel, or fade.

Jerseys are available in long and short sleeve, sleeveless, tank, and fastback.

The entire process is done at the NeuEdge manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. This makes for rapid turnaround time and a hands-on level of quality. Visit the company’s Web site for a complete lineup of beautiful, custom-dyed NeuEdge uniforms.

Circle No. 200 Also available from NeuEdge Sportswear are custom-sublimated, dyed stretch shorts. Specifically designed for volleyball, these shorts have a four-inch inseam and inside drawstring. They come in a variety of designs.

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Pro Look Sports 800-776-5665 WWW.PROLOOKSPORTS.COM Over the past six years, Pro Look Sports has become the fastest growing team sportswear company for one reason: fully custom, quality uniforms. Pro Look uniforms are made of the finest materials available, cut and sewn to your exact specifications. There are no additional costs for embroidered logos or soft, tackle-twill names and numbers. All work is backed by a two-year guarantee.

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Pro Look Sports, wellknown for quality basketball uniforms, makes the best highend volleyball uniforms and offers them at extremely low prices. Like the company’s basketball products, quality is never sacrificed. All uniforms carry custom tackle twill and embroidery, as opposed to competitors' products made with silk screens.

All uniforms come with a two-year guarantee, and all upgrades are free. There are no minimum order restrictions.

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Spike Nashbar 800-774-5348 WWW.SPIKENASHBAR.COM

Russell Athletic WWW.RUSSELLATHLETIC.COM

The Volleyball Market 866-999-3004 WWW.VOLLEYBALLMARKET.COM

The Match Point jersey and short is a loose-fitting volleyball uniform that features Russell Athletic’s high-performing pebble knit fabric, which wicks moisture away from the skin, keeping athletes cool and dry. The textured fabric is 100-percent nylon and extremely soft, providing exceptional comfort for athletes. Style elements include a feminine box neck, a sleeveless cut, and optional custom braiding down the leg or arm. All these features will make your team's uniforms stand out on the court.

Circle No. 204 Get your volleyball team into this sleek, form-fitting uniform that features Russell Athletic’s Dri-Power stretch technology. The Side Out jersey and short set enhances performance and mobility for players on the court by wicking sweat away from the body, keeping athletes dry and comfortable. The 90-percent polyester, 10-percent stretch jersey features a stylish, piped-tab V-neck and a two-colored version of Russell’s compression shorts.

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Check out www.AthleticBid.com to contact these companies.

The Mizuno Matrix® women’s jersey is made of 100 percent MzO™ microfiber polyester with LYCRA®. A revolutionary close-tothe-body design, stretch fabric, and moisture management make this jersey a great choice for any volleyball team. It is available in sizes XS through XL, and in white, navy, red, royal, black, forest green, and maroon.

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In May of 2005, The Volleyball Market will introduce its exclusive Price Buster custom team program, featuring multi-colored, heavyweight, screen printed T-shirts from top-quality American manufacturers such as Hanes, Gildan, Fruit of the Loom, and JerZees.

The product line will include one- and two-color screened motivational T-shirts (starting under $4), and twoand three-color custom-printed team practice T-shirts (starting under $5). Custom match T-shirts will be available as well, featuring the school logo, team name, and four- to six-inch numbers, screen printed front and back, starting at less than $6 apiece.

Circle No. 207 Your players will love The Volleyball Market’s spandex, featuring a unique low-rise “California cut” and a three-inch inseam.

The material is 88 percent moisture-wicking polyester microfiber and 12 percent Lycra® Spandex for cool comfort and a stylish fit.

The silky-soft fabric wicks moisture away from the skin, keeping the athlete cool and dry. The Spandex allows 4-way stretch for complete freedom of movement. A CoolMax® lined crotch panel and smooth flat-locked seams create the ultimate in comfort. Designed and proudly manufactured in southern California, they start under $13 and are available exclusively from The Volleyball Market.

