Dennis: Day One at USA Volleyball CAP III Training in Colorado Springs

Dear Players, Parents, Coaches, and Friends of the Skill Ignition Volleyball Club;

Who amongst us wouldn’t have their heart swell with pride from the moment they walked into the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado? Which of you wouldn’t marvel at the highly developed and advanced skills of the untold thousands that have passed through the gates of this magnificent facility? Who wouldn’t find a strange amount of solace in realizing the level of commitment and personal sacrifice made by those incredible athletes that are a part of US Olympic history?

From the moment I arrived at the US Olympic Training Center to start my CAP III training through USA Volleyball, I’ve been, oddly enough, struck with a wave of emotions. I am very proud to be a part of this wonderful sport, and I’m even more proud of being able to be where Olympic dreams of Gold and international fame have come true for so many American athletes. The one thing that really took me by surprise was the fact that you just simply get a sense that things here are different, very different. Expectations are extremely high and one gets the sense that it would take someone special to be able to handle the expectations that are placed on the athletes here. But, at the same time, it is a comforting feeling, strangely, knowing that these athletes come here to train, to compete, and to win; all with a similar goal or vision. They are, most certainly, focused.

I’ve told this story dozens of times, but, those of you that know Tom Selleck, the actor, may not know that he played Open level volleyball back in his day. Open level volleyball means that he was skilled enough to play college volleyball and above. He obviously was an above average volleyball player. Back in the 1980s, he made an appearance on The Johnny Carson Show. For those that aren’t aware, Johnny Carson was a popular late night talk show host.

It was during one of the Olympic years and Tom Selleck was there to talk about his TV show and his support/sponsorship of the US Men’s Olympic Volleyball Team. He talked about how the team had invited him to Colorado Springs to practice with the team. He excitedly accepted and traveled to Colorado. But, as he says, it took him less than a minute of being on the court with these guys for him to know, “I was barely qualified to carry their gym bags.”

I’m reminded of his comments because, as I sit here mesmerized by the enormity of everything I’m experiencing, I again am humbled, completely humbled, in knowing that if Tom Selleck wasn’t qualified, what makes me qualified to even be here? Then, I think more about this concept I’ve coined called The Competitive Pyramid (well, at least I think I’ve coined that term, but, I’m not smart enough to have thought of it on my own, so, I won’t lay claim to the term) and I again am amazed at the steepness of the pyramid once you get past the lower levels of the pyramid.

Think of it this way, The Competitive Pyramid, when you’re young, playing in grade school or middle school, is more like climbing a flight of stairs. Get into high school, and things change. The pyramid steepens a bit. College? It steepens even some more. However, there are subtle changes as you progress from one level to the other. The leap from high school to college is within the reach of a decent percentage of high school athletes.

But, the slope of the pyramid suddenly becomes asymptotic, especially for players wanting to play at the upper levels of college, or that have aspirations to play beyond college. There have been famous US volleyball players who have enjoyed an international reputation, that have managed to navigate The Competitive Pyramid: Flo Hyman, Karch Kiraly, Misty May-Treanor, and Kerri Walsh to name but a few. Each has achieved incredible success in the sport of volleyball, and in life as well.

As a coach of youth athletes, I recognize my role in the lives of those that play on my team. I know that when I started coaching many years ago (for the record, LOL, before many of the kids that play in this club were born) that I was, likely, the last coach some kids ever had. I have taken this fact personally and have made it my personal mission to never, ever be a kids last coach. I was a far different coach than I am today, thank goodness!

Back then, I suffered from something that scares me to this day, something that I have come to believe is the genesis for why kids quit sports at such a young age. Again, I’m not sure if I coined this term or not, but, I call this the illusion of knowledge. It’s when we substitute our own vision of reality for what is commonly accepted or known as thee way to do something.

And, where do we tend to run into this phenomenon the most often? I’m a member of management in my real job, and I must say, I see a lot of the illusion of knowledge in management. But, sadly, I see it frequently in the ranks of youth coaches. The real sad part of suffering from the illusion of knowledge is that you have no idea you are infected. Coaches tend to stop listening to parents, players, even other coaches, because they shouldn’t be questioned, shouldn’t be challenged, and heaven forbid someone else might know something the coach doesn’t know.

I can trace my transformation to an exact event that happened in 2004. It was my first exposure to USA Volleyball training at the old Dexter High School, and it really did, literally, change my philosophy about coaching. I understood after that 4 hours of training that not only had I been a pretty horrible coach up to that moment, but also I suffered horribly from the illusion of knowledge. I was dramatically and forever changed as a result of that simple 4 hour class.

 To have been able to become a CAP Level I and II coach, and now, sitting here doing the groundwork for CAP III training, all I can tell you is, it's been well worth the time, the effort, and the money. Just to be able to step where past famous US Olympic athletes once walked is an incredible experience in and of itself. But, to be able to actually talk to USA Volleyball members that are former Olympic volleyball players, or the national director for some phase of the USA Volleyball program, or the former Men's Olympic Gold Medal volleyball coach, is what seriously humbles me. These people know at least...ohhhh...at least a billion times more about volleyball, about nutrition, about the psychology of coaching, and, and, and...I think you get the point.

In one of the sessions this morning, we talked in depth about the power of words. We talked about we need to change the way people look at things, for example, we don't want to talk about "the program" because that lacks substance and is hard to define. What they prefer we talk about, and, therefore, we develop over time, is our culture. Subtle. Subtle, but powerful. All too often coaches tend to look at something they like and then pattern themselves after what they've seen without giving consideration to what their culture actually is and is that a good fit with their culture.

Mr. Neville (a legend in USA Volleyball and the former Men's lympic Gold Medal volleyball coach) talks about us joining him in his "way back" machine and traveling back to when Japan was the dominant volleyball power in the world. Of course, everyone wanted to know why the Japanese were so strong. Oddly enough, the Japanese were willing to share the secrets of their success, and coaches ate it up. But, Mr. Neville wanted to know why they would be so transparent. The Japanese coach told him that only the Japanese could run the Japanese system, and, if you want to copy it, go ahead. The message? The Americans weren't the Japanese, it's a different culture.

One of the things that I thought we did an excellent job of last year in our inaugural season as a volleyball club is that we established our club's culture. Sisu, inner determination, strength of will, guts. That defined our culture pretty good. And what I find rewarding is that even tho we've changed the club name, we haven't lost the culture of Sisu. I hope that we continue building and refining our club culture.

When I first walked into the gym, the "practice" gym, I was struck by how there was absolutely no doubt about where you were, you knew you were in a USA Volleyball gym! The walls had 15-20 inspirational quotes, all related to being a team, about character, and about setting goals. It was a subtle thing, but something that had a huge influence on me.

Then to have to demonstrate a drill for the CAP III class in front of the USA Volleyball cadre was, shall we say, made my pits sweat! I got some excellent feedback and was glad when it was over. It truly is incredible to see the differences in coaching styles as I watched the other coaches present their drill. You get a tremendous sense of what it must be like to play for these coaches (some I would love to play for, others, no way).

Today was 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM. Tomorrow is 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM! Yikes! I am afraid I need my beauty sleep. And you thought it was just fun and games, right?

Good night all...and I hope you get a sense for what it's like here. I wish everyone could experience this at some level. I'll be taking some pictures, which I plan to share with you. I'm just very proud to be here and enjoying the experience.