Creating a culture of independence: what I learned spending two years photographing our track and field team

By Ryan Maloney, assistant women's volleyball coach

My favorite track and field photograph I took of Lauren Kotas winning the 3,000-meter run
 at SUNYAC Championships last February

When I told Coach Braun last week about the vertical jump increases our players have seen after spending the last few months in the weight room, he wasn't overly excited.

In Division III, our head coaches don't keep track of our players' progress in the off-season, so I spoke in generalities: "we're jumping higher as a team," "we're more athletic," etc. etc. These are the things I get excited about.

Coach forced a half-smile, probably amused that I wasn't seeing the bigger picture. "I'm not that concerned about the numbers," he said. "It's the culture. And the culture is better than it's ever been before."

It was a striking moment that reminded me of the underlying reason we spend so much time getting better: To foster a culture of independence where players take responsibility for their own preparation.

There's no better example of independent preparation than on our track and field teams. I spend a lot of time taking pictures of our track and field athletes for Fredonia's website, and I see them train every day in the weight room. The way their coaches treat the athletes provides a vivid contrast to how I've coached the last several years.

As a coach, I used to love the sound of my own voice. Always needing high-energy workouts, I'd be on our girls all the time. "Pick up the energy!" "Use this much weight", "Go, go, go!"  It was more fun for me that way, and I think I needed it to boost my own ego.

Contrast that with our track and field coaches. I'll often walk into the weight room and see them silently watching their athletes train. They'll give a pointer here or there, but they're much more cerebral.

Why the difference?

Senior All-American, Collin Mulcahy

Our track and field teams have around 80 athletes. The three coaches simply can't give personalized attention to everyone all the time. Instead, systems and progressions are in place so that athletes know what they need get done, by themselves if necessary. Eventually, the athletes are expected to become independent, not needing as much guidance from a coach.

I'd often see senior Collin Mulcahy, who just became an All-American in the one-mile run, come in to do his workouts late in the evening after he finished student teaching. His coach had gone home for the day, but it was assumed that Collin would get the job done without anyone holding his hand.

I remember a line from a John Wooden book where he said that the way he knew he'd coached his players well in practice is if on game day he could sit on the bench in silence.

I used to think a successful training session was a high-energy one, where I talked a lot. Now I'm inclined to think it's a session where I need to talk very little.