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Web News

Catalog Showcase

NEUEDGE VOLLEYBALL PRODUCTS FEATURED ON THE WEB An on-line catalog of available stock and custom uniforms and accessories for volleyball can be found on NeuEdge’s Web site. Use the color selector to explore the many options available for customizing your team's uniforms. View detailed information on all the company’s quality products, then use the retail locator to find a dealer in your area. Or, use the contact information on the site to get in touch with a NeuEdge representative. www.neuedgesports.com UNIFORM COMPANY OFFERS SPECIAL WEB TOOLS FOR COACHES Pro Look Sports has added a wonderful resource to its Web site just for coaches. It’s called the Coaches Area, and it provides coaches with a myriad of tools, from referral bonuses to order tracking. The Coaches Area also contains the company’s Reference Area, offering an entire library of uniform design tools to enhance and simplify the design and ordering process. The Coaches Area is a backstage pass to Pro Look Sports. It’s simple to use— just visit Pro Look’s site, click on the “Sign Up” button, and your log-in information will be sent to the e-mail address you specify. www.prolooksports.com SPORTS IMPORTS’ IMPROVED SITE OFFERS YOU MORE PRODUCTS, PROGRAMS, AND INFORMATION As the need for immediate information grows, the Sports Imports Web site has grown as well. The company has created an on-line store to make ordering new and replacement items even easier. Details on all of Sports Imports’ new programs and that great Senoh equipment are now available on the Web. Please visit the site to see all the updates and to order a current catalog packet. If you are planning or remodeling a gymnasium, the company has the tools to help you design the best facility for your needs—check out the Facility Planner section for details. www.sportsimports.com

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AirCAT (Airborne Athletics) . . . . . . . . . BC American Athletic (AAI) . . . . . . . . . . 19 AVCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Ballgirl Athletic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Barry University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 CL Activewear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Digital Scout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 eFundraising.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Game Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC Gatorade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Jaypro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 JV Pro, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Networks (Airborne Athletic) . . . . . . . . IFC NeuEdge Sportswear . . . . . . . . . . 10 Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Precision Passer (RI Blast) . . . . . . . . . 41 Pro Look Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Pro Look Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 RAM Graphics (Spirit Wear) . . . . . . . . 18 Schelde North America . . . . . . . . . 30 Spike Nashbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sports Imports (Attack Machine) . . . . . . 26 Sports Imports (Senoh Volleyball) . . . . . . 6 Sports Tutor (Volleyball Tutor) . . . . . . . 12 The Volleyball Market . . . . . . . . . . . 7 The Volleyball Market . . . . . . . . . . 31 VertiMax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Volleyball ACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

COACHING MANAGEMENT

Since 1986, Power Systems has been a leading supplier of sports performance, fitness, and rehabilitation products and programming. The company prides itself on being the one resource for all your training needs. The 2005 catalog has a new look, with better graphics and photos. It includes sections on core strength, medicine balls, speed, plyometrics, agility, strength equipment, strength accessories, and fitness assessment. The catalog features hundreds of new products and dozens of products available exclusively from Power Systems. The company has even lowered some of its prices, enabling the customer to get premium products for less. Call or visit the company Web site for your free copy.

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PRODUCTS DIRECTORY

ADVERTISERS DIRECTORY CIRCLE NO.

Power Systems, Inc. 800-321-6975 WWW.POWER-SYSTEMS.COM

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212. . . . . Airborne Athletics (AirCAT TEAM ) . . . . . . 39 213. . . . . Airborne Athletics (Networks) . . . . . . . . . 39 214. . . . . American Athletic, Inc. (equipment) . . . . . 39 215. . . . . American Athletic, Inc. (volleyball systems) 39 235. . . . . Ballgirl Athletic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 231. . . . . Barry University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 217. . . . . Bison (Centerline Elite) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 216. . . . . Bison (volleyball post padding) . . . . . . . . . . 39 233. . . . . Dimensional Software (Pocket Volleyball Ace) 41 232. . . . . Dimensional Software (TapRecorder) . . . . 41 234. . . . . eFundraising.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 230. . . . . Game Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 236. . . . . Gatorade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 219. . . . . Jaypro (PVB-3000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 218. . . . . Jaypro (VRS-3000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 220. . . . . JV Pro, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 200. . . . . NeuEdge (custom-sublimated uniforms) . . . . 37 201. . . . . NeuEdge (stretch shorts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 222. . . . . Porter (Powr-Line) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

