Hi everyone, Coach Matt here.
I wanted to give a quick update on Team Mindful and share a little more about what we have been building.
We have now completed about four Team Mindful events, which is exciting for me to say. After spending a lot of time thinking about this program and what I wanted it to become, I’m happy that we finally have some momentum.
I wanted to share what we have been working on during our clinics, where we stand with tournaments, and what I hope to build in the future.
How We Practice
My general practice philosophy is pretty simple: get a lot of quality repetitions early, then give players opportunities to use those skills in real volleyball situations.
During the first half of our clinics, we spend a lot of time working on the major skills of the game: serving, passing, serve receive, and attacking.
There is plenty of fundamental work because I want players to develop a strong technical foundation. At the same time, I don’t want young athletes to be afraid of difficult skills.
That means you may see our players experimenting with things like jump serving, jump setting, and more aggressive attacking.
There is a reason for that.
If an athlete learns a difficult skill when they are young, they potentially have years to develop it. A skill might not look perfect at 12 or 13 years old—and that is okay. My goal isn’t to make everything look perfect immediately. I want athletes to have the opportunity to start developing skills that could become major strengths later in their volleyball careers.
Learning Through the Game
The second half of our clinics becomes increasingly game-like, and we eventually get the players playing volleyball.
This is one of my favorite parts of practice, but it is also one of the most important.
Players need opportunities to see the game, make decisions, react to other players, and solve problems in real time. You cannot recreate all of that through isolated drills.
There is also something much simpler about it:
Playing volleyball is fun.
I want our athletes to enjoy coming to the gym or the grass. I want them to compete. I want them to try things, make mistakes, celebrate great plays, and experience what volleyball actually feels like.
That will continue to be a major part of every Team Mindful clinic.
Tournament Update
Our tournament plans have been more challenging.
At the moment, we do not have enough committed players to confidently field a team for our upcoming tournament. I have also recently taken on a new role teaching first grade in Vallejo, and between teaching and coaching, I simply don’t have as much bandwidth to recruit players as I originally expected.
I still have hopes that we can compete later this fall, but I also want to be realistic about where the program is right now.
If Team Mindful simply provides free clinics this season, I will consider that a success.
We started something.
Kids are getting additional volleyball opportunities. They are getting touches on the ball. They are learning new skills. I am already seeing improvement from some of the athletes who have consistently attended.
That’s enough reason to keep going.
This Is a Long-Term Project
One thing I want families to understand is that I am not trying to build Team Mindful overnight.
I’m planning to do this for a very long time.
My intention is to continue providing free youth volleyball opportunities whenever I have the ability to do so. Next spring, I expect to have more time and energy available to invest into expanding the clinics and potentially organizing more competition.
I also want to explore opportunities during the summer, including grass volleyball, beach volleyball, and tournaments where I can help cover costs and make participation easier for young athletes.
The bigger goal is simple:
Give kids more opportunities to play volleyball.
Right now, Team Mindful is small. We’re experimenting. We’re learning. We’re figuring out what works.
But we’re playing volleyball.
And that’s a pretty good place to start.
Thank you to every athlete and family who has shown up, supported the clinics, shared the program with someone else, or simply believed in what I’m trying to build.
I’m excited to see where we can take this.
— Coach Matt
Team Mindful