Volleyball is one of those sports that everyone knows. From daring dives to powerful spikes to coordinated sets, a viewer expects the players to be masterful in all regards of the game. The wear and tear on the mental strength of a player or coach can be quite strenuous.
The Camosun Chargers women’s volleyball team has recently started their season; coach Chris Dahl says he helps the athletes to overcome their obstacles in sometimes simple ways.
“We try and use the word ‘opportunity’ a lot,” he says, “because if we can frame the situation as an opportunity, it might take some of the stressors out of ‘this is a really big event’ or ‘this is a big moment.’ If we can rephrase those and make them into opportunities, we can view them as a moment of where you’re at, and then the outcome of that is great feedback for ‘okay, where do I go from here now?’”
Part of what helps a team to stay up to par and to continue to pump out results is the faculty, equipment, and support from the school itself; Dahl says that the women’s volleyball team is happy with the support they get on campus.
“Every year at the start of the year we do an inventory check,” he says. “That includes everything from our athletes to our coaching staff, and then things like if we have enough resources. There are definitely things that the college provides that stimulate growth and development of the players. We’re constantly on the lookout for how we can do more with more, because we definitely don’t desire to cater to a culture of ‘let’s do more with less.’”
Dahl says that anyone who is learning how to coach should think of it as being part of the service industry. He feels that when you’re doing it in service of others, it is very rewarding.
“Some people will come naturally by that, and others will figure it out over time,” he says. “Whether you start with that mindset or come across it over time, you will eventually get to that point where this is what it is.”
Jacqueline Coulter is a second-year player on the team; she’s from Calgary, and her parents are both former Olympians. When she first moved here and became a student athlete, she didn’t know anyone, but joining the team helped out with that.
“This was hard for me,” she says. “Living in the same city my whole life, I’ve always had a huge support team and help close by whenever I had needed. The independence I learned moving here was huge, but I can’t imagine moving to a new place and school without volleyball. The Chargers have given Victoria a sense of home for me now and are the reason I miss it when I’m away.”
Coulter has been incredibly influenced by the Chargers program and feels that it has helped her grow in ways she never imagined.
“It has given me a chance to find out who I am outside of my family name,” she says. “The team has given me so much confidence in every aspect. The guidance from Dahl and our coaching staff is something that has helped me find potential I never knew I had. The support and talent of the people in our program inspire me to be better and set new goals every day; it’s always easy to find motivation to improve.”