Speed. Attacking. Confidence.
IU Coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan has pounded these themes into her team — which features one of the nation’s top 30 recruiting classes — in anticipation of a trip to this year’s NCAA Tournament.
“Confidence comes from reps,” Dunbar-Kruzan said. “You can’t instill it in someone. You can praise them, but the only way you gain self-confidence is by doing something over and over and over again so that you are a machine.”
Dunbar-Kruzan preaches repetition and accountability as keys to gaining confidence, which turns into success. She wants her players to not have any doubt that they want the ball in their hands when it counts.
That attitude has given senior outside hitter Allison Hammond increased motivation and a newfound identity in the locker room.
“All of us are all about it this season, and I don’t think I could have wholeheartedly said that in the past,” Hammond said. “The talk outside of practice is much different than it’s been in the past. Instead of only talking about one upcoming match in a weekend, the conversation is about every upcoming match and about what we are going to do and how we are going to do it.”
Dunbar-Kruzan has implemented a new drill called “Winning Time” to simulate and perfect how to secure victories. When a side gets to 20 points in the drill, they are only allowed one missed serve and no hitting errors.
It’s aimed at creating a competitive mentality, one that gets them over the hump of just hoping they’ll get to 25 points and a victory.
The coaching staff also introduced the “Bingo Board” drill to force the players to prepare for any game situation, as they must complete different tasks during simulations in order to win. Dunbar-Kruzan hopes this extra preparation will help to relieve and remove any hesitation.
“Any time there is a doubt, you have to change that doubt,” Dunbar-Kruzan said. “You have to make the decision that you are going to do this. I think our thing has been ‘I think we can win,’ but then you are leaving that doubt there. So we are trying to get them to just lock into ‘We are going to do this. My attitude is going to be this. This is the choice that I am going to make.’”
The competitive mentality has proven to lead to extreme confidence for the women wearing cream and crimson. Senior outside hitter Mallory Waggoner said the Hoosiers are going to the NCAA Tournament. All the hard work the team has put in the offseason has given her the confidence to be able to say that.
Dunbar-Kruzan has especially been asserting the importance of earning each victory.
“You don’t just get to win,” Dunbar-Kruzan said. “In the Big Ten there are All-Americans all over the place, so you have to think, how much are you willing to work more than them and put in more hours than them? And then you earn the right to win.”
