Volleyball Voices

Volleyball Voices: Womens Beach Volleyball Olympian Annette Huygens Tholen On How To Build A Dream Team For Success Beyond Sport

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Volleyball Training and Mental Conditioning Skills for 

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Womens Beach Volleyball 

Australian Olympian Annette Huygens Tholen On How To

Build A Dream Team For Success Beyond Sport

By: Annette Huygens-Tholen

Athletes are used to having all kinds of people with various skills supporting them to become the best they can be, to fulfill the dream. It is no different in life beyond sport, retired athletes dont have to do it all on their own. They can benefit from creating their own dream team to help get a new business off the ground, gain ground in an unfamiliar industry, manage projects within a corporation or to enjoy the lifestyle they desire. Here are the type of people I want on my team to create the same level of success enjoyed in sportor greater: 

#1: Coach

A personal or professional coach can teach new skills, train to optimize talents and keep one accountable. Have you ever tried to stay in the same shape or do drills on your own at the same level you did with a coach? Its hard! Behind every high-achiever there is always someone on the sidelines guiding and supporting them with their wisdom and experience. 

Imagine how things might be if you still had someone in your career, and in your relationships, to give you a game plan and help you prepare to play! What if you had someone you respected by your side every step of the way to point you in the right direction and tell you exactly what you need to do in order to achieve your personal dreams? There are many styles of coaches away from the sports field, including life coaches, business coaches, strategy coaches, relationship coaches and mindset coaches. 

A coach will keep you moving forward from one step to the next in the right direction until you get where you want to go. A coach will ensure you learn everything you need to from your mistakes and setbacks so they dont repeat themselves. That one person is always there to keep you focused on solutions and improving your weaknesses. 

#2: Mentor(s)

Having a mentor is usually a less formal arrangement than having a coach. Many successful people are happy and willing to share their knowledge and experience with another keen to get into the same business or profession. As an Olympian I have mentored many an upcoming athlete by sharing my experiences, from life on the world tour to training practices. 

Getting a mentor that has succeeded in an area of business that you wish to emulate gives you a perfect opportunity to model that success. To get a mentor all you have to do is ask! Many people are flattered to be asked. As long as it fits in with their schedule, they will very likely agree to mentor you to some degree. And if you persist, and use your team synergy skills you just learned, you may even have yourself a life-long mentor. 

#3: Support Crew/Network 

Who supports your dream? As athletes, most of us are lucky enough to have a kind of extended team of people who follow our progress and even get caught up in our dreams and ambitions, helping us get there in any way they can. These are not just cheerleaders. In the world of business, this is your network. 

Surround yourself with people that are willing to stand behind what you do because they believe in you. Go to events, conferences and clubs where you can rub shoulders with like-minded professionals, especially those with similar goals or life paths with whom you can go the distance together. This becomes a mutual support team, a formal or informal group of people, whom you admire, respect, and learn from. Why hang around people that want to pull you down? Ideally, your time is spent with people on the same wave-length who hold you up to a high standard of achievement. Even better, they have surpassed your level of success and inspire you to shoot beyond what you thought possible. 

As you grow and transition, developing a new career, you may start to mix in different circles, drifting away from some of your friends. That is a natural cycle. Now that you have left your sporting career behind, you will need to consider the balance between maintaining contact with that lifestyle and creating a new one to continue to develop a network that supports you, and possibly even your new identity. Its not something you need to do dramatically and cut ties with life-long friends, as Ive seen some people do. You may, however, need to make tough decisions if a person is constantly draining your energy or is holding you back. Be with the people who energize you and help lift your game. 

