2022-2023 Houston Stellar Coaching Policies
Houston Stellar has developed into a club with high standards for not only performance, but also coaching. We have been praised for our outstanding staff and ability to train volleyball to a higher level. With those accolades, comes an expectation to keep an elevated level of responsibility and leadership with our duties as coaches. Houston Stellar expects the staff to always remain professional in all settings while representing the club. This includes matches, practices, travel, team functions, and club gatherings. Remember the volleyball community is always around and eyes are always watching. We ask that conversations between parents, players, and fellow coaches to always have a mature manner to them and be treated with respect to the club and all involved.
Coaching Philosophies: Take some time to think about what you stand for as a coach. What do you value? What do you expect? How do you plan to achieve these goals? Come up with a simple, yet affective, philosophy. It should be easy to state and understand while being straight forward.
Practices / Training
The biggest part of any club season, centers itself around weekly training. This is a major focus for us every season.
We want all teams to use the same terms, philosophies (varying depending on level & age), and ideas, while practicing. We love the different expertise's that coaches bring (positionally); however, we want our standards to all be the same.
Look like a Team/ Train like a Team: As you know, all coaches and players MUST be in NIKE Stellar attire during ALL club practices and tournaments. This is the norm by now for Houston Stellar. Our Club Standard is for players to wear 2022 club practice shirts, club spandex, Nike knee pads, Nike socks, and Nike VB shoes. IF a player is out of dress code, the entire team will owe 10 - timed sprints. From Day 1, you should clearly communicate the expectations for what your team should look like at each practice.
- Royal Spandex & Nike Tempo shorts can be worn ONLY on Sunday Practices. No Week Day Practices!!
- No random hoodies, sweatshirts, jackets during practice.
- No random sweatpants or lounge wear during practice.
- All personal items need to be placed in bags and neatly placed near the courts or in the stands.
- Pick up trash/ items after team practice is over. Create a Rule!
We don't anticipate issues with Coaches not wearing issued gear, but as a reminder, please wear Stellar shirts and Nike apparel at all practices.
Train with Intentions: This is huge. Come into your practices knowing what you need to work on. Make sure your drills have a focus and you're keeping it fast and engaging. There is nothing worse than a drill that drags on and the players lose interest... Drills should be about 15-20 minutes at max. Over plan drills and get to what you can!
If you need help with areas or ideas, please ask! We are all good resources for drills and or concepts.
Know your Team: You will quickly learn what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are... It's your job to plan accordingly. Find balance to your plans and always touch on key areas of the game, while adding in a few drills on areas of the game you need more work on.
EX: FUNADMENTALS like serving and passing is VITAL to a team's success. This should be in every practice plan.
Find time to rotate around skills that need attention but won't work without the solid part of the game being strong. Again, find balance!
Assess & Train Equally: All of your players should learn, train, and get reps in ALL areas of the game!!! It is our job to find the strongest line ups and place players accordingly; however, we have an obligation to teach ALL of our players the game. Do NOT exclude your 6'0"+ players from passing or serving or defense! Do NOT exclude your 5'0" players from learning how to hit or even block! We MUST train well- rounded players. We must give girls opportunities to earn/prove why they should or shouldn't play certain positions. Leading to: Practice is where you make your assessments for games. This is where you learn strengths and weaknesses of each player. Make sure you give all of your players a chance to pass, play defense, serve, hit, etc... In the past, we have had an open policy for all practices, meaning parents were free to watch, and they sure did. They watched their daughter over anyone else on the court. They counted reps too.. (That's silly but it happened).
Travel / Tournaments
We ask that ANY TIME you are wearing any item that represents Houston Stellar and or you are working, please conduct yourself in a professional way. It’s that simple.
