Disclaimer: This is a sports opinions article and the ideas expressed in this piece do not reflect the views of the entire Wolfpacket staff or the CHS volleyball program.

Students have all had a strict teacher or a rough school project, but the most overwhelming of all is an overbearing coach. If one does have an overbearing sports coach, the pains are immeasurable when working on something for fun just to have it feel like more time spent in a miserable class. As sad as it is to say, most of the time it is the coaches’ fault these atmospheres are so unbearable. Whether it be from the bizarre rules the coach upholds, the choices out of self interest, or the lack of communication between coaches and players. CHS sports teams have always had a looming cloud of questionable ethics hanging over them. This negativity can stem from a coach’s ability to motivate, communicate, and treat players with respect. Due to this, volleyball coaches at CHS create more harm than good.
When evaluating the volleyball team, it seems that the volleyball coach creates a negative atmosphere. To many, it is apparent that when he makes decisions they are more focused on victory than on the wellbeing of the players.
Jane Doe currently plays for the girls volleyball team and has expressed her concerns.
“I would definitely say that the coach is driven,” said Doe. “It’s hard to say if the coach causes more harm than good, but it’s obvious that the way he yells and acts is more for himself than the team as a whole.”
Watching the practices of the volleyball team definitely demonstrates this negativity from the coach. It seems that after losing games the team is forced to have longer practices and run more than they usually do as a “punishment”. His efforts undoubtedly work, but it’s more short term then long term solutions, as this punishment only results in short term motivation and eventually leads to extreme amounts of stress causing burnout in the sport.
“If I was the coach I would definitely work on communication and building relationships with the players,” said Doe. “I’d also work on motivating the athletes and really put myself in the shoes of the players because they aren’t olympians they’re high schoolers who have other stuff.”
Before one starts to motivate, one must have simple skills that demonstrate an ability to teach and be empathetic. Firstly, the communication skills of the coach are not up to par to his so-called “motivation techniques”. Seeing how athletes react to his strictness, it’s crucial that things must change in the sports program. When CHS volleyball players are coming home both mentally and physically exhausted it is clear changes must be made. Secondly, the same goes for the kindness towards the players, when looking at the way he uses punishment as a motivation, it seems that it is not kindness but the opposite. Finally, the way he gets to know his athletes is clearly lacking. When it is not taken into account that these athletes have other things going on besides sports and that they cannot be pro athletes, mistakes will obviously be made.
When looking at the impacts of these coaches’ decisions, they destroy team morale. Coaches need to take into consideration how the players feel as well when making decisions for the team. It is important to acknowledge that the opinions of Jane Doe are not necessarily an accurate representation of the volleyball team’s views as a whole. However, when facing the strictness, punishments, and bias of these coaches the evaluations of the coaches communication skills and demeanors are a necessity to keep a healthy sports team. The end results of these teams should not be winning and achieving awards. While that is a bonus, the main focus should be on helping these athletes to reach the best of their abilities while always upholding the bond of the teams and enjoyment of the players.