# 4: Specialized Support

In sport, there are always doctors, chiropractors, physical therapy specialists, sponsors, media, even concessions staff on the sidelines making sure you get the proper nourishment and replenishment. Who do you need to help you achieve your dream in life beyond sport? They probably wont just be there waiting for you in the wings when you get started. You have to go out and find the right professionals with the skills you need to launch your new career or reach your life goals. Find those with specialized knowledge that you dont have. If you are going into business for yourself, think about what kind of specialized support you will need. Do you need partners? Investors? Do you need to have referral partners in another organization to refer business to each other? Do you need financial support staff, an accountant, a financial planner or advisor? As you put together your dream team, you may find that staff or advisors that specialize in accounting, marketing, administration, internet and website development are critical to your careers growth. 

Start working out who you need on your own dream team to drive you toward success. 

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:

Annette Huygens Tholen is a former international beach volleyball player and participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. She experienced the difficulties of transition from sport and is now a Master Results Coach and International speaker using her learnings and experience to empower athletes to reproduce emotional and financial success in their life after sport. Annette also teaches seminars for the world's biggest NLP Coaching and Training Organisation -The Christopher Howard Companies. For more information on how to successfully transition after sport, please visit www.annetteffect.com and sign up for the free mini-Ecourse.

Read more: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Build-A-Dream-Team-For-Success-Beyond-Sport/773832#ixzz0e8S9lmVO 
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Girls Volleyball Skills and Strategies: How to Win During Your Warm Ups

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Girls Volleyball Skills and Strategies: How to Win During Your Warm Ups
By April Chapple

It's the beginning of the volleyball game and by this time you've had your team prep talk right?

Your coach has given everybody the scouting report and has told you pretty much who does what on the other team. Well now that its before the game and  now that you have the time, there is one more thing you have to do. Open your eyes and Watch the other team during their warmup!

a. Watch and Identify who you might have to block in front of you.

b. Watch How the other volleyball team players hit the ball.

c. What volleyball players hit the volleyball on the way down?

d. Which volleyball players have slow arm swings?

e. Who are the volleyball players that have a fast or slow wrist snap, in other words do their hits go down or go long in the volleyball court.

f. Which volleyball players always face cross court when they want to hit cross court or do they hit over their shoulder to disguise their shot.

Who are the volleyball players that always call for a high ball set and which ones  hit the shoot set as well?

Look for clues in the volleyball warmup as to what your opposing hitters like to do...especially when there is no block.  Then be Already thinking about how you need to block that person or how late you need to wait in your block squat before you block jump against a particular hitter.

You can do the same thing in the serving warm up.

As you are shagging your ball - keep an eye on WHERE volleyball players on the opposing starting team tend to always serve. If the left side hitter has served most of her warm up serves cross court - you can bet that she isnt going to pull too many surprises in the game and do something completely different than what you saw her do in warm up.

Volleyball players love to practice the skill that they perform the best in warm ups.

If you are alert you can anticipate a lot of what a player is planning on doing-during the volleyball game.

If she serves (5) five volleyballs cross court and 1 (one) down the line - what are you going to tell your volleyball team to look out for- that cross court serve first-right?

The last few minutes of the warm up and before you line up to start the game YOU can be talking to your teammates and sharing with them what your observations are.

"Hey Gal Sal just hit the last 5 (five)  volleyballs cross court, so whoever is blocking her be ready for that..." Why is this communication important?

1. This shows the volleyball coach that you are thinking. ...and sharing -which makes their job easier. That's what leaders do, they keep their eyes open and observe what's going on in their surroundings and then they share those observations with their team. And let's face it brownie points are Always good in that area.

2. You are also less likely to be taken by surprise during the volleyball game by what happens on the court because you've started looking and analyzing (aka warming up your brain) in warmups BEFORE the game even started.

So from now on in warmups you're not keeping your head down, grooving to the pre-game warm up music and concentrating on "just...doing my thang by just shagging and running back to hit" in warmups.

You are aware, alert and helping your volleyball team by seeing, sharing and communicating what the opposing volleyball players on the other team are doing. This volleyball skill is preparing you mentally to Anticipate what is going to happen in the volleyball game.

That's how you Win in Warmups!

Remember the ball is in Your court.

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