Language- This is something we need to really keep in mind while coaching an emotional sport. We understand the natural feelings we feel are sometimes best expressed in choice words, but again, these are children you are coaching. As mature as some of them may look or try to act, they are daughters, and school age girls. They do not respond to curse words or demeaning comments. Tone goes a long way with girls. If you want to get your point across with teenage girls, you need to be on their side to get them to perform. If they feel you are cutting them down or you’re upset with them, they will naturally push away and not listen to you as an adult. As a coach, take a deep breath and try to channel your emotions in a motivational method. It will be difficult but in the end, you’ll get better results. Same goes for players. Please pay attention to their language. I know they're competing and emotions run high, but don't except them cussing. They can always find a better way to get their point across and they're still kids. I know this is harder to do for older players but hold them to a higher standard.
Team Ref Assignments- This is something that is not acceptable to skip out on, when planning for a tournament. This is a responsibility of the team and coach to have a plan BEFORE entering a tournament. This means, it is in the best interest to discuss your expectations on this from the start. The team needs to understand the rules of refereeing and how this represents the club and even region depending on travel.
1) ALL teams must have multiple certified book scorers. This is a region/ USAV rule. This means, they must attend a class AND get rated.
2) ALL teams must have their coaches as certified refs. This is also a region/ USAV rule. This means the coach and or coaches must attend a class AND get rated. Please refer to your individual USAV account to check on your status. Pending doesn’t count. Also, if we paid for your class last year and you didn’t do your part to finish the course, WE WILL NOT PAY FOR YOU THIS SEASON.
3) Have a system for how you rotate players for line, score flip, libero tracker. This eliminates girls picking the easy job every time and frustration for players who get stuck doing the same job several times. I create a schedule and stick to it all season. Ask if you need help with this.
4) NO PLAYER is allowed to leave before the team is done with their ref assignment. NO excuses. This is a team job and no player is above the team. Should a player leave without a super valid reason (flight or big emergency) she will owe a "Learning Moment Activity" at practice.
5) Refrain from Call disputes or arguing with other coaches. It's just not worth it and your team will fall apart if you start to fall apart. Please be up to date on current rules. Volleyball is always evolving and it’s better to educate yourself, rather than go on what you think in some cases. Some coaches will heckle you and you need to remain calm and mature. Please don’t fight back. Again, you’re representing the club, and I (Sara) will be the one they contact when you act out of line...
6) Parent heckling is common and expected. Should another team’s parent yell or act out towards your team, we ask that you 1st approach their team’s coach, 2nd look at the situation and assess it accordingly. If your player is not paying attention, you may need to switch kids out to defuse the situation.
7) Player conduct while doing their ref job. NO Cell Phones! NO Music or ear buds/earphones. NO FOOD at the table or while lining. NO open drinks at the table. Pay attention and be aware. Don’t doodle on the flip score. If they get lost or mess up, remind them to let you or the down ref know immediately.
Off/ Down Time at Tournaments- This is something that is usually a given but make sure you communicate your expectations for how a team scatters and when they should report back to the court. Make sure they also understand to behave and be aware of others watching. We don’t want them running around or acting silly while parents or spectators are watching. They need to go find areas for that type of behavior. Keep their bags and items in a central location and organized. Ask parents to help with this.
-Coaches: Keep informed and know the flow of the tournament. Know your play times, ref times, and off times. It's your job to make sure the team knows what to expect.
-While traveling, make sure you understand your main purpose for being there is to coach. This means make good choices and keep the player’s best interest in mind. Parents will ask you to have beverage with them BUT we ask that you make smart decisions here. If the team is present, you need to keep it to a 1 drink max . (if at all). If you’re driving to a restaurant to eat with the team and parents, we ask that you don’t drink because of the message it sends. If you’re out with just parents in an adult scene, please be responsible and understand your role the next day. We understand sometimes they will want to cut loose with you, but be a coach first.
IF you go out with other coaches, please BE RESPONSIBLE! We understand what you may "want" to do but again, you're there to do a job first. Please get proper rest, don't bar hop, and just be responsible. A BIG RULE TO FOLLOW: Don't expect your team to be on time or be prepared if YOU ARE NOT.
