The BYU Women’s Volleyball coaches are training the players on more than just bumps and spikes. They’re also teaching them how to communicate face-to-face. The team’s cell phone policy is about keeping your head in the game.
The volleyball team uses today’s technology to watch video of games or get statistics on matches, but Head Coach Shawn Olmstead says there is one technology best done without.
“I think that…we kind of as a society as a whole have kind of lost the art of communication,” says Coach Shawn.
The coaches make players keep their cell phones off or put away during any team-related activity, including road trips.
Heather Hannemann, Senior setter, says, “It is a little bit hard but it’s definitely made a really big difference with our team and our relationships with each other.”
The players say they enjoy each other’s company on and off the court and because of the limited cell phone use they can focus on the game at hand a little better.
Although cell phones are prohibited on trips, there are times when the players are free to use their phones however they wish.
Nicole Warner, Senior Middle Blocker, says, “We do need them sometimes and that’s necessary, but we try to put them away as much as possible.”
The players are allowed to get on their phones during down times in their rooms or to contact loved ones once they arrive at their destination.
The volleyball team is on the road this week. They leave today to play Gonzaga on October 25, and Portland on the 28th, which means their phones will be put away on these days.
