How To Identify Natural Leaders On Your Volleyball Team | Picking Volleyball Captains | Podcast

Summary

This podcast episode by Whitney Bartiuk from Get The Pancake focuses on identifying natural leaders in volleyball teams. From the onset of the season, every player is on their best behavior, making it tricky to spot true leaders. Key attributes of leaders include players to whom teammates naturally listen, those who make eye contact with coaches, don't give up easily, and own their positions. Whitney provides practical pointers like observing who arrives first in huddles, who initiates conversations, and whose ideas gain the most support. It's highlighted that not all natural leaders make ideal captains, necessitating extra guidance to motivate them to improve. The episode encourages listening, joining discussions in the Volleyball Coaches Corner Group, and engaging with Get The Pancake's community to explore more coaching resources.

Highlights

• Natural leaders can be seen by who teammates naturally gravitate towards and listen to during practices. 🧲
• Observe which player's ideas gain the most traction during team discussions to identify influential team members. 🗣️
• Confidence on the court and ownership of their role are tell-tale signs of leadership qualities in players. 🏐

Key Takeaways

• Identifying natural leaders early in the season is crucial as it helps in guiding them to steer the team effectively. ⚡
• Key characteristics of a natural leader include players respected by teammates, those who naturally make eye contact, and who confidently own their positions. 👀
• Challenges may arise because not all natural leaders are ready or ideal for taking on captain roles. It might need extra effort and motivation to shape them into role models. 📈

Overview

In the exciting journey of pinpointing leaders within a volleyball team, Whitney Bartiuk from Get The Pancake sheds light on key attributes that coaches should watch out for. From eye contact to influence in team huddles, these little details help in spotting players who can naturally steer the team with their presence.

Early identification of leaders can significantly ease the coach's role and enhance team dynamics. Whitney shares some nifty tips like noticing who arrives first at huddles or who naturally earns the team's respect by initiating successful ideas during practices.

Whitney offers a refreshing take on how not all natural leaders are suited for being captains. It's a nuanced process that might need additional motivation for some, letting them seamlessly role model their peers. With a community of volleyball enthusiasts, Get The Pancake provides a lively platform for coaches seeking to discuss and grow in the coaching realm.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction The introduction begins with Whitney from getthepancake.com, a resource for volleyball coaches, explaining her new initiative. She talks about her experience writing articles and her desire to diversify by reading some of her favorite coaching posts aloud. Whitney resonates with readers who enjoy online articles but might lack time to read in-depth, suggesting that her audio content can be an alternative for multi-taskers who listen during activities like driving or preparing for the day.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Purpose and Call to Action The chapter 'Purpose and Call to Action' discusses the speaker's preference for listening over reading, as they find it more engaging and beneficial. They express interest in exploring new methods of content delivery, like potentially starting a volleyball podcast, and encourage audience interaction through subscriptions, notifications, and likes to gauge interest in the content format.
• 01:00 - 03:00: Identifying Natural Leaders on Your Volleyball Team The chapter "Identifying Natural Leaders on Your Volleyball Team" emphasizes the importance of recognizing leadership qualities in players before the season's first tournament. Initially, all players exhibit good behavior and enthusiasm, which can make it challenging to discern true leaders. The chapter suggests observing certain indicators during practice to identify one or two players who naturally assume leadership roles.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Characteristics of Natural Leaders Identifying natural leaders in a team can significantly aid in guiding and steering the entire team effectively. Characteristics of natural leaders include the ability of teammates to naturally listen to them, maintaining eye contact with the coach, persistence, and a strong sense of ownership in their positions. While these traits can indicate a potential leader, possessing all these qualities is not mandatory for someone to become an effective team leader.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Finding Your Leaders The chapter explores how to identify leaders within a team, focusing on non-verbal indicators. Key elements include observing who arrives first at meetings, who makes eye contact or initiates conversations, and who other players naturally gravitate towards. These actions can reveal which individuals hold influence within the team. Additionally, asking simple, direct questions to the team can help reveal who possesses leadership qualities.
• 05:00 - 06:30: Observing Leaders on the Court The chapter 'Observing Leaders on the Court' discusses a practice session where the coach sets aside time for a game at the end. The coach asks players for game suggestions, anticipating some disagreement. However, the chapter suggests paying attention to which idea garners the most support, as this is likely to highlight the natural leader of the team. This leader is seen as someone who shares ideas that resonate well with the majority of the teammates.
• 06:30 - 08:30: Choosing Leaders as Captains The chapter discusses the process of choosing leaders as captains within a team. It emphasizes the importance of selecting games or drills approved by the coach and observing team dynamics to identify leaders who adapt well to team preferences. The chapter provides a scenario where multiple suggestions are made for team activities, such as "Queen of the Court," "Dead Fish," and "Hitting Survivor," and suggests paying attention to who becomes the decision-maker in the group by noticing who changes their mind last and successfully garners team support.
• 08:30 - 10:00: Conclusion and Community Engagement The chapter discusses the influence certain players have on their teammates and how this is exhibited during game play. It highlights the confidence players show on the court, often identifying themselves with specific positions such as 'libero' or 'setter'. The chapter also notes that even new players, who might not yet have a clear position or full confidence in their skills, can quickly adapt and demonstrate their influence.

