Coach guide: start here

Before your first practice

• Complete the CSA volunteer registration form.
• Pass a background check through CSA’s approved screening provider. It is renewed every year.
• Complete USA Volleyball’s SafeSport training online at safesport.org. It takes about 90 minutes, is renewed every year, and you send proof of completion to the Volleyball Director.
• Sign and return the Coach Agreement.
• Read the Master Handbook, then print and laminate the Quick Reference Card for your clipboard.

Head coaches must be at least 18. Assistant coaches may be 16–17 with direct adult supervision; a 16–17-year-old assistant does not count as the second adult. From the Master Handbook, sections 5 and 8.

Every practice

Arrive at least 15 minutes early, and stay until every player has been picked up by a parent or guardian. If a parent does not come, contact the parent and ask if they can send a family member. Keep contacting adults the child knows until one of them can pick her up, and call the Director after a reasonable attempt to reach an adult or an alternate adult. Every practice runs 60 minutes in the same four segments. Open this week’s plan for your division:

1st–2nd grade 3rd grade 4th grade 5th–6th grade

The rule for every drill: Every player should touch the ball as many times as possible in every practice. Maximize repetitions. Minimize lines. If players are standing still for more than 60 seconds, restructure the drill.

Teach skills progressively: do not move players to harder techniques before the basics are in place. Need something different? The drill library lists twenty drills by grade.

Game day

• Every player gets equal playing time. No player sits out more than one rotation per set without a documented reason (injury or discipline).
• One head coach and one assistant may stand on the bench-side sideline. Stay off the court, and don’t cross the 10-foot line toward the net during play.
• A coin toss opens the match. Matches are best two of three sets with rally scoring: sets to 25, 25 and 15, win by two, capped at 30, 30 and 20. A team can start with four players and has a 15-minute grace period.
• No arguing with officials, opposing coaches or parents. Disputes go calmly to the Volleyball Director.

Net heights, balls and serve lines for each grade are on the home page court and the game day rules.

If a player gets hurt

If a player is unconscious, not breathing, or in severe distress, call 911 immediately. Do not wait.

1. Stop play immediately. Clear the court. Keep other players calm and away from the injured player.
2. Assess the situation. Do not move the player if a head, neck, or spine injury is suspected.
3. Call 911 for every head injury, and whenever the injury is serious, the player is unconscious, or you are unsure of the severity.
4. Give first aid only if you are trained to do so and it is safe. Do not exceed your training. The first aid kit is at the Front Desk.
5. Contact the player’s parent or guardian first, using the emergency contact information on file.
6. Then notify the Volleyball Director, once the player is stable and her parent or guardian has been contacted.
7. Document the incident in writing as soon as possible: time, nature of injury, actions taken, and who was notified. Incident Report forms are at the Front Desk.

Head injuries and concussion: call 911 for every head injury. Any player with a blow to the head or concussion symptoms (headache, dizziness, confusion, nausea, sensitivity to light) leaves play and may not return the same day. She needs written clearance from a licensed healthcare provider before returning. When in doubt, sit them out.

Emergency

911

Volleyball Director Stephanie Abdalla

cajunsportslafayette@gmail.com

Comeaux Rec Center Front Desk

First aid kit and Incident Report forms

Comeaux Rec Center facility staff (LPRD Main Office)

(337) 291-8400

Louisiana Child Protective Services

1-855-452-5437

From the Master Handbook, section 10.

Conduct and communication

• Two-deep rule. Never be alone with a single player. At least two adults are present whenever you are working with players. A 16–17-year-old assistant does not count as the second adult. The second adult can be another coach, a parent who stays behind, or Front Desk staff.
• No communication with players by personal social media, direct messages or text outside official team channels. The team GroupMe or text group is an official channel for parents only.
• No physical contact beyond age-appropriate instruction. When in doubt, demonstrate on yourself.
• No yelling at, belittling, or publicly embarrassing any player.
• Report suspected child abuse, neglect or misconduct right away to Louisiana Child Protective Services, 1-855-452-5437, or 911 if a child is in immediate danger. Then tell the Volleyball Director.

End of the season

Week 9 is tournament week. Every team plays in a single-elimination tournament seeded by regular-season record. Send your team the tournament schedule at least a week ahead, and arrive 30 minutes before your first match.

Recognition goes beyond wins: participation certificates for every player who completes the season, a Most Improved Player and a Team Spirit Award chosen by the coach, and trophies for the champions and finalists in each division.

After the tournament, answer the three-question season survey. Your answers shape next season’s plans.