Born Awesome

This week is tryout week which brings excitement, energy, and the beginning of a remarkable (see definition of remarkable in my previous post) season. It also brings disappointment for some. Unfortunately, not all players who try out for a team actually make a team. While I don’t think any coach enjoys this process, I have an especially difficult time with it.

I shared a story with the 15′s and 16′s who were trying out last night in Chambersburg…my dad was a high school boys volleyball coach in western PA for over 30 years. In his first year on the job, he cut 2 players. It was so difficult for him to do, he chose to never cut a player again. There were years when there were over 50 kids on the volleyball team at Derry High School! They did not all have a starring role…but they were important to my dad and I am confident in saying that they probably never forgot the opportunity they had to be part of a team, part of something bigger than themselves.

My dad rubbing shoulders with Phil Jackson

As I was sharing with the group last night, we are looking to create opportunities for all young people who walk into our gym. So, for those who make a team, you will have the opportunity to practice, play, and compete. For those who don’t make a team, while there will undoubtedly be disappointment, I offer you the opportunity to still be involved in our club by serving as “Coaching Interns” with our House Leagues that will be forming after the new year. This will give you the chance to continue to learn about the game, stay involved, and perhaps discover a love for teaching and coaching young(er) people. I would be honored to have you as part of our Revolution Family.

As always, you can contact me at mike@revolutionvb.com.

Eight days ago, my wife Sarah, completed The Atlantic City Half Marathon…not only did she complete it, she finished the race in under two hours. She did her training while cyber schooling Annabelle (8), Sam (6), and also taking care of Andrew (almost 3) and Mia (8 months). She is an amazing woman…she was amazing before the race but this just adds to her resume of being amazing. Great job Sarah…you are inspiration to me. Here are a couple pictures with her biggest fans.

1. Have a vision for the remarkable.

re·mark·a·ble: notably or conspicuously unusual; extraordinary: a remarkable change; worthy of notice or attention.

2. Go ahead and bite off more than you can chew. It will force you to build relationships with other people who can help you chew and make you realize that life is more rich when you are not chewing alone.

That’s it for now…let’s do something remarkable – together!

It has hit me recently that the more we do, the more we become dependent on other people…and this is a great thing. While we continue to grow as a club, we will always stay true to who we are and why we started this club in the first place. Growth can be looked at in two ways:

1) I can look at growth as more teams, more issues, more potential problems, more planning, more busy work, etc…
2) OR I can and choose to look at growth this way: more people involved, more kids who develop into leaders, more kids who recognize their purpose, more opportunities to build family and build community!!!

Please read below as I am asking for your assistance to be a part of the Revolution! Thanks for reading.

Dear Friends, Parents, and Families of Revolution Volleyball Club:

I hope that this letter finds you well. Three years ago, Sarah and I, along with a dedicated group of coaches, began Revolution Volleyball Club in Chambersburg, PA. During our first year, we had five teams ranging in age from 14-18 with 45 athletes participating. Our club now provides opportunities for nearly 200 athletes on over 20 teams at four locations throughout Pennsylvania (Chambersburg, State College, York, and now Allentown) for girls ages 12-18. While we are excited about the opportunities on the volleyball court, we recognize the importance of staying true to what we believe is our ultimate purpose in running this volleyball club.

Below you will find our vision and mission statements. All decisions we make regarding our club stem from these statements so I felt that it was important to share it with you. This is why we do what we do.

Revolution Vision: Leaders in athletics who recognize and manifest the unique purpose within each individual to contribute to the team, the club, and to the community.

Revolution Mission:
1. Transform young people into confident leaders through the experiences they have as members of this club.
2. Build community through cooperation among directors, coaches, parents, and players.
3. Challenge the members of this club by exposing our teams to new levels of competition beyond the local level.
4. Assist the players and parents in the recruiting process to expose them to the many opportunities available at the collegiate level.
5. Create an atmosphere where commitment, hard work, and success are celebrated and there is no fear of failure.

We have an opportunity in front of us and we are asking for your assistance in funding it. We are going to be moving into a new facility, a warehouse owned by our local church in Chambersburg. We will be renting the space beginning in November and have already found a good deal on used courts, nets, and equipment to turn this warehouse into a Volleyball Facility. A good deal is a relative term and with any new, exciting opportunity, there is a cost involved. Sarah and I have contributed our personal money and also what we had saved from our Revolution Volleyball Club savings. If nobody contributes to this venture, we would still view the money we spent as the best investment we have ever made. Saying that, we want to give you the opportunity to contribute to our club and to our vision to develop leaders through the sport of volleyball.

