As a coach, one of my big areas of focus is team chemistry. I believe good volleyball teams can be great when teammates “click.” The thing about chemistry is that you can’t just create it, you have to develop it. Here are some things that my team is doing this summer to give us an edge.

League of extraordinary volleyball players
Besides our summer weights and practices, we hosted a summer league at our school and invited 7 other schools in our area play. There’s only one thing better than playing together often… it’s playing short-handed with nothing on the line. We’ve had girls on our team gone for work, vacations, USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Reno… you name it. We’ve had to rely on players to play outside of their comfort zone in positions they don’t play (like both of my DSs playing outside and middles playing backrow). I love this too. It creates more well rounded players and reminds them that their teammates in different positions don’t have it as easy as they might think.

Watching the pros
Recently, my whole team went to see the USA men’s volleyball team play Russia. This was a great event for my girls to see, because in Kansas they don’t normally get the chance to see men’s volleyball played at a high level.

You should have seen their eyes light up when these men hit the ball. I also loved to point out to my players the footwork and different strategies the USA men do exactly how I teach our girls. I think this helps with MY chemistry with the girls too… “maybe coach does know what he’s talking about”

Summer volleyball tournament
Our grand finale this summer is a 5-hour road trip to a tournament (we were invited as a result of last year’s success). There’s something about being stuck in a car together for hours that builds relationships, not to mention hotel roomies. We went on a 14-hour road trip last year and our girls still reminisce about it today.

Yes, but, how do we pay for it all?
This summer, we want to play in tournaments and travel. That’s a lot of extra money for parents so I’ve empowered my team with the fundraising responsibilities. Together we came up with 3 fundraising ideas and I had my team roll with them.

1. Youth mini volleyball camp. We held a 1 day, 2 hour camp for kids in grades 1-7th. I put my players in groups where they coached 4-5 campers each (my 6-year-old daughter also attended the camp-oh the benefits from Coach Dad).
2. Garage sale. This turned out to be a huge money maker for us. The girls set everything up, ran the sale and even sold concessions during the sale.
3. Dodgeball tournament. We didn’t have the turnout we hoped for on this, but it was fun and a good bonding experience. The girls played in it, even our coaching staff played on teams.

These fundraising events were great to give the girls ownership for our summer volleyball and even had an effect I didn’t expect. It forced many of the girls to be accountable. When one player didn’t show up, other girls were texting and calling to make sure they were going to be there. I loved it!

Whether you are a coach or player, there are plenty of activities you can do over the summer to improve your game and your team’s togetherness. What are some things your team has done to during the off season to build chemistry?