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221. . . . . Porter (Powr-Net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 210. . . . . Power Systems (catalog) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 237. . . . . Power Systems (Power Jumper) . . . . . . . . 42 238. . . . . Power Systems (Power Program) . . . . . . . . 42 223. . . . . Precision Passer (RI Blast) . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 202. . . . . Pro Look Sports (uniforms) . . . . . . . . . . . 37 203. . . . . Pro Look Sports (volleyball uniforms) . . . . . 37 204. . . . . Russell Athletic (Match Point) . . . . . . . . . . 37 205. . . . . Russell Athletic (Side Out) . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 224. . . . . Schelde (Collegiate 4000 Series) . . . . . . . . . 40 225. . . . . Schelde (upgrade kit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 206. . . . . Spike Nashbar (Mizuno jersey) . . . . . . . . . 37 239. . . . . Spike Nashbar (Pro Spike Trainer) . . . . . . . 42 227. . . . . Sports Imports (Attack Volleyball Machine) . 40 226. . . . . Sports Imports (Senoh Net Systems) . . . . . 40 228. . . . . Sports Tutor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 207. . . . . The Volleyball Market (Price Buster) . . . . . 37 208. . . . . The Volleyball Market (Spandex shorts). . . 37 240. . . . . VertiMax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

For Quicker Response, Request Information From Advertisers On-Line at

MomentumMedia.com

Volleyball Court Airborne Athletics, Inc. 888-887-7453 WWW.AIRCATVOLLEYBALL.COM AirCAT™ TEAM is an air-powered training machine that does much more than just serve. Use it for spiking, setting, passing, and digging drills, too. It’s perfect for all volleyball programs, from youth to adult. The AirCAT’s features include a 10-ball automatic feeder, remote control or timer operation, adjustable ball speed and trajectory, and a rechargeable battery. Easy set-up and portability around the court make the AirCAT effective in team practices as well as individual workouts. This product is endorsed by USA Volleyball. Visit the company's Web site for more information and to request a free video.

Circle No. 212 Manage your players and your space with NetworKs from Airborne Athletics.

NetworKs catches and collects volleyballs so you don’t have to waste valuable training time doing it yourself. The front net is 10 feet wide and adjustable from a height of 6 feet to 9 feet, making it ideal for all ages and skill levels. Practice hitting, serving, setting, or passing into NetworKs. Use it during the season for an extra training station, or in the off-season to keep your players sharp. It’s perfect for team or individual use. Airborne Athletics recently reduced the price of NetworKs, and redesigned it to allow for easier storage.

Visit the company’s Web site for more information and to request a free video.

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American Athletic, Inc. 800-247-3978 WWW.AMERICANATHLETIC.COM Founded in 1954, AAI manufactures topquality volleyball equipment for competitive, recreational, and physical education use. AAI’s equipment is recognized by players and coaches alike for its sturdy

and resilient design, especially when compared with competitors' products. AAI’s volleyball product line includes systems, uprights, referee stands, pads, nets, training equipment, and accessories.

AAI volleyball systems are used extensively at major national and international events. AAI is the official net system supplier to USA Volleyball.

Circle No. 214 AAI volleyball systems are easy to set up, adjust, and transport. The uprights are constructed of lightweight aluminum or heavy-duty steel and are compatible with most floor plates. AAI systems feature unique powder-coat paint, which resists chipping and fading. A complete volleyball system for a single court includes two uprights, protective end pads, a net, and an antenna package.

Custom colors are available for referee platforms and pads.

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Bison, Inc. 800-247-7668 WWW.BISONINC.COM Customize your court with volleyball post padding that sports your team or school name. Bison volleyball post padding meets all NCAA, NFHS, and USVBA rules. Padding and lettering are available for stationary and portable standards.

High density, 1 1/2-inch thick foam protects your players to a height of six feet. Padding for stationary standards is available in 12 school colors. While it’s designed to fit Bison volleyball standards, the stationary padding will also cover most other manufacturers’ in-floor volleyball systems. Bison padding can be customized with up to 10 block letters, in your choice of white, black, royal blue, scarlet, or gold.

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Do you prefer the rigidity of steel, or the weight advantage of aluminum? Whichever you choose, there is Bison’s Centerline™ Elite equipment to meet your needs, with either steel or aluminum telescoping standards. A unique Auto Track spring-assisted height adjustment combined with a machined 26:1 gear ratio winch assures that the net is always bowstring tight.

The standards and winch are covered by a lifetime limited warranty. Post padding, available in 12 colors, can be customized with your school and team names. Bison is the exclusive official supplier of volleyball equipment for the NFHS. Circle No. 217

Jaypro Sports 800-243-0533 WWW.JAYPRO.COM Jaypro’s new VRS3000 referee stand features a sturdy twoleg design and a blue powder-coat finish. The clamp-on frame, made of 1 5/16-inch steel tubing, mounts to most standards. The platform padding adds extra comfort for referees. Optional padding is available.