How To Identify Natural Leaders On Your Volleyball Team | Picking Volleyball Captains | Podcast Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Hey coaches, it’s Whitney with getthepancake.com, a website for volleyball coaches. I have been writing articles for a couple of years now and wanted to try something new. In addition to adding my latest articles to the website, I thought it’d be fun to read you some of my favorite posts on coaching volleyball. Personally, I love reading articles online, but sometimes I just don’t have enough time to sit down and digest the information. However, I’ve started listening to a lot of podcasts and YouTube videos while I’m getting ready in the morning or driving somewhere, like to practice or a tournament.
• 00:30 - 01:00 And I’ve found that listening is much easier than reading articles. I tend to get more out of it because I listen closely to every word and don’t skim over the information. While I’m not ready to start a volleyball podcast yet, I wanted to give this a try and see what you all think. If this appeals to you, make sure to subscribe to my channel and turn on notifications so you know when my next video comes out. Also, a thumbs up would really help me determine if helping you save time by reading my articles here is something you would want more of. Alright, enough chit chat, let’s get to the article!
• 01:00 - 01:30 "How To Identify Natural Leaders on Your Volleyball Team" By Whitney Bartiuk of getthepancake.com Before your first tournament of the season, you’ll need to identify leaders on your team. This can be a challenge because in the beginning of the season, EVERYONE is on their best behavior! Everyone hustles to shag, they’re all clapping for each other, and when you ask them to come in… they run. But in order to find one or two players who will own the role of leader, there are a few things that we as coaches can keep an eye on at practice.
• 01:30 - 02:00 Noticing these characteristics early on will help you in more ways than you can count, as you’ll be able to focus attention towards guiding these players, who will in turn help steer the rest of the team for you. CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURAL LEADERS: - Teammates Naturally Listen - Eye Contact With The Coach - Do Not Give Up Easily - Own Their Position Now, these characteristics are not a 100% guarantee that the players will be a great leader on your team. Your true leader may exhibit all of these traits, or only 2-3, but it is unlikely you’d
• 02:00 - 02:30 have a leader who did not demonstrate most of these characteristics on a regular basis. HOW TO FIND YOUR LEADERS Before the start of your next practice, call your team in for a quick huddle. Notice who gets there first, who is comfortable making eye contact with you (or even initiating conversation), and if players gravitate towards a certain player. These will be some non-verbal indicators a player carries influence over the rest of the team. Next, try asking your players a simple question, like, “Hey ladies, I have a tough/fun/other
• 02:30 - 03:00 adjective practice planned for today, but I set aside some time at the end for a quick game. I have a couple of ideas, but wanted to know if there was a game you’d like to play?” You’ll have a couple of players chime in, and you need to prepare yourself for a small disagreement (which is why I typically avoid asking players for opinions or drill ideas). But pay close attention to which idea gets the most support, because the natural leader on your team will probably a) share an idea that appeals to most of her teammates, and
• 03:00 - 03:30 b) also choose a game or drill which the coach would approve of. However, leaders are also able to adapt if their idea isn’t the most popular, so if a few ideas are thrown out, wait to see who the final “decision maker” is on the team. An example would be if one player says Queen of the Court, another says Dead Fish, and another says Hitting Survivor. Let’s say the group seems to be between Queen of the Court and Hitting Survivor… Notice who the last person is to change their mind and get the rest of the team’s support.
• 03:30 - 04:00 This player likely holds influence over her teammates. WHAT TO WATCH FOR ON THE COURT During play, you’ll also notice who holds themselves in a confident manner on the court, and who “owns” their position. These players will usually come into the season telling you “I’m a libero” or “I’m a setter.” On rare occasions, players who are new to the sport but hold influence may not have a position yet or be 100% confident in their skills, but they will soon adapt to one.
• 04:00 - 04:30 You’ll also notice that the entire team tends to look towards certain players or take feedback without push-back from certain players. A classic example is in serve receive, a player might be out of rotation and a teammate would tell them so. If they argue with or question this player, they are likely NOT a leader on the team in the eyes of their peers. However, if the teammate quickly adjusts without negative feedback towards this player, the player is seen as a leader on the team. LEADERS AS CAPTAINS Alright, so you’ve decided the natural leaders on your team, now it’s time to decide
• 04:30 - 05:00 who to name as captain. I’ve written on picking captains before, but I want to make sure it is clear that these players should be role models on the team for good behavior. On occasion, the natural leaders on the team may not be ideal candidates for the position of captain. If this is the case, you’ll need to spend some extra time on these players to find out their motivations and reasons for playing, so you can encourage them to WANT to be better for the team. Unfortunately, this isn’t something you can force on a player.
• 05:00 - 05:30 That’s a discussion for another day. I hope you have enjoyed this article and that you are able to identify your natural leaders more quickly because of it! If you have anything to add, please consider joining our “Volleyball Coaches Corner” private Facebook group, where volleyball coaches from all over “talk shop” and share helpful tips with one another. Thank you SO much for listening to my first narrated article from getthepancake.com, if you enjoyed the article being read to you so you could be more productive with your day and multitask,
• 05:30 - 06:00 let me know by liking this video and subscribing to my channel. The Get The Pancake family is a very active community of volleyball coaches, and I always encourage discussion at the end of every article. If you heard something interesting or worth remarking on, please add your comment below! Also, please share this video with other coaches who may be looking for help with figuring out captains or who the leaders are on their team. Again, thank you so much for listening! Don't forget to check out getthepancake.com for more volleyball coaching resources, and find @getthepancake on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.