Time Outs are So Crucial!

I don't remember when I had this thought, but I remember years ago when I realized I wasn't using my time outs well enough. I just remember being aware of it. Calling time outs well can make a HUGE difference in the game of volleyball where momentum is the name of the game.

The biggest thing I changed after this revelation was calling time outs sooner. Instead of making the girls continue to stress and just encourage them from the sidelines, I stopped the game. And in games where my team has struggled, I have called both timeouts before either team even gets to 20. My opinion is that I want to stop the game when we still have an opportunity to come back. And I very rarely call a timeout when the other team has game point.

For example, at a tournament earlier this season we were playing a team we had already beaten at another tournament. We were playing them after a very emotional match with our top team in which we had won a game. The girls put forth so much emotional energy in the previous match, I wasn't sure how they were going to do. We won the first game. The second game was neck and neck and I did not want it to go to three. The score was 22-22. I had already used one time out. They won the point so we were down 22-23. I called a time out. Typically I would call a time out after the other team has already served, but in this case if they won a point it was game point. I didn't want to wait until game point for the time out. I don't remember what I said, but we won the point and then won the game 25-23. Obviously I don't know what the result would have been if I hadn't called the time out, but at least I gave the girls the opportunity to re-focus.

Last weekend we were reffing a match, and I think if one of the coaches had called a time out sooner the course of the game would have been changed. Team A was winning 14-13. Team B won the point to make it 14-14. Team B proceeded to win 6 more points, and Team A's coach called a time out at 14-20. Team A came back, but it was too late. They lost 25-21 (or 22 I don't remember). Team A had won the first game, so the match went to a third game. Team A came back and won the third game. I think they were the better team. Obviously no one knows what could have happened. If she had called a time out sooner the match might have ended in 2 games. And, she didn't even use her second time out.

#coachforhisglory