Stella Asks: What Should I Know Before High School Volleyball? | Coach Vicky & Riley | Ep. 14

Stella is heading into her freshman year and has a lot of questions about what high school volleyball is really going to be like.

So she asks Coach Vicky and Riley.

How do you handle walking into a gym with older players? How confident should a freshman be? What should you do at tryouts? What happens if you don't make the team you wanted? And how do you show coaches that you're coachable?

Coach Vicky and Riley give Stella advice from their own experiences, including why communication matters, how to respond to coaching, why you should work with different players at tryouts, and how to earn your spot without being intimidated by juniors and seniors.

They also give Stella three things to remember when she walks into her first high school tryout: show up early, communicate and keep moving, and be coachable.

It's a conversation for Stella, but it's advice every player heading into high school volleyball can use.

The Coach Chijo Podcast features real conversations about volleyball, coaching, growth, and the journey behind it all.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

What's up everybody? Welcome to the Coach Chijo podcast. Real conversations about volleyball, coaching, growth, and the journey behind it all. So let's get into it. Just go. Just go podcast. We have a mix of people here. Okay. I got the old bald guy. And then Coach Vicky and then Coach Riley. Okay. Played high school. Yeah. Right? And then we have Stella. Yeah. And what what grade are you gonna go into next year?

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Um ninth grade. Yeah. Yay!

SPEAKER_03 0:33

High school.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Yay! Milestone. So you're so grown.

SPEAKER_03 0:38

You got a question for them? Like, you must be wondering what the heck is like playing high school volleyball? What should I be aware of? What should I prepare? What should I be afraid of? Or not?

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Yeah, I agree with everything you just said. He's like, everything you just said, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

First I would be the loudest on the court.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

Be the loudest. Always. Always be the loudest. Don't let yourself be intimidated by older girls because I feel like that can be very easy when you first walk in to the gym. Earn your spot. Everybody else has to. Earn your spot. Always, yeah. Be the loudest.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

Um wait, so you can be that way even if you're a freshman.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Heck yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

And you got seniors that are taller than you?

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:18

How do you get it?

SPEAKER_01 1:18

It does not matter in log time.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

Convince her. Convince her. How is she gonna get over that?

SPEAKER_02 1:23

Oh girl, fake it till you make it. Confidence is key. I'm telling you, confidence is key. Like, even if you don't feel very confident, fake it. Cheer as loud as you can. High five everybody. Get to know all the seniors.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Go up to them, introduce yourself. Hey, I'm gonna be your teammate this year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

Okay, can you do that?

SPEAKER_01 1:39

I think so. Okay. I don't think I would do that.

SPEAKER_03 1:43

Okay, what about at tryouts, right? So she's gonna be at tryouts. There's gonna be a bunch of players who already know each other, and she may know some, but not everybody. It's gonna be pretty scary.

SPEAKER_02 1:56

Yeah, work hard. Work hard. Don't be afraid to choose different partners too. Get to know other people and work with different people because coaches are looking at a whole bunch of different people. So you want to be with a bunch of people so you can get seen a lot.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

Ask questions, be coachable.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

Yeah, be coachable. If they tell you to fix something, fix it. Even if it feels weird, do it. If you have questions, ask questions. Yep, lots of questions. Not a lot though, not a lot, a lot. Yeah, don't the right amount.

SPEAKER_03 2:25

What's the right amount?

SPEAKER_02 2:26

I mean, you like if you're like confused Andrew, be like, so are we doing this way, this way? But then don't be like every single time they say something, be like, well, what about this? Well, what about this? Don't ask every single time, right? But if you're confused, ask the question. Better ask the question and do it correctly than do it wrong without asking the question.

SPEAKER_03 2:44

So Okay, um, Stella, do you have an idea of which team you want to make as a freshman?

SPEAKER_00 2:49

The dream would be to make varsity, but I'm probably like uh like JB.

SPEAKER_03 2:56

Okay, so how do you deal with it when you go out for high school tryouts and you get on a team and you don't end up on the teeth the the first team that you wanted to be on?

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

Do you just go and hide?

SPEAKER_01 3:10

No, prove them wrong. Work your butt off.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

Yeah, I mean it it'll it's hard. That's really hard, and uh anyone's gonna be upset by that. But I think what makes a great athlete is pushing through that and um becoming the best on the team that you were on, put on, I think is what's really important.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Respect the decision, but yeah, prove them wrong at the same time. Work to prove them wrong, yeah, work to get pulled out.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_03 3:33

So, how do you how is a freshman are you gonna be confident and go for it without coming across as cocky to like the juniors and seniors? That's how do you do that?

SPEAKER_02 3:44

There's a sweet spot with that one.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

I don't Vicky as a senior, I just thought they were all so cute. She was like, come up to me, talk to me.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

So you want seniors like that. Yeah, you want Vicky seniors, Riley on the other hand. Yeah, no, hey, um God, that's a good question. Um, I would say there's obviously a sweet spot too, and I think most people do know the line between cocky and confidence, you know. Um, and there's an obvious difference, and seniors will see that for sure. But I wouldn't just don't be yourself, be who you are, be authentic, and that's all that really matters, right?

SPEAKER_03 4:24

So Okay, let's wrap this up. Three top key tips.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

Okay. Show up early. Oh yeah, show up very early. We had to run a lot one time for that. Talk, like I said, seriously. That's what's I when I'm at tryouts, I look for the girls that are talking the loudest. That's all I care about. And always be moving on that court, always. Never even in serve receive covering, you're always moving, you're never staying in the same spot. Um, and that just it shows you're coachable.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

Okay, third thing.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

You've got us. No, um, coachability. I mean, if they correct you on something, you immediately do it. Um, they shouldn't have to correct you on the same thing twice in a row, right? I mean, obviously you're gonna have to be corrected multiple times, but if they tell you to do something, do it right away, so they don't have to correct you again on it right away. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 5:15

Yeah, she's making eye contact with you when you're talking.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

We love it. We love it.

SPEAKER_03 5:20

That's coachability, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:22

Absolutely, that is coachability. Good job.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Catch her on a Boko team next year. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:29

She's like gonna be scared to death if she doesn't come. Okay, good luck at high school.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

You're gonna do great. Thank you. Good job.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

You're gonna do amazing.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

Let us know what team you're making.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Appreciate you being here today. Keep learning, keep growing. And remember, let's play volleyball because it's fun. And we'll see you in the next episode. Just go.