Developing an appraisal system may appear time consuming. It actually isn’t. You are directing meaningful conversation based on reflection and goal setting. The development of the documents is the time consuming part, so we’ve consulted an experienced High School Athletic Director, former Club Director and long time junior volleyball coach to help you.

My experience with any positive appraisal system contains these important factors:

  • Establishing the important tenants for the program.
  • Teaching coaches to reflect and grow.
  • Creating trust in giving and receiving feedback.
  • Making time for discussions in reflection and goal setting.
Establishing Important Tenants for the program

Attached, is a Program Rubric that was designed for a High School. Use this as a template when designing your own for Club Volleyball. This document will help lead conversations for coaches and help them understand where they are and more importantly where they are headed.

This is also a working document for coaches to remind themselves of previous year goals, reflection on survey (Feedback), Identify future goals. Some Coaches are lead coaches and oversee assistants. This gives lead coaches an opportunity to write feedback to discuss their strengths and weaknesses. This offers another way to put value in reflecting on helping everyone grow in system.

Note: It is not easy for some individuals to reflect. Preparing questions for those individuals to lead them to reflection is important. It is important to let individuals decide how to grow, you are leading them down the path.

Involve important stakeholders in developing your Program Rubric. Director, lead coaches, coaches, players, parents, other club mentors.

Developing a Post Season Player Survey

In education today, we use formative and summative assessments. Coaches certainly use formative assessment every day. An example of formative feedback could be having players write an “exit” slip after practice. What did you like today? What do you think we could have done better? Collect and use the feedback to plan next practice.

The summative feedback survey is important to get an overall experience of the year. As a matter of fact, that is an exact question I use with every coach I am working with. I use this question to ask how am I doing as a Director of a program as well. If all my programs return an 80% overall experience for the year, I am attaining my goal.

When developing a survey:

  • Develop questions that you are wanting feedback on annually. This is for athletes.
  • Involve stakeholders in developing questions.
  • Make the survey anonymous and easy to use for athletes.
  • Give examples of feedback to your athletes in writing prompts.

I wish my coach would give us more individual lesson time on skills. (Good Feedback)

My coach is an idiot and yells all the time. (Bad Feedback)

Click here to view a Sample Survey for your Athletes.

  • Explain to coaches why feedback from athletes is good and not a “gotcha” or way to dismiss you. Conversations around feedback in this manner improves over time. You have to “practice” analyzing feedback good or bad. It is a more efficient use of time and it is not about the Director’s opinion but the feedback itself. Also, explain it is there to protect coaches. Parents who know a survey exists are less likely to call with false accusations. I have taken many calls where I have been able to say, “Mr. Smith, that is interesting because that never surfaced in our feedback survey?”
Mandating Time to Meet, Reflect and Goal Set

Always pre-determine and book on calendar an individual pre-season and post-season meeting. Any touch base meetings during season are valuable as well if you can manage them.

Pre-season meetings are a time to reflect on the program rubric/ Appraisal Document for previous year. 15-20 minutes.

Post-season meeting structure: 15-30 minutes

  1. Send Program Rubric Template and Survey results to coach. Set a return date for you to review before post season meeting. Plan the conversation with coach. Clarifications, questions, and helping in goal setting. Click here to view a Sample of Athlete Survey Results
  2. Have a final document highlighting the conversation. Writing strengths and future focus items.
  3. Sign the document, allow the coach to insert comments. Click here to view Final Appraisal Document Template.

Lastly, develop a systematic fit for appraisal. Decide if it is important for a Director to serve this role, assistant directors, or lead coaches.

About the Author

Denise Lazzeroni-Kavanaugh is a Consultant for Appraisal Processes. Contact Denise at DlazzeroniKavanaugh@gmail.com if you would like assistance to implement an appraisal program for your club.

Denise’s accolades and experience include:

  • Coached 3 State Volleyball Titles, 10 State Final Appearances.
  • Named National Volleyball Coach of the Year in 1999 by Volleyball Magazine
  • Voted Coach of the Year by the Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association numerous years.
  • IHSA/Fox Sports-Commentator for the Illinois state volleyball finals and sideline for Football.
  • Junior Volleyball Association member
  • Sports Performance Volleyball Club Coach 1990-1994
  • Founder of Club Elite Volleyball and 1st Alliance Volleyball Club (Nationally Recognized, 1994-2016)
  • Coached over a hundred athletes who went on to collegiate, professional and coaching careers.
  • Inventor of the Pass Pro, a patented training device for volleyball.
  • Athletic Director at Downers Grove North High School since 2003. Led evaluation process for coaches in District. Coach for District Volleyball Academy.
  • Member of Illinois Athletic Directors Association and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.