-Plan for team meetings while traveling. Have them meet you in a common area in the hotel to discuss the breakdown of the tournament, reflect on their performance, and or talk about standings. It’s good for them to know what’s going on and what you expect from them, moving forward.
Social Media
As coaches we need to remember several items when it comes to our social media. First, it is a prevalent factor in our player’s world. They live through their Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat, etc… With all the different opinions on if it is a healthy habit or not, it is a staple in how they communicate and see their everyday worlds.
As adults, we have a responsibility to represent ourselves in ‘their social media world’ as mature individuals that have the privilege to help mold and shape these young athletes. We ask that if you have any players as a ‘friend’ on any of your personal social media accounts, that you remember how you look to these teenage girls while representing yourself as an individual and coach. While we understand posting pictures of your social outings is part of having an account, young eyes do see these pictures. It forms opinions and stirs conversations. Think before you post! You are not only representing yourself but also the club. This also applies to status updates, tweets, or any other form of communication. We all know things can get taken out of context through text. It’s one of the downfalls to having that freedom. We strongly encourage you, as coaches, to really put a lot of thought into what you do with your words. These young minds don’t always understand sarcasm, nor do they always understand adult humor. As much as we want to believe they are mature enough to handle certain aspects of our conversations, they just don’t. They are impressionable, naïve, and most importantly, look to us as role models. We ask that you refrain from personal conversations through text or other social media that doesn’t pertain to coach-player information. If you do feel the need to reach out to a player, from any team, please keep it short and to the point of need. These girls need to respect us and view us in a different light, rather than ‘friend’. Also, these girls do talk to their parents and their parents do monitor their phones. Keep this in mind before you reach out. We promise you, parents will and are seeing some of the things you send. We know it sounds simple and this is probably a no brainer to most, but the rule is easy. Don’t say, send, or post something that doesn’t represent you in a good light.
The club will have a ZERO TOLLERANCE policy on this. Results may vary from personal conversations to alleviating you from a position and contacting the commissioner of the region, depending on the severity of the matter.
Houston Stellar just asks that you maintain a professional attitude and demeanor while representing the club in all aspects. In order for the club to continue moving forward with positive light, the coaches need to be aware of how vital they are in the big picture.
Sara & Scott Zanon
Coaching Philosophies: Take some time to think about what you stand for as a coach. What do you value? What do you expect? How do you plan to achieve these goals? Come up with a simple, yet affective, philosophy. It should be easy to state and understand while being straight forward.
Practices / Training
The biggest part of any club season, centers itself around weekly training. This is a major focus for us every season.
We want all teams to use the same terms, philosophies (varying depending on level & age), and ideas, while practicing. We love the different expertise's that coaches bring (positionally); however, we want our standards to all be the same.
Look like a Team/ Train like a Team: As you know, all coaches and players MUST be in NIKE Stellar attire during ALL club practices and tournaments. This is the norm by now for Houston Stellar. Our Club Standard is for players to wear 2022 club practice shirts, club spandex, Nike knee pads, Nike socks, and Nike VB shoes. IF a player is out of dress code, the entire team will owe 10 - timed sprints. From Day 1, you should clearly communicate the expectations for what your team should look like at each practice.
- Royal Spandex & Nike Tempo shorts can be worn ONLY on Sunday Practices. No Week Day Practices!!
- No random hoodies, sweatshirts, jackets during practice.
- No random sweatpants or lounge wear during practice.
- All personal items need to be placed in bags and neatly placed near the courts or in the stands.
- Pick up trash/ items after team practice is over. Create a Rule!
We don't anticipate issues with Coaches not wearing issued gear, but as a reminder, please wear Stellar shirts and Nike apparel at all practices.
Train with Intentions: This is huge. Come into your practices knowing what you need to work on. Make sure your drills have a focus and you're keeping it fast and engaging. There is nothing worse than a drill that drags on and the players lose interest... Drills should be about 15-20 minutes at max. Over plan drills and get to what you can!
