Playoffs - Are You and Your Team Ready?
Better Preparation Leads to Success
How prepared are you for the playoffs?
Coaches spend plenty of time thinking about the playoffs. Planning on how to get your team to peak at the right time. Checking the season’s stats for strengths and weaknesses. Collecting information about potential opponents. And now, your team has either had a playoff match or will soon be starting playoffs.
To be properly prepared as a coach and have your team ready to compete, here are a number of keys that I found helped my teams compete for a state championship.
Coach
Make sure that you have considered and planned for a variety of scenarios before heading to your playoff match. Consider all the different challenges that might present themselves and have a plan of action ready for each one.
Injury/Sickness - You must have a substitution plan for each starter/key player in your line up in case of injury/sickness. You might also consider whether you would make one sub if this occurred in the middle of a set versus what you would adjust between sets. Write all of these options down and have them ready. Put yourself in your team’s shoes - they just lost the first set, they are on the bench awaiting your guidance. Unfortunately, you are sitting, staring at your notebook, trying to figure out what to do because your #1 OH just went down. If you have a plan ready, you implement it and immediately tell your team. They see you are ready and confident - so they feel confident. If there wasn’t a plan, and now you have that look of panic - your team will follow your lead.
Match-ups - In the best situation, you have been scouting potential playoff opponents all season and you happen to draw someone you have already seen. You pull out those notes and you are ready to game plan. If you don’t know this opponent, contact someone that has played them and collect any helpful information.
The goal is to find out what you can and then consider the match ups. Their strength and weaknesses versus your team’s strength and weaknesses. In what rotation should you start, who should block their big hitter(s), are the running a 5-1 with an attacking setter, and where are the holes in their defense?
Again, having multiple plans or adjustments prepared before the match makes it much easier to implement then trying to come up with something when things are a struggle. This primary game plan with possible adjustments will allow you to make rapid, confident decisions.
Your Player Struggles - Along the same line of thought, which of your players has had a focus issue throughout the season. I found it pretty typical that this type of problem, if it wasn’t resolved during the regular season, will pop back up in the playoffs. You should have a solution for this as well.
Too Much Information - There are obvious benefits if you are fortunate to know the upcoming opponent inside and out. However, I would caution you to think through what your team actually needs to know. I have seen coaches “over prepare” their team. Two key things came from this - first is a team feeling overwhelmed, even a bit out matched because the coach made the opponent appear really strong. Second, some players struggle to understand what the priorities should be when given so much detail.
The key is to provide enough information so that your team is confident in your game plan. You want them to see this as an opportunity to be successful. I would suggest the following:
Offense: 5-1 or 6-2, how aggressive is the setter (how will you defend the dump)? Who are the primary hitters and how is your block expected to defend them? What are their primary sets in the middle and at the pins?
Defense: What system are they using? What type of block scheme are they using along with who are the weaker blockers? What is open for tips and shots? Are there weak defenders that you can exploit?
Serve: A general idea of your serving plan, which players are the weaker passers and/or what areas to you plan to attack to disrupt their offense.
Serve Receive: Where or who do you expect this opponent to serve versus your team? Do they serve short? Any servers with unusual types of serves?
I would give my team a printed overview (one page) a day or two prior to the match. This gave them time to think about it and ask questions. When we were in prematch warmups, watching the other team became more meaningful because of the information that had been shared.
Team
Having the team mentally and physically ready for the playoffs means finding the right balance of focused practice and rest. The right combination will depend on the number of days you have to wait until your next match. I have dealt with a one day break as a wild card team and with a ten day break, as a league champion. Evaluate the amount of time your team has been on the court - both practice and matches. Also, consider how much travel you have to deal with to get to the opponent/playing site.
If there are multiple days before you play, giving them a day off will be beneficial and I would suggest you do that first. If there will be significant travel, have a plan to give them time on a court or a work-out after they arrive at the site. For practices, I typically reduced the length of time. Our usual 2 1/2 hour practices became an intense 90 minute one.
Focus of Practice
During your practice, work on fine tuning any systems or skills that have recently been problematic. I suggest spending time in serve receive drills, challenging the passers along with keeping the offensive system in rhythm. Keep their competitive spirit high so they will be ready for the playoff environment.
Be sure the team practices all the rotations, substitutions, plays, systems, etc. that you plan to use in the playoff match. For the team to trust the process, the must spend enough practice time on these options.
I will caution you, do not try something different/new (meaning you have not practiced it) in a playoff match. This will typically lead to chaos and a loss of confidence for the team.
See the big picture
The playoff bracket will provide a number of challenges. Guide your team to only focus on the match they are about to play - no looking ahead to who you might play in the future. Be aware of how you communicate your message. Coaches may inadvertently pass along an attitude of “we got this” to the team, and then find out that their group really isn’t ready to play. This is how higher seeded teams are upset at all levels.
In addition, help them appreciate a win at the moment, but then be ready to refocus on the next opponent ASAP. If your playoff matches have a day or two in between, then they can certainly enjoy the win that night and move on the next day. If you are at a single site where you play two matches in a day, then they must focus on the next opponent fairly quickly.
No stress
Finally, you can help your team excel if you prepare them with a strong, well thought-out game plan. Coaches and players will always be nervous heading into a match, but you can set an example by projecting a calm and confident vibe. It is fine to be excited and up-beat, but do not be too hyper or stressed. The players will feel it and it won’t be helpful.
I hope you have a fun and successful playoff season.