Why is high school volleyball different in Texas?

Coach Chijo sits down with Libby Pacheco from the Texas High School Coaches Association while attending the association's massive coaching convention in Houston.

Libby explains why Texas takes high school athletics so seriously and how having coaches working on campus changes the relationship between coaches and athletes.

They dive into Texas volleyball culture, why the level of competition is so high, the relationship between high school and club volleyball, and whether athletes really need to play club to be successful.

They also discuss multi-sport athletes, school size, facilities and resources, competitive parents, professional development for coaches, and the bigger role high school sports can play in an athlete's life.

It's an inside look at a high school sports culture that surprised Coach Chijo and gave him a few major aha moments.

Just GO!

How do you reduce drama on a volleyball team?

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Coach Blase. In Part 1, The Playing Time Problem, we talked about fairness, equality, winning, development, and why playing time creates so much conflict between coaches, players, and parents.

I ended that episode by asking Coach Blase what advice he would give young coaches struggling to handle playing-time issues.

This episode begins with his answer.

And that answer leads us into a much bigger discussion about how coaches can proactively reduce drama on their teams.

Coach Blase believes better-informed parents and players can mean less drama. He explains why he regularly educates parents about what's happening in practice, questions the idea of closed practices, and argues that parents should be viewed as part of the team's support system rather than the enemy.

Then he shares an idea that even surprised me: having parents become cleared and participate in practices as assistant coaches.

We also discuss why coaches need to remain open to change, even after decades of experience, and why being vulnerable enough to receive feedback can make you a better coach.

Coach Blase shares how he had a parent track his interactions with every athlete during practice. What he discovered was eye-opening: some players received no attention at all, while others heard almost nothing but corrections.

That leads to another important lesson: You have to be the coach for all of your players.

Ultimately, reducing drama requires transparency, communication, education, vulnerability, and a willingness to do things differently.

It's not my team.

It's our team.

Keep learning. Keep growing. And remember, let's play volleyball because it's fun.

Just GO!

Playing time. Few topics create more tension between coaches, players, and parents.

In this episode, Coach Blase and I tackle one of the most difficult questions in youth volleyball: What does fair playing time actually mean?

Coach Blase shares the story of a parent who used a stopwatch to compare her daughter's time on the court with another player's and even counted how many times each athlete touched the ball.

That leads us into a much bigger conversation about equal vs. fair, winning vs. development, and how much control coaches actually have over an athlete's opportunities during a match.

I also share one of my own experiences coaching 12U. I gave a middle blocker an opportunity to stay in and play back row. The player enjoyed the opportunity, but her parents had a very different reaction.

We discuss why coaches sometimes play developing athletes even when it could hurt the team's chances of winning, why some positions naturally get more touches, and whether changes like unlimited substitutions would actually solve the playing time problem.

This is Part 1 of my conversation with Coach Blase.

Next week, we'll finish the playing time discussion and talk about how coaches can reduce drama on their teams.

Keep learning. Keep growing. And remember, let's play volleyball because it's fun.

Just GO!