Coaching by example

After an errant pass, Melinda Wrye-Washington ran far out of bounds and dove, extending her right arm to keep the ball and the possession alive.

Wrye-Washington, the Columbia College volleyball coach, often plays with the team during its practice scrimmages. When she plays, she always plays as a coach would like her players to play: constantly hustling, diving for balls and communicating with teammates.

Being on the court allows Wrye-Washington to lead by example.

“If I’m diving, you better be going for the ball,” Wrye-Washington said. “If they see me doing it, then they expect themselves to do it.”

On the court, Wrye-Washington can actively show players what to do instead of telling them from the sidelines.

In the scrimmage, Wrye-Washington noticed sophomore outside hitter Yi Zhang’s body position was not correct when she went for a kill. Wrye-Washington stopped the scrimmage, went across the net and showed Zhang what she was doing wrong.

“I’m not even blocking Yi,” Wrye-Washington said. “You’re giving away your ability to hit down the line.”

Zhang took the advice and fixed the problem, and her play during the rest of the scrimmage wreaked havoc on Wrye-Washington’s team.

“Her positioning when she was planting to hit the ball was wrong,” Wrye-Washington said. “She fixed it and then she beat us, so I helped her team beat us.”

Wrye-Washington also shows players what they are doing wrong by attacking their weakness in a game.

“She’ll tip the ball at me if I’m not in position,” freshman defensive specialist Jessica Williams said. “She’ll make sure she hits the ball at me if I’m somewhere I shouldn’t be. She’s always pushing me out there and making me work harder.”

Wrye-Washington said she does not see anything while playing that she would not be able to see from the sidelines, but on the court, she is closer to the players and can give them faster feedback.

“I can be in their face pretty quickly,” Wrye-Washington said. “When I’m playing I can show better than tell them ... Sometimes, I can perform the skill quickly and show them what they should have been doing.”

Having a coach on the court who plays at a high level motivates the players, who say they do not like to see Wrye-Washington outperform them.

“I’m a player, I’m supposed to be doing better than she is,” junior outside hitter Nancy Sikobe said. “If she is doing better than me, then why am I there? I need to work harder to make sure I am doing better than she is.”

Wrye-Washington said her playing also brings intensity to practices, which helps the team be more competitive.

“Some people say that cannot be a learned behavior, but I believe it can,” Wrye-Washington said. “If you’re in a competitive environment day after day, you’re going to be a more competitive player, and I think I raise the level of competitive attitude in practice.”

In her playing days, Wrye-Washington was always competitive as an outside hitter at Missouri and Columbia College. Wrye-Washington played three seasons for the Tigers, then transferred to Columbia College before her senior season to follow Wayne Kreklow.

“He was my club coach in high school and my assistant (coach at MU). His first year at Mizzou was my first year,” Wrye-Washington said. “When he decided to come to Columbia College, I came with him.”

Wrye-Washington, who is the mother of two children and has a surgically repaired left ankle, says she plays with her team whenever she wants to.

“My body still allows me to do that (play),” Wrye-Washington said. “I can play with them every day, but if I was actually on the team and playing, it would take me probably a month to get in shape to complete a season.”