If you need help with areas or ideas, please ask! We are all good resources for drills and or concepts.
Know your Team: You will quickly learn what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are... It's your job to plan accordingly. Find balance to your plans and always touch on key areas of the game, while adding in a few drills on areas of the game you need more work on.
EX: FUNADMENTALS like serving and passing is VITAL to a team's success. This should be in every practice plan.
Find time to rotate around skills that need attention but won't work without the solid part of the game being strong. Again, find balance!
Assess & Train Equally: All of your players should learn, train, and get reps in ALL areas of the game!!! It is our job to find the strongest line ups and place players accordingly; however, we have an obligation to teach ALL of our players the game. Do NOT exclude your 6'0"+ players from passing or serving or defense! Do NOT exclude your 5'0" players from learning how to hit or even block! We MUST train well- rounded players. We must give girls opportunities to earn/prove why they should or shouldn't play certain positions. Leading to: Practice is where you make your assessments for games. This is where you learn strengths and weaknesses of each player. Make sure you give all of your players a chance to pass, play defense, serve, hit, etc... In the past, we have had an open policy for all practices, meaning parents were free to watch, and they sure did. They watched their daughter over anyone else on the court. They counted reps too.. (That's silly but it happened).
Travel / Tournaments
We ask that ANY TIME you are wearing any item that represents Houston Stellar and or you are working, please conduct yourself in a professional way. It’s that simple.
Language- This is something we need to really keep in mind while coaching an emotional sport. We understand the natural feelings we feel are sometimes best expressed in choice words, but again, these are children you are coaching. As mature as some of them may look or try to act, they are daughters, and school age girls. They do not respond to curse words or demeaning comments. Tone goes a long way with girls. If you want to get your point across with teenage girls, you need to be on their side to get them to perform. If they feel you are cutting them down or you’re upset with them, they will naturally push away and not listen to you as an adult. As a coach, take a deep breath and try to channel your emotions in a motivational method. It will be difficult but in the end, you’ll get better results. Same goes for players. Please pay attention to their language. I know they're competing and emotions run high, but don't except them cussing. They can always find a better way to get their point across and they're still kids. I know this is harder to do for older players but hold them to a higher standard.
Team Ref Assignments- This is something that is not acceptable to skip out on, when planning for a tournament. This is a responsibility of the team and coach to have a plan BEFORE entering a tournament. This means, it is in the best interest to discuss your expectations on this from the start. The team needs to understand the rules of refereeing and how this represents the club and even region depending on travel.
1) ALL teams must have multiple certified book scorers. This is a region/ USAV rule. This means, they must attend a class AND get rated.
2) ALL teams must have their coaches as certified refs. This is also a region/ USAV rule. This means the coach and or coaches must attend a class AND get rated. Please refer to your individual USAV account to check on your status. Pending doesn’t count. Also, if we paid for your class last year and you didn’t do your part to finish the course, WE WILL NOT PAY FOR YOU THIS SEASON.
3) Have a system for how you rotate players for line, score flip, libero tracker. This eliminates girls picking the easy job every time and frustration for players who get stuck doing the same job several times. I create a schedule and stick to it all season. Ask if you need help with this.
4) NO PLAYER is allowed to leave before the team is done with their ref assignment. NO excuses. This is a team job and no player is above the team. Should a player leave without a super valid reason (flight or big emergency) she will owe a "Learning Moment Activity" at practice.
5) Refrain from Call disputes or arguing with other coaches. It's just not worth it and your team will fall apart if you start to fall apart. Please be up to date on current rules. Volleyball is always evolving and it’s better to educate yourself, rather than go on what you think in some cases. Some coaches will heckle you and you need to remain calm and mature. Please don’t fight back. Again, you’re representing the club, and I (Sara) will be the one they contact when you act out of line...
