Navigating the Mid-Season Storm: From Disappointed Expectations to Team Rebirth

Mental Tactics for a Volleyball Coach’s Mid-Season Turnaround

Author	Derek Marcus Westman
Article Depth	Detailed Analysis
Required Knowledge	Basic Coaching Principles
Primary Audience	Volleyball Coaches

Every coach knows that each season has its critical moments—phases where momentum can swing one way or the other. One of the most delicate moments invariably arrives mid-season. This is the time for the first real reckoning: the clash between preseason expectations and the harsh reality of the standings. It is here that we face our most complex challenge, one that transcends the tactical whiteboard and delves into the mental management of the group. How do we steer the ship when the route charted on the map no longer matches the sea we are navigating?

This is not just a moment of potential crisis, but an extraordinary opportunity for forging strength. It is here that the foundations for the final push are laid, transforming difficulties into a stronger cement for the team.

The Triple Tyranny of Expectations

The first fundamental step is a clear distinction of the psychological forces at play. The expectations weighing on our locker room are not monolithic but are divided into three categories, each with a different impact:

Group Expectations: Those we built together, the shared goal during preparation. They are our internal “pact,” the beacon we must never lose sight of.
Club and Environmental Expectations: Management, fans, media. These are often the most unrealistic and “loudest,” capable of generating disproportionate pressure. If the club has declared it is “aiming high,” every defeat is experienced as a monumental failure, a weight that players carry onto the court.
Individual Expectations: Perhaps the most insidious to manage. Every athlete has their own. The starter who expected to dominate and finds themselves in a slump, the reserve who hoped to carve out more space and sees the hierarchy solidifying, the young player who dreamed of their debut and feels the bench getting tighter.

The greatest danger is that external expectations and disappointed individual ones will coalesce, taking precedence over those of the group. Phrases like, “The club built a team to win, but…” or “I thought I would play more, so…” become fuel for a culture of excuses and undermine cohesion.

Protecting the Team-System from External Noise

Our first task is to act as a filter. We must be the semipermeable membrane that protects the team from external “noise,” allowing only constructive stimuli to pass through. This means:

Managing Upward Communication: Constantly dialogue with management, keeping them aligned with the growth process and not just the Sunday result. Explain the difficulties, share improvement strategies, and make it clear that the journey requires time and cohesion, especially when points are not coming.
Controlling the Public Message: Whether in interviews or informal dialogues, our language must be consistent. If internally we ask for patience and focus on the work, we cannot externally talk about a “must-win game.” We must be the first to demonstrate balance and defend the group’s work.

From the Macro-Goal to the Micro-Process (“Here and Now”)

When the ultimate goal seems to be slipping away, insisting on it is counterproductive. It is time to radically shift the focus from the result to the process. We must stop talking about the standings and start talking about the quality of our game, breaking down the objective into micro-goals—weekly, daily, for a single drill. The concept of the “here and now” becomes our mantra.

Instead of “We have to win,” our language becomes:

In practice: “Today, in this defensive drill, the goal isn’t to score a point, but to keep 7 out of 10 balls alive. Let’s focus on that.”
In a match: “Our goal for this set is to improve our side-out efficiency from 52% to 55%.” Or “In this rotation, I want perfect communication between the block and defense on the pipe attack, regardless of the point.”

This approach gives control back to the players, creates tangible successes that fuel confidence, and keeps the intensity in the gym high because every ball, every repetition, has a precise and measurable purpose.

The Locker Room Culture: Defeating Excuses and Complaining

The great Julio Velasco taught us to fight the culture of excuses. An excuse is looking for an external culprit: the referee, the slippery ball, bad luck. It must be nipped in the bud by always bringing the responsibility back to what we can control.

But there is an even more insidious enemy: the culture of complaining. Unlike an excuse, complaining is internal; it is the quiet “grumbling,” the annoyed face after a substitution, the negative comment whispered to a teammate. It is a virus that, if left to circulate, infects the entire locker room. The coach must have zero tolerance for this attitude. How?

Immediate Intervention: Don’t pretend not to see it. Address the player, even publicly if necessary, not to humiliate them, but to reiterate that this attitude harms everyone.
Positive Reinforcement: Publicly reward and praise those who, despite playing little, cheer from the bench, give advice, and train at their best. This creates a model of virtuous behavior and isolates those who complain.

Individual Management: From Problem to Resource

In this phase, a player who is not playing is a ticking time bomb. To abandon them is to lose them.

Honest and Proactive Communication: The individual meeting is sacred. It’s not enough to say, “You’re not playing because X is better.” You must provide a way forward: “You’re not playing right now because I need more consistency in serve-receive. Let’s work together on this specific aspect. I’ll prepare dedicated drills for you. If I see progress, your opportunity will come.” This transforms frustration into a concrete goal.
Choices as a Message: Hierarchies are not set in stone. We must prove it. A player who has never seen the court but has trained for two weeks with superior intensity and quality deserves a chance. Even just a substitution during a difficult moment in the match is a powerful signal to the whole group: court time is not an acquired property but a merit to be earned every day. This principle defuses complaining and maintains healthy internal competition. Around the mid-season trade deadline, this concept is even stronger: those who commit are working for the good of the team and their own future; those who give up have already decided to be elsewhere.

The Coach in the Mirror and Watchful Patience

The first person who needs to self-assess is the coach. Habit and routine are the enemies of improvement.

Review Practices: It is essential to film sessions not only for technical-tactical analysis but to analyze oneself. How do I communicate? Am I clear? Is my body language positive? Do I correct everyone or just my “favorites”? Is the error I’m correcting the most important one at that moment?
Admit Mistakes: Admitting in front of the team, “Guys, that drill yesterday didn’t work, my fault. Today we’ll do it this way,” is not weakness; it is leadership. It shows the group that error is part of the growth process for everyone.
Watchful Patience: The example of a team that starts with 15 points in 5 games only to be relegated is emblematic. Early success can hide structural problems. We must have watchful patience: not being content when we win and not despairing when we lose, but always maintaining a critical eye on the process. Our ability to observe, even when everything seems to be going well, is what will allow us to intervene before the ship starts taking on water.

In conclusion, the mid-season crossroads is when our leadership is put to the test. Our ability to be flexible, to shift focus to the process, to manage human dynamics, and, above all, to constantly question ourselves will determine whether our team emerges from the storm stronger and more cohesive than before, ready to assault the second, decisive part of the championship.