When the entire family is involved in the sport of volleyball, it can make for a very enjoyable experience. If mom or dad are supportive, and positive through the tough practices, loses, disappointments, and the other bad times, then the good times when the team plays well, practices hard, and achieves success, are just that much sweeter. Every player goes through disappointment, struggles with new skills, and even sometimes finds understanding a new coach difficult, so if mom and dad are there to support them, and help them stay focused and positive, it can make it much easier to get through those hard times. Remember to relax, remember it's a game, and that the skills they are trying to learn don't always come over night, and that if they keep at it, they will get better.

The players on our team this year are still just getting their feet wet in the sport of volleyball and there is so much to learn. The thing about volleyball is that no matter how many drills you run, or how many tapes you watch, or how many hours you spend banging a ball against the wall, there is no substitution for just playing. When mom and dad encourage and support the player and provide the opportunity for being on the court and playing as much as possible, everyone will see the progress and success eventually happen.

Volleyball is such a simple sport that just about anyone can have fun batting a ball around in the back yard, but it is also a very complex game that requires an understanding of physics and geometry. It blends ballet with brute strength. It features the flexibility of a gymnastand the graceof a dancer.But in so many ways volleyball is a sport that is unlike any other. There just aren't too many skills that transfer from any other sport to the volleyball court. There are really no athletic skills from soccer, field hockey, basketball, or even softball that help much with volleyball. The jumping technique is different from basketball. The arm swing is diffferent from softball. The footwork is different from soccer. And field hockey? Forget about it.

So mom and dad, unless you've played the game at a competitive level, it can, sometimes be hard to appreciate what it is the players are trying to accomplish. When it looks like they are just not getting the skill, or understanding the concept they're being taught, relax. It'll come. It just takes patience, and a tremendous amount of repetitions, and a love for the game. From everyone in the family.