Volleyball Coaching Masterclass: Instilling Confidence and Building Culture with Laura Watling

Volleyball Coach Laura Watling on Building Confidence Under Pressure with Culture and Practice Design In this Clutch Academy episode, host Valerie Alston interviews high school volleyball coach Laura Watling, who shares how mental pressure—not technique—often causes athletes to miss fundamentals like serving, and how she builds confident, calm, clutch performers. Watling explains the importance of relationships and understanding athletes’ lives so coaching corrections don’t deflate confidence, and describes challenges with a young team that struggled to perform under pressure. She discusses how social media and comparison increase pressure, plus the high-stakes postseason qualification system in Colorado. Watling outlines strategies including summer camps and open gyms to prepare athletes early, building a program-wide culture across three teams, daily pressure-serving and goal-based drills that add fatigue and consequences, faster-than-game practice tempo to make matches feel slower, and teaching players to think for themselves rather than relying on constant coaching. 00:00 Why Athletes Miss 01:01 Clutch Academy Intro 01:56 Meet Coach Laura 02:45 Defining Calm Clutch 05:21 Coaching Confidence 07:08 When Pressure Hits 10:04 Social Media Comparison 13:32 Summer Prep Strategies 15:31 Building Program Culture 16:54 Culture Does The Work 17:30 Competitive Love Balance 17:55 Building a Program 19:15 Pressure Proof Practices 19:41 Serving Under Pressure 22:29 Fast Tempo Training 24:12 Explaining the Why 25:05 Empowering Athlete Leaders 26:45 Teaching Self Reliance 29:07 Community of Coaches 30:08 Wrap Up and Resources And one more time if you want to give your athlete a science-backed process to take them to the next level without changing anything about their physical practice and training routine, then you need to learn the three secrets at www.confidentcalmclutch.com/coaches. All links below include affiliate links. I will receive a small commission from the sale of services/resources linked in this video. Resources from this episode Confident, Calm and Clutch: How to build confidence and mental toughness for young athletes using sports psychology - Valerie R. Alston https://amzn.to/3PI7ieJ How to Teach Mental Skills to Athletes: Confident, Calm, and Clutch Coaching Companion - The Ultimate Guide to Coaching Mental Toughness https://amzn.to/4dEGwNH Follow Me on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valstoncoaching Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valstoncoaching YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valstoncoaching9666