Circle No. 218 The new PVB-3000 three-inch steel volleyball system from Jaypro combines steel’s strength in the bottom section with aluminum’s light weight in the top section in classic style.

With the FlexNet, tension is placed directly on the net headband, with no extra cables, straps, or tie-offs needed. Pin-stop height adjustments range from 6’ 6” to 8’ 2”. The uprights are three inches in diameter and fit most existing floor sleeves.

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Volleyball Court JV Pro, Inc. 800-962-2440 WWW.JVPRO.COM

RI Blast, Inc. 401-932-9106 WWW.PRECISIONPASSER.COM

Sports Imports, Inc. 800-556-3198 WWW.SPORTSIMPORTS.COM

JV Pro offers custom-made freestanding and convertible bleacher-mounted scoring tables. Standard options include an LED possession arrow with bonus indicators, illuminated shatterproof lexan panels, heavy-duty soft rubber casters for easy movement, and collapsibility down to 16 inches for easy storage. JV Pro also offers heavy-duty courtside chairs in school colors and featuring your logo or mascot to complement your scoring table. These products create the perfect image for your sports program.

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The Precision Passer is a net-suspended target that offers big advantages over its competition. It’s lightweight but durable, set-up is simple, and the collapsible frame allows for easy storage and transport.

The Precision Passer hangs on the net rather than sitting on the ground, making it a safer choice for your players.

And for budget-conscious coaches, the biggest advantage may be the price—the Precision Passer is available at a fraction of the cost of other targets.

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Porter Athletic Equipment Co. 800-947-6783 WWW.PORTER-ATH.COM

Schelde North America 888-724-3533 WWW.SCHELDESPORTS.COM

Sports Imports, the world leader in volleyball net system sales, supplied its Senoh net systems for all indoor and outdoor volleyball competition at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. Senoh is the only net system used for Olympic competition, ever since volleyball premiered as an official sport at the 1964 games in Tokyo. Senoh was also selected for beach volleyball when that sport was added in 1996. The system is endorsed by the Federation Internationale de Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

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A breakthrough design for volleyball equipment, Porter’s Powr-Net® system is attached overhead and controlled electronically. The system is ideal for facilities requiring instant and frequent court setup.

The entire system, including the net, judge’s stand, and padding, quickly folds into the overhead storage position with the simple turn of a key. Call the company for installation locations across the country.

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Schelde has introduced the new Collegiate 4000 Series, the next generation in telescopic and slide-rail volleyball systems.

Made of high-tensile strength, lightweight Duraluminum, the Collegiate 4000 Series systems can be set up easily by one person in less than five minutes.

A new winch mechanism offers greater range and smooth action for easy net tensioning. The net height adjusts easily and securely thanks to Schelde’s exclusive lever lock. Simply release the lever, adjust the net height, and push the lever down to lock it in place.

Check it out for yourself on Schelde’s Web site.

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The Powr-Line® professional volleyball system from Porter Athletic Equipment is designed to accommodate competitive volleyball at all levels. It meets the demands of championship play with maximum safety, quick set-up, and easy storage. This highstrength, lightweight aluminum volleyball system allows microadjustability of the net settings. The PowrWinch® self-adjusting net-tensioning mechanism is sensibly designed to provide the ultimate durable yet safe and simple net-attachment system. It fits 3”, 3 1/2”, or 4” diameter floor sleeves to accommodate new or existing facilities.

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If you own an older Schelde Collegiate volleyball system, you can now enjoy the advantages of a new Collegiate 4000 system with a simple, inexpensive upgrade. The upgrade kit takes only a few minutes to install.

Just remove the end caps, slide off the old Unirail assembly from your existing posts, slide on the new state-of-theart Collegiate 4000 assembly, and your system is now fitted with the latest technology.

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The Attack Volleyball Machine from Sports Attack, distributed by Sports Imports, challenges professional men’s and women’s volleyball programs. Ball speeds of up to 70 mph with accuracy and repetition are assured in every drill. The throwinghead release points adjust from 5’ to 9’ 6”, for everything from setting to men’s over-the-net serving and spiking. Horizontal and vertical throwing-head movement allows the coach to instantly target any point on the court, simulating real game situations.

