If there is anything Ohio volleyball coach Geoff Carlston knows more about than teaching winning volleyball strategies, it is developing his team's chemistry on and off the court.
To me
chemistry supersedes talent a lot of times Carlston said. You just have players that play really well together and some players don't connect for whatever reason. (Volleyball) is the epitome of a team sport. You can't just win with one or two good players. Our chemistry is good off the court
but now it's just a matter of playing together.
Carlston started taking his teams on retreats in the offseason upon becoming head coach at Division-II Concordia (Minn.) In 2002, his third season, the team went 24-9 and made a serious run at its league title.
It gives us a little bit of a head start on figuring out what personalities we have and talking about issues we know are going to come up
whether it's playing time
injuries or being overwhelmed
Carlston said about his philosophy that helped him lead the Bobcats to three consecutive Mid-American Conference titles since 2003.
This year, the team traveled to Burr Oak State Park in Glouster for a two-day retreat that benefited what Carlston calls a very young team.As a freshman
I need to connect with all of my teammates because it's easier for a freshman to get down than it is for a senior
outside hitter Ellen Herman said. You can't win individually
you have to win as a team
and that's the most important thing about chemistry.
Geoff really emphasizes chemistry with the system we run here
