Coach Pacheco is the head coach for Dighton Rehoboth Regional High School and has been coaching boys’ volleyball as varsity head coach for 4 years and has been the girls’ coach for 19 years. What he enjoys the most about coaching is the connections he makes with his players and that he gets to know them differently than in a classroom setting. He says the boys’ volleyball team is really good at bringing new guys into the team and showing them the ropes. Coach Pacheco noted that this year the team is a bit inexperienced. In saying this, he means that there are lots of players in the program who don’t have any varsity experience, which can cause fewer issues when playing. Yet, the older guys help out most of the time so they can understand all positions.What a coach looks for in a good volleyball player is one with a good set of skills; not only that, but also they are always determined to get better at practice. The coach also says that a good player