6) Parent heckling is common and expected. Should another team’s parent yell or act out towards your team, we ask that you 1st approach their team’s coach, 2nd look at the situation and assess it accordingly. If your player is not paying attention, you may need to switch kids out to defuse the situation.
7) Player conduct while doing their ref job. NO Cell Phones! NO Music or ear buds/earphones. NO FOOD at the table or while lining. NO open drinks at the table. Pay attention and be aware. Don’t doodle on the flip score. If they get lost or mess up, remind them to let you or the down ref know immediately.
Off/ Down Time at Tournaments- This is something that is usually a given but make sure you communicate your expectations for how a team scatters and when they should report back to the court. Make sure they also understand to behave and be aware of others watching. We don’t want them running around or acting silly while parents or spectators are watching. They need to go find areas for that type of behavior. Keep their bags and items in a central location and organized. Ask parents to help with this.
-Coaches: Keep informed and know the flow of the tournament. Know your play times, ref times, and off times. It's your job to make sure the team knows what to expect.
-While traveling, make sure you understand your main purpose for being there is to coach. This means make good choices and keep the player’s best interest in mind. Parents will ask you to have beverage with them BUT we ask that you make smart decisions here. If the team is present, you need to keep it to a 1 drink max . (if at all). If you’re driving to a restaurant to eat with the team and parents, we ask that you don’t drink because of the message it sends. If you’re out with just parents in an adult scene, please be responsible and understand your role the next day. We understand sometimes they will want to cut loose with you, but be a coach first.
IF you go out with other coaches, please BE RESPONSIBLE! We understand what you may "want" to do but again, you're there to do a job first. Please get proper rest, don't bar hop, and just be responsible. A BIG RULE TO FOLLOW: Don't expect your team to be on time or be prepared if YOU ARE NOT.
-Plan for team meetings while traveling. Have them meet you in a common area in the hotel to discuss the breakdown of the tournament, reflect on their performance, and or talk about standings. It’s good for them to know what’s going on and what you expect from them, moving forward.
Social Media
As coaches we need to remember several items when it comes to our social media. First, it is a prevalent factor in our player’s world. They live through their Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat, etc… With all the different opinions on if it is a healthy habit or not, it is a staple in how they communicate and see their everyday worlds.
As adults, we have a responsibility to represent ourselves in ‘their social media world’ as mature individuals that have the privilege to help mold and shape these young athletes. We ask that if you have any players as a ‘friend’ on any of your personal social media accounts, that you remember how you look to these teenage girls while representing yourself as an individual and coach. While we understand posting pictures of your social outings is part of having an account, young eyes do see these pictures. It forms opinions and stirs conversations. Think before you post! You are not only representing yourself but also the club. This also applies to status updates, tweets, or any other form of communication. We all know things can get taken out of context through text. It’s one of the downfalls to having that freedom. We strongly encourage you, as coaches, to really put a lot of thought into what you do with your words. These young minds don’t always understand sarcasm, nor do they always understand adult humor. As much as we want to believe they are mature enough to handle certain aspects of our conversations, they just don’t. They are impressionable, naïve, and most importantly, look to us as role models. We ask that you refrain from personal conversations through text or other social media that doesn’t pertain to coach-player information. If you do feel the need to reach out to a player, from any team, please keep it short and to the point of need. These girls need to respect us and view us in a different light, rather than ‘friend’. Also, these girls do talk to their parents and their parents do monitor their phones. Keep this in mind before you reach out. We promise you, parents will and are seeing some of the things you send. We know it sounds simple and this is probably a no brainer to most, but the rule is easy. Don’t say, send, or post something that doesn’t represent you in a good light.
The club will have a ZERO TOLLERANCE policy on this. Results may vary from personal conversations to alleviating you from a position and contacting the commissioner of the region, depending on the severity of the matter.
Houston Stellar just asks that you maintain a professional attitude and demeanor while representing the club in all aspects. In order for the club to continue moving forward with positive light, the coaches need to be aware of how vital they are in the big picture.
Sara & Scott Zanon