Island Volleyball Club's Philosophy
Jeff Silverman, Island Volleyball Club's founder and Executive Director, formed this club with a clear vision of the guiding principles under which it would operate. This club is responsible for: providing a healthy, positive environment for participants; teaching and reinforcing the fundamentals of volleyball; encouraging teamwork and sportsmanship; focusing on positive reinforcement as a primary tool in the learning process; teaching that opponents and officials are to be respected and appreciated; and offering advanced skills and techniques for those athletes who wish to play at the next level. This club does not believe in winning at all costs, nor that constant yelling at athletes results in better players, better results, or players who will want to continue playing the sport. This club believes it's participants are best served by providing an environment which will foster a long term love of the game. This club is dedicated to opening minds to the idea that while winning is clearly a primary objective, competition, improvement, playing to the best of one's ability, and being a good sport and teammate, ultimately provide the majority of one's enjoyment and fulfillment.
Key concepts that will be reinforced:- teamwork - working with teammates to achieve success
- sportsmanship - treating teammates, opponents, and officials with respect
- healthy competition - appreciate opponents and officials
- have fun! - enjoy, and foster a love of, the game
- focus & dedication - necessary for improvement and success
- positive environment - encouragement trumps negativity
- quickly "flush" mistakes - everyone makes mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes. Athletes are encouraged to learn from their mistakes, not dwell on mistakes during competition. Athletes are encouraged to learn techniques for quickly "flushing" mistakes and immediately refocusing and thinking positively.
Playing Time
Playing time is a subject that is important to athletes and parents alike. This club's philosophy is that everyone that makes a team is a key component of the team and thus deserves the opportunity to contribute to the team. Player's who take the club's philosophy to heart and abide by the key concepts listed above will get significant playing time. Actions that will reduce playing time include: unexcused absences from practices and/or tournaments; not being focused or not working hard during practices and/or games; exhibiting poor sportsmanship towards teammates, opponents, officials, coaches, or spectators; and bringing a bad attitude onto the court or not being a good team player.
Parent Responsibilities
Parents are encouraged to support their children. This club's philosophy is that playing club volleyball is all about the participants. Parents are asked NOT TO get too emotionally tied to: winning or losing; the amount of playing time their child or another player on the team is getting; players having good or bad days on the court; and actions by the opponents or officials. We ask that parents set a great example by following the club's philosophy to the best of their ability during club activities.
Academics Come First
This club strongly believes in the importance of academics. Playing on a club team is a privilege earned by striving for academic excellence. As such, we will clearly communicate with players the need for them to prioritize and plan their time so they excel academically as well as on the court. If at any time a player is finding it difficult to give adequate attention to academics, we ask that the player or a parent please notify the coach so we can discuss the best course of action to take to remedy the situation.
