Today I'm a bit sleep deprived and just a tiny wee bit grumpy.
I'm feeling a bit let down by my netball club, I'm not sure if my feelings are unfounded or not, but they are what they are.
All I'm asking for is a little support. Ok, maybe more than a little, but a little would be a good start.
I play (ok, reality check here, I used to play, now I coach, umpire, support) for a great club. We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming and trying our best to make sure everyone gets a fair go. At the moment, I feel as though this responsibility has been left entirely up to me.
We have four senior teams which are graded by ability into A, B, C and C2, with the A grade being the really good players. You need 7 players to fill a netball team, and currently our club has an abundance of numbers. As coach of the C2, I am really feeling the weight of these numbers, as our higher grades are choosing to play with 8 in their teams. That leaves me with 11. We have had two injuries in the higher grades and still they have managed to shuffle themselves without pulling one of my girls up and giving them a go.
Currently I am having sleepless nights trying to juggle these girls so that they all get equal court time and to be honest I'm pretty much at the end of my tether. I am frustrated, and dissapointed and just down right grumpy. The most difficult thing is that I am coaching the girls on the lower rung as far as ability goes. A lot of these girls are young, with great potential, only I don't have time to really teach them because I spend so much time trying to juggle them.
I had a dream last night that I stood up to say my coaches speech at the end of the year at our presentation day and gave them all a really good telling off. I woke up in tears. I'm more than a little surprised that this is getting to me so much. I think what really bothers me is that I feel like I've just been left to my own devices and forgotten. The other grades just don't seem to care and that hurts, because I really thought we were better than that.
Lord, please help me to be the best coach I can be to these girls. Help me to play them in a way that they can be successful and fair at the same time. Please help the netball club see that this is a whole club issue, not just the bottom grade. Please help me with my frustrations and show me the best way to handle this situation.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Grumpy...
Posted by HisPrincess at 3:17 PM
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8 valued opinions!:
No answers, but just encouragement to trust the Lord and keep praying. I'm praying for you... If it's not one thing, it's another! :)
Hang in there. No words of wisdom from me either, except maybe take turns per game. That will slow do the rotation and let her girl have more time.
Okay, too many typos - sorry. "That will slow DOWN the rotations and let EACH girl have more time in the game."
In other words, some girls won't play in game #1, but they will play in game #2 alot.
I had to ponder this one overnight (sleep on it) because I guess I know more about the situation AND am right in the thick of it. :)
To start with I was a bit puzzled because I know you knew what it was going to take to allow the 2 "non training" girls to play.
So, here's my take on it, take it or leave it.
While you're finding the juggling a lot of effort and frustrating, I suspect the source of how you're feeling is not really the juggling and more the attitude of the club.
From the bits I've seen, they're not really sitting down and going "what's best for the whole club here", they're looking only at what's best for their team.
I also think it's disappointing from the point of view that some of our younger players could really benefit in their playing skills by playing up a grade and are perhaps being overlooked. I can imagine as a coach that you find that hard too (and perhaps that might be a better angle to tackle things from than the numbers issue).
I wonder if what is happening is when you sit down to work out the team, it's reminding you what is happening and you're starting to associate that as the problem?
The kids are screaming and I need to go finish getting ready to go. I wonder if you'd benefit from a 1 to 1 chat with M and say "this is how I'm feeling, what are your thoughts". Not necessarily with any outcome in mind but just a general, "am I over-reacting or is something amiss here?"
Like I said, take it or leave it - I'm new to all this stuff.
Yes Lightening you are right. If I felt that the club was prepared to sit down and come up with ideas as to what is best for the club as a whole then it wouldn't get to me. I really feel as though I have been just left with it, and I'm feeling let down by my club and my fellow coaches because they don't seem to want to help at all.
The juggling went better today because I made the decision to set the team and not change the rotations depending on how people were playing. In the past I have made a plan, and then changed it quarter by quarter depending on match ups and who was playing well etc. I've found that doing that is just too hard as I don't have timet to encourage and coach. This week I felt much more in control, and I found that me having more to say in the breaks has stopped the "other" coaches from talking over me. Which is another of my frustrations.
Of course I was happy to stick to my plan today because it was working and we were winning. If we have a week where we don't play well then the temptation is there for me to change my game plan because like it or not, I'm pretty competitive.
Great game today by the way. You are really getting "switched on"!
Kelly and Joanie, thanks for your prayers. I'm feeling much better about the whole thing today.
Yeah, I think you have been left with it. And it's not right. I get the feeling there is a bit of unrest among many club members about bits and pieces going on. Hard for me to tell what is normal with being so new though. I really hope you can something sorted out - for your sake but also for the clubs sake because it does attract people to it by it's reputation and it would be a shame for that to be tarnished somewhat by a few not playing "nice".
Wish I had a magic wand and could just fix everything. :(
As for Saturday - it was awesome having you coaching more heavily from the sidelines. :)
Hope you're feeling less grumpy today, and have enjoyed a relaxing weekend after the n.b. games. I have enjoyed reading over some of your previous posts and appreciate what you've shared.
Yes I'm over the grumpies!
I've come to a bit of a decision as to how I will handle the team and that has left me feeling more in control.
Thanks for visiting Naomi! Look forward to chatting.
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