You made it. Whether it’s a championship match or a consolation bracket, Sunday is where your team finds out what it’s made of. 1. Nothing new today. This isn’t the day for a fresh rotation or a trick play. Trust what got you here. The team that plays their game usually beats the team that plays a new one. 2. Respect the tired. Everyone’s running on empty: players, parents, you. Keep it simple, keep it positive, and keep your voice steady. Tired teams don’t need volume. They need clarity. 3. Don’t coach the trophy. The more your players think about the medal, the tighter they get. Bring them back to the next serve, the next pass, the next point. 4. Same message, win or lose. “Play your game, compete every point, and enjoy it.” Say it before the first match and again before the last one. Consistency is calming. 5. Finish the weekend right. After the final whistle, shake hands, thank the refs, and find a moment to say something real to each player. They won’t remember the score as much as how you made them feel. Win or lose, a tournament weekend is three days of reps, stories, and memories. Bring the team together one last time, and send them home proud of how they showed up. Tournament coaches, tell us how your weekend went. Wins, lessons, and stories welcome below. 👇

Saturday: survive and advance 🏐 Friday was about finding your rhythm. Saturday is where the tournament starts to mean something. 1. Check the bracket, then forget it. Know what you need to advance, then stop doing math. Players who play the scenarios lose the point in front of them. Your job is one match at a time. 2. Fatigue is the real opponent. Legs are heavy, focus slips, and mistakes get sloppy. Simplify. Fewer complicated plays, more fundamentals. Cut the warm-up to what matters and protect their energy. 3. Short memory, big heart. Someone will have a rough set. Don't dwell on it, don't lecture. Give them one cue and a fresh start. The best teams on Saturday aren't the ones who never struggle. They're the ones who bounce back fastest. 4. Feed them like athletes. Real food, water, and no all-day candy buffet. A crashed team on the court is a coaching problem that started in the concession line. 5. Stay boring at the big moments. If your team is tight, you be loose. If they're flat, bring the spark. They'll borrow your energy either way, so choose what you hand them. Saturday doesn't need heroics. It needs steady, tough, one-match-at-a-time volleyball. What's your best Saturday survival tip? Drop it below. 👇

Day one of a tournament isn’t about winning the tournament. It’s about earning Saturday. Here’s your day-one checklist: 1. Don’t peak in game one. Nerves are high and everyone’s tight. Aim for settled, not perfect. Get the first few points, find your rhythm, and let the team breathe. 2. Keep the message simple. No new systems, no big adjustments. Today is about doing the basics well: serve, pass, communicate. 3. Manage energy like a resource. Long gaps between matches? Get them off their feet, fed, and hydrated. Tired teams make late-match mistakes, and those are the ones that cost you. 4. Win the walk-ins. How your team shows up for warm-up tells you a lot. Be the calm one in the building. 5. Reset between matches. Win or lose, same message: “Good. Now the next one.” Never carry the last match into the next one. You don’t need a perfect Friday. You need a good enough Friday that gives you a real shot on Saturday. Coaches heading to a tournament this weekend, what’s your day-one game plan? Drop it below and good luck! 👇

Hey Coach, It’s Monday. The games are done, the scoreboard is frozen, and you’re probably still replaying that third set in your head. I get it. I’ve done it too, driving to practice with a mental list of everything that went wrong, ready to fix all of it in 90 minutes. Here’s the thing: you can’t coach the weekend. You can only coach the week. The games already happened. Your team can’t change a single point from Saturday. What they can change is how they show up on Tuesday, Thursday, and next weekend. Monday practice is where that starts. Here’s the reset I use after a weekend of games. 1. Pick ONE thing. Not the whole film breakdown. Ask yourself: if we’d fixed one habit, which one would have changed the most points? Serve receive? Communication? Out-of-system hitting? Choose one. Your team can only absorb one message at a time, and five corrections means zero get fixed. 2. Win first, fix second. Your players are tired, a little sore, and maybe still stewing over a loss (or coasting on a win). Start by naming something they did well, and be specific. “Great hustle” is nice. “That dig in the second set that kept us alive” is a moment they remember. Reset the mood before you reset the skills. 3. Turn the problem into a drill. If serve receive fell apart on Saturday, don’t give a lecture. Build a game-like drill that makes it the focus: pressure, scoring, a consequence that matters. Players fix what they feel, not what they hear about. 4. Keep the energy light. Monday is not the time for a punishment practice. Win or lose, a team gets better the same way: good reps, good energy, and a coach who’s clearly glad to be there. Your mood sets the temperature of the gym. 5. End with a look ahead. Finish by telling them what’s next and why it matters. You want them walking out thinking “we’re getting better,” not “we’re still stuck on Saturday.” The big idea: the scoreboard is already in the past. Practice is where the next one gets decided. This week’s challenge: Walk into Monday’s practice with one focus, one win to celebrate, and one drill built around the problem. That’s it. Then reply and tell me how it went. I read every response.

Monday practice after a weekend of games 🏐 Coaches, here’s your Monday reminder: don’t coach the weekend. Coach the week. Before you walk into the gym, try this: 1. Pick ONE thing from the weekend. Not the whole film session. The one habit that would have changed the most points. 2. Win first, fix second. Start with something your team did well. They’re tired, sore, and still replaying that third set. Reset the mood before you reset the skills. 3. Turn the problem into a drill. If serve receive fell apart Saturday, don’t lecture about it. Build a game-like drill that makes it the focus. 4. Keep the energy light. Monday isn’t the time for a punishment practice. A team that wins or loses gets better the same way: with good reps. The scoreboard is already in the past. Practice is where the next one gets decided. What’s your Monday-after-games ritual? Drop it below. 👇