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Sports Tutor 800-448-8867 WWW.SPORTSMACHINES.COM Both the gold and silver models of the Volleyball Tutor can vary ball trajectory and speed to produce any desired set or pass, and deliver serves at speeds up to 60 mph.

The gold model can automatically throw six volleyballs at intervals ranging from five to 20 seconds. The unit is completely portable, and is available with either AC or battery power. The silver model’s release point is 5’ 6” feet high, and features a separate dial to control the amount of topspin or underspin.

The Volleyball Tutor starts under $900.

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Testimonial

Technology That is Light Years Ahead “If you want to build a championship team, you must find a way to optimize the time that you spend with your studentathletes. They need to focus on schoolwork and they only have so much time to devote to practice. Wasting precious practice time on mundane things like setting up and adjusting equipment really drives the kids nuts.

“That’s why Schelde volleyball equipment has been so vital to our success at USC. Schelde equipment is easy to put up and take down. The net is always taut and easy to adjust. All of our players can handle it with ease, and they like the equipment. If you have quality equipment that goes up quickly, you’ve got more time to focus on the individual skills of each student-athlete. Having the time to develop the full potential of every one of your players, so that they can all contribute to your success, is the real key to building a championship team.

“Schelde’s engineers really have the right idea. Their technology is light years ahead of anything else on the market, and their equipment looks beautiful, which I think makes the entire sport look more progressive. We want our team to be on the cutting edge, and Schelde equipment helps us get there.”

Mick Haley, Head Coach University of Southern California 2002 and 2003 NCAA Division I National Volleyball Champions

Schelde North America 4180-C 44th St. S.E. Grand Rapids, MI 49512 888-SCHELDE (724-3533) info@scheldesports.com

More Products Advanced Imaging Solutions, Inc. 800-959-9148 WWW.ADVANCEDIMAGINGTECH.COM Game Plan™ Volleyball Edition is the sport’s preeminent digital video editing and analysis system. Developed in cooperation with top collegiate volleyball coaches exclusively for the sport of volleyball, Game Plan Volleyball Edition incorporates nextgeneration video compression with unsurpassed features, such as simultaneous recording from multiple camera angles, live game breakdown, the sport’s most indepth reports and statistics, networking capability, unlimited coaching stations, and enough internal storage capacity for multiple seasons worth of quality video and data.

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Barry University 800-756-6000 WWW.BARRY.EDU/HPLS Barry University’s MS program in Movement Science offers a variety of specializations to prepare you for a future in athletic training, biomechanics, exercise science, or sport and exercise psychology.

You can also choose the new general option, which allows you to customize your MS program with classes from all four specializations. Whichever specialization best meets your needs, you will benefit from state-of-the-art laboratory and research facilities, internationallyrespected faculty, and Barry’s ideal south Florida location, which offers access to challenging opportunities for graduate clinical placements. Call today to learn more.

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Dimensional Software 877-223-8225 WWW.ACE4VB.COM The TapRecorder™ is a new handheld software tool from Dimensional Software.

Combined with PracticeStats™ templates for volleyball, the TapRecorder is an excellent tool for recording and summarizing information right on the court. Using a spreadsheet format and requiring a single

tap to record data, TapRecorder applications can be customized to quickly and easily record the information you need. You can track any kind of counts and ratings, and monitor performance and selected stats during practice drills and scrimmages.

Circle No. 232 Volleyball Ace (for Palm handhelds) and Pocket Volleyball Ace (for the Pocket PC) version 5 is the latest incarnation of handheld stats software from Dimensional Software. Features include per-game and summary stats, box scores, serve and pass ratings, points-per-rotation, and hit charts. New features include quick subs, sub reminders, custom desktop reports, and HTML output for the Web. Stats can be automatically uploaded to a PC or Macintosh for printing and further analysis.

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eFundraising 866-825-2921 WWW.EFUNDRAISING.COM Try eFundraising’s On-line Fundraising Program, a new way to raise money quickly and easily. With your free, personalized Web site, complete with a magazine store, your supporters can purchase magazine subscriptions on-line and 40 percent of each purchase amount will go back to your group. Simply enter the site and send emails to friends and family across America, inviting them to visit your online store and buy, renew, or extend their magazine subscriptions to help support your group. They’ll save up to 85 percent off the newsstand price on over 650 magazine titles while you earn a 40-percent profit.

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More Products Ballgirl Athletic 203-359-8700 WWW.BALLGIRLATHLETIC.COM Ballgirl Athletic begins and ends with the female athlete. It is Ballgirl’s mission to be your athletic uniform brand of choice, because you deserve the best. Ballgirl offers uniforms designed by women for women; uniforms that provide the best in performance, fit, and comfort; uniforms that can be replenished from year to year; and a company that is dedicated soley to the female athlete. Try Ballgirl on and feel the difference.

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Gatorade 800-88 GATOR WWW.GATORADE.COM Gatorade® Thirst Quencher’s optimal formula contains electrolytes and carbohydrates. It is based on more than 30 years of scientific research and testing. Nothing rehydrates, replenishes, and refuels better than Gatorade Thirst Quencher—not even water.

REHYDRATE—Gatorade has the flavor to keep your athletes drinking, and a six-percent carbohydrate solution that’s optimal for speeding fluids back into their systems. No fluid is absorbed faster than Gatorade. REPLENISH—If your athletes don’t replace the electrolytes they lose when they sweat, they risk becoming dehydrated, which can take them out of the game. By putting electrolytes back, Gatorade helps athletes drink more, retain fluids, and maintain fluid

balance. REFUEL—Unlike water, Gatorade has the right amount of carbohydrates (14 grams per eight ounces) to give your athletes’ working muscles more energy to help them fight fatigue and keep their mental edge.

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Power Systems, Inc. 800-321-6975 WWW.POWER-SYSTEMS.COM Develop explosive vertical power and endurance while increasing change-of-direction speed with the Power Jumper. This portable plyometric training station offers resistance jump training indoors or outdoors and has a rubber bottom to protect flooring. The open-frame training area measures 30” x 50” and is counter-weighted with weight plates (sold separately). The Power Jumper is available with a standard waist belt, XXL waist belt, or shoulder harness, and four latex resistance tubes (regular or extra long).

Circle No. 237 The Volleyball Power Program by Power Systems is a 12-week training program designed to improve the performance of volleyball athletes. The package includes all the necessary equipment for developing the speed, agility, and quickness needed to excel in this very competitive sport.

The program includes a pro agility ladder, a 6-lb. Power Med ball, a lateral stepper, a VersaDisc, a 4-lb. Power Grip ball, an economy Power Jumper, a nylon carry bag, a Power Program manual, and your choice of a VHS tape or a DVD. The video shows the proper

401-932-9106 Request No. 125

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way to use the equipment and the manual takes you step-by-step through the program.

Contact Power Systems for more information on other products and programs.

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Spike Nashbar 800-774-5348 WWW.SPIKENASHBAR.COM The Pro Spike™ Trainer improves spiking technique, power, approach, arm swing, and endurance. It teaches players to hit correctly on top of the ball, and it allows increased repetitions without having to chase balls around the gym. This trainer adjusts in height from 6 1/2 feet to 11 1/2 feet in two-inch increments. The ball is not included.

Circle No. 239

VertiMax 800-699-5867 WWW.VERTIMAX.COM No matter what kind of lower-body strength and speed training you are doing, it falls into one of three categories: heavy resistance, plyometrics, or low-load, velocityspecific training (the VertiMax). If heavy resistance were 10 on a scale of one to 10, and if plyometrics were one, VertiMax would be five. It’s plyo with overload: the best of both worlds. VertiMax offers maximum transfer to the field.

Circle No. 240 “Only the VertiMax V6 incorporates upperbody loading into an already highly-effective explosion training device. Training the upper body to improve the lift aspect of vertical jump is a giant break-through. You can use it for arm action in the running phase, jam techniques, or combine all resistance bands for run-into-jump maneuvers. I can say without hesitation that this device can be of great importance in any training program.” —Garrett Giemont, Professional Football 2002 Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year Circle No. 241

Company Q & A

MULTI-DIMENSIONAL VOLLEYBALL TRAINING WITH DOUG CAMPBELL Doug Campbell is President of Airborne Athletics, Inc. Airborne has been producing and selling athletic training equipment for volleyball and basketball programs throughout the U.S. since 1997. The company’s equipment uses patented pneumatic technology called “Consistent Air Technology” (CAT). This allows products like the AirCAT to offer maximum control, power, and consistency in ball delivery. Airborne products quickly adapt to the parameters of virtually any drill, with precise execution and without wear to the ball.

By delivering over 1,200 balls per hour and freeing up the coach to focus on coaching, Airborne makes practice sessions more productive and improves skills faster.

AIRBORNE ATHLETICS, INC. 116 W. MAIN ST. BELLE PLAINE, MN 56011 888-887-7453 SPIKEIT@AIRCATVOLLEYBALL.COM WWW.AIRCATVOLLEYBALL.COM

WHAT SHOULD HIGH SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND OTHER VOLLEYBALL PROGRAMS BE LOOKING FOR IN A TRAINING MACHINE? Programs should look for a machine that can help them improve in multiple areas of the game. Far too many training machines are one-dimensional. They focus only on tossing the ball at high speeds and give no thought to the consistency of the ball placement. A machine needs to not only hit and serve the ball at competitive speeds—it should also be able to deliver the ball precisely enough to simulate a quick set, a shoot set, a perfect pass, or even an overpass that bounces off the top of the net.

For a training machine to be worth owning, it needs to be versatile, effective, and dependable.

HOW DOES THE AIRCAT COMPARE TO OTHER TRAINING MACHINES? The AirCAT uses an incredibly powerful and accurate air-driven launching system (Consistent Air Technology™) to deliver volleyballs to a precise location, time after time. This increases player proficiency through precise repetition and muscle memory. Other training machines employ spinning wheels which do not deliver the ball consistently to the desired location because the machines cannot adjust for differences in ball texture and size. The spinning wheels also cause ball damage. With the AirCAT, there is no ball wear. The AirCAT is battery operated and can be run via automatic timer or with a wireless remote, so you are not stuck feeding balls into the machine. The AirCAT is the only “complete” training machine for all players.

HOW CAN TRAINING WITH THE AIRCAT BENEFIT PLAYERS AND PROGRAMS? The AirCAT is designed to be used for team as well as individual training and conditioning. It is adaptable for virtually any practice drill or training, including hitting, digging, serve-receive, setting, overpass, tipping, and blocking. Because it comes with a ball feeder and a remote control, the AirCAT also allows individuals to practice on their own without the need for anybody to toss balls.

The AirCAT has the ability to launch 1,200 balls per hour, making it effective for in-season and off-season workouts. It is fun, easy, and extremely safe to use.

WHAT LEVEL OF PROGRAM WOULD BENEFIT FROM USING THE AIRCAT?

The AirCAT is the only training machine with the power and the consistency to be used in practically any team or individual drill.

Whether hitting, setting, passing, digging, tipping, blocking, or serve-receiving, the AirCAT can quickly adapt to the parameters of each drill with precise execution, power, consistency, and no ball wear. Plus, the AirCAT will free the coach from tossing balls or feeding balls into a machine, since it comes with an automatic ball feeder and a remote control.

The AirCAT has been on the market for over seven years, and in that time programs at all levels have benefited from using it.

International and NCAA Division I teams such as the U.S. National Team, the University of Minnesota, the University of Maryland, and other top programs all have an AirCAT. It is also used by successful smaller colleges such as Faith Baptist, Southwestern, and Rochester Community College, along with thousands of high school and junior high programs. Teams that use the AirCAT have become state champions in the last several years in many states, including Minnesota, New Mexico, Tennessee, California, and Texas!

Company Q & A

MAINTAINING A COMPETITIVE EDGE WITH SPORTS IMPORTS Brad Underwood is the President of Sports Imports, the exclusive distributor of Senoh Volleyball net systems. “I am proud of our nearly 30-year history of service to the volleyball industry. Our customers have come to rely on us as a resource, not only for equipment and court design, but also for training and industry information,” Underwood says.

TELL OUR READERS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR COMPANY.

customers who are reconditioning their uprights purchased in 1978.

Since 1976, Sports Imports has helped coaches understand the benefits that a quality net system can provide to their players and programs. We’ve also offered ways to demonstrate that value to athletic directors. We are a great resource because we know the sport—we play and coach volleyball ourselves.

WHO USES SENOH NET SYSTEMS?

We’ve seen first-hand how the legacy of a sub-standard net system can haunt a program for years, when purchasing managers and contractors make decisions based on limited knowledge or short-term goals.

Our systems are installed at more than 17,000 gyms and arenas across the country, including 90 percent of all Division I college programs. Our equipment is the most respected by coaches, and Senoh is the only net system ever to be endorsed by both the FIVB and the American Volleyball Coaches Association. That’s why the NCAA selects Senoh for its national championships year after year, and why every Olympic volleyball competition has been played on our systems, including both indoor and beach volleyball.

IS IT HARD TO SWITCH TO A SENOH SYSTEM? Our system, unlike others, quickly adapts to all other floor sleeves without destruction of your floors or any modification of our superior design.

DO GOOD UPRIGHTS MEAN GOOD VALUE?

WHY IS HAVING A QUALITY NET SYSTEM SO IMPORTANT? Nothing is more embarrassing than not achieving proper net height for competition play. Referees continually tell us about game delays and setup problems caused by a system that cannot achieve or maintain competition net height. And that’s not to mention the headaches and frustration of setting up a sub-par net system for day-to-day practice.

SPORTS IMPORTS P.O. BOX 21040 COLUMBUS, OH 43221 800-556-3198 INFO@SPORTSIMPORTS.COM WWW.SPORTSIMPORTS.COM

Yes, you definitely get what you pay for. We hear it every day: Lesser-quality products wear out and diminish the quality of play. Too many times, we see coaches upset about a purchase by a contractor or purchasing manager who made a decision based only on price.

Senoh’s durable system will provide you with decades of high-quality play—and we guarantee it with an unmatched warranty. You cannot buy a higher-quality, more durable net system.

WHAT MAKES THE SENOH DESIGN DIFFERENT?

We love to see 15-, 20-, and 25-year-old uprights sent to our warehouse for cosmetic reconditioning. We quickly put these uprights into “like new” condition and ship them back.

After all our years in business, we do not yet know the true life span of a Senoh steel upright. To me, that is value.

Senoh is the acknowledged world leader because our net system design is the most durable and reliable on the market. It’s simple: Our uprights achieve accurate net height every time and never lose the ability to maintain it. And coaches are thrilled with the easy setup and storage. Also, our steel uprights are nearly indestructible—just ask our

Overall, our advice to coaches, no matter what system they decide on, is this: Spend the time to be directly involved in the buying process. Do the research. Make sure you understand all aspects of the system you are buying and its long-term value. We promise: Quality means a competitive edge for your program.

Game Plan™ : the complete digital video analysis system that lets you drill deeper. Play to your strengths; exploit your opponents' weaknesses. Prepare to win.

Call for free information at 800-959-9148 or visit us on the web at www.gogameplan.com Request No. 126

Why winning coaches buy the AirCAT ™, the volleyball training machine that uses “AIR” (not spinning wheels) to launch precise sets and passes, and powerful spikes and serves…

1. Precise, consistent air-fed

4. Approved and endorsed by

ball delivery

Karch Kiraly and USA Volleyball, and used by winning coaches at all levels – Need we say more?

That’s what you get with AirCAT ™. Its patented Consistent Air Technology ™ delivers up to 1100 balls per hour with air, which is much more consistent and adjustable than the traditional spinning wheels projection (the accuracy of spinning wheels can vary as ball wear, age or inflation varies). With AirCAT ™ you get precise, consistent ball delivery for more effective drills.

2. More than a serving machine Thanks to the precision and adjustability of air, AirCAT ™ can throw a hard serve, simulate a soft set and everything in-between!

Hitting/Spiking Setting/Tipping

Serve/Receive, Passing

Blocking

“AirCAT ™ is going to revolutionize volleyball training.”

- Karch Kiraly

“Every program in the country could benefit from the AirCAT ™ training machine. It’s valuable for all levels of play.”

- Toshiaka Yoshida - Head Coach, Women's USA National Team

Other reasons to buy • Players can train by themselves • Battery operated (built-in charger; no electrical cords on the court) • Wireless remote control or timer operation • Automatic ball-feeder • Adjustable ball speed and trajectory • Easy to use • Safe

For a FREE video and brochure call toll-free 1-888-88SPIKE This allows you to create virtually any situation for game-like drills that will make every player better!

(1-888-887-7453)

or email request to SpikeIt@aircatvolleyball.com

3. No ball wear Spinning wheels can damage volleyballs. Besides being costly, resulting ball wear means even less consistent ball projection. Air does no damage to volleyballs, w h i c h m e a n s much longer ball life and exceptional consistency!

Request No. 127

Airborne Athletics, Inc. 116 West Main Street, Belle Plaine, MN 56011

web: www.aircatvolleyball.com