My name is Jeff and I’m a volleyball dad. We had no idea when my daughter Heidie started playing volleyball years ago at the local YMCA, how huge a part of our lives it would become. Although our entire family has been supportive and engaged, it has been a special part of my bond with Heidie.
Since I grew up playing and enjoying volleyball, it’s been something that she and I can share. We live in Alabama and here, volleyball is typically only played by girls, so the mothers tend to take the lead. Although many fathers will still be supportive, us guys tend to not dive into sports that are unfamiliar. So that has put me in a unique position to help and support coaches and teams along the way as a dad.
Where I grew up, volleyball was actually one of the main sports for both men and women. It wasn’t the only sport I played in school, my year was divided up between basketball, soccer, swimming and yes volleyball. One of the things I always loved about volleyball is that it doesn’t require large amounts of running.
I also enjoy the competition at the net. As a tall player, I get to be involved in both the hitting and blocking and I’ve always found that competition above the net to be thrilling. Now as I’ve aged, I enjoy that volleyball is a sport that can be played by people of all ages. We play with a church group of friends a couple of times a month and some of them are much older than me. I look forward to being able to compete for years to come.
Reflecting on Heidie’s volleyball journey, I believe I have some helpful insights that may bring knowledge and value to many newer volleyball parents. There are so many questions that come up along the way and very few resources to supply answers. Many times you’re left to ask other parents (or even strangers in the stands) or very busy coaches and may not know where else to turn.
My goal with this site will be to shed some light that smooths out your path and lets you know what to expect. Many of the articles posted here will be addressing questions my wife and I had as we helped Heidie progress through the years. Some will be addressing player questions my daughter has asked. Other posts will come from topics and questions other parents have asked me along the way.
If you’re a player, I hope this site will be a resource for you and offer you some tips and drills that will help you improve. With volleyball being a team sport, it can be very challenging to progress on your own. You may feel limited to whatever your coach is focused on during practice. I will be sharing some of the things Heidie or some of her friends have done to push themselves and progress on their own time.
If you’re a new coach, I will be adding some resources you may find helpful as well. I’m sure it’s intimidating to take on running a team for the first time. With just a couple of experiences of substitute coaching under my belt, I’m no expert. I know it’s a challenging role standing on the sideline making those critical choices during a game and choosing when to provide instruction and correction along the way. Coming up with a plan for your practices can be daunting as well! Whether you’re coaching YMCA as a volunteer, or the new teacher at school who has been strongly urged to “volunteer”, this site will be a place to find the answers to rule and strategy questions as well as suggestions on some drills you may add to your repertoire.
If you’ve found this site helpful please share it with your volleyball community. If you ever need to reach out to me, you can reach me at [email protected].
Good luck on the courts!
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