I have been advised by people I respect to structure giving at certain levels, to provide advertising or certain incentives for individuals and companies to contribute. I have also been advised to set up our club as a non-profit organization. I have not done that and am currently seeking advice on whether or not this is the best decision for our organization. So, if you are looking for an incentive or for an organization where you can make a tax deductible contribution, I know some great charities but this is not the place to give your money. However, if you simply want to make a gift, large or small, that will help Revolution Volleyball Club make a positive impact on young people, we will put your dollars to good use.

If you choose to contribute, you will receive a personal thank you note from me and you will also know that you have helped to build confident leaders who recognize and manifest the unique purpose for their lives to contribute to their team, their club, their communities, and ultimately to the world around them.

Thank you for your time and for your consideration. Below are instructions for where to send your gifts. If you know of someone you feel would like to contribute, please feel free to either pass this on to them or provide us with their name and address and we will contact them directly.

Please make checks payable to: Revolution Volleyball Club and put “Developing Leaders” in the memo. You can send the checks to the following address:

Revolution Volleyball Club
264 Sandoeshire Lane
Chambersburg, PA 17201

For more information about our club, please visit www.revolutionvb.com or to contact us directly, please email us at mike@revolutionvb.com or sarah@revolutionvb.com.

Here is what some of our athletes and parents have had to say about their experience with our club:

“Thank you for treating me as a valued person and player. It has been an honor to play for Revolution. It is very exciting to see how God is using your club and unfolding His ultimate plan.”
– former player

“Thank you Mike and Sarah for who you are and the way you are investing in the lives of young people.” – club parent

“It truly has been a blessing meeting all of you and being part of the Revolution Team.”
– club parent

“Thanks go to the club, the coaches and all that helped in the building up of our children.”
– club parent

“You cared about inspiring my daughter and you succeeded. You help make the world a better place by inspiring kids to work hard and be their best.”
– club parent

Sincerely,

Mike and Sarah

Mike and Sarah Schall

I heard something on the radio today talking of the need for safety for our children…it’s every parent’s desire for their child to be safe, the commentator said. How safe do you really want to play it? I, for one, don’t consider it a desire for my children to be safe. I want them to be safe and certainly pray for their safety in the physical sense but ultimately my desire for my own children and with all the kids I work with is that they recognize and walk in who they were truly designed to be.

Sometimes when we play it safe, we miss the opportunity. My son Sam doesn’t know the meaning of play it safe. He was riding his bike at 3 and as you see in the picture below, was performing stunts shortly thereafter. This picture was taken when he was 3 1/2 years old. There isn’t a ramp he hasn’t jumped or trick he hasn’t tried. That is how he is wired…so telling Sam to be safe just doesn’t resonate. That’s not who he was designed to be. We are all wired differently.

Here is a favorite clip of mine from my favorite movie:

Here is a little background on Ollie in case you didn’t see the movie ‘Hoosiers’…by the way, if you haven’t seen it, shame on you and go watch it right now.  In this clip, Ollie, the former manager turned 8th man on an 8 man team, sank 2 free throws to win the game and propel Milan High to the next round of the Indiana State Championships.  When the new coach moved to town, Ollie was considered a “half” of a player by himself and by his snickering teammates.  The new coach didn’t believe in “half” players and believed very strongly in the hand he was dealt.  He gave Ollie a uniform and even though Ollie still handed out towels and water bottles, he was also preparing for a moment such as this.  The coach valued Ollie as a member of the team, valued his role as a manager and as the 8th man, and therefore Ollie was also valued by his teammates.  It came from the coach first though.  How do you think that made Ollie feel?

To me, there are 3 reasons (plus a little luck) that Ollie sank the free throws:

• First and foremost, Ollie’s role was valued by someone in authority (the coach).
• Second, Ollie embraced his role as manager and the last guy on the bench and he performed his role to the best of his ability.  He may not have always been perfectly happy in his role but based on the 57 times I have seen this movie, it appears that Ollie did his job well.
• Finally, his teammates valued Ollie.  Did you see Merle (#12) come to his defense and give him encouragement when the thug from the other team was talking smack to Ollie?

The above bullet points are in that order because that is how it occurred in this movie.  In this situation, the coach saw something in Ollie that he didn’t even see in himself.  He was an important part of the team.  As a result of this, Ollie embraced this role and others followed suit.  I have seen it before where an “Ollie” knew he/she was important and because of this, someone in authority recognized this and others followed suit. 

Whatever the case may be, a critical component of effective teams, companies, churches, or organizations is that each individual embraces the role they were given and perform it to the absolute best of their ability so that the group can move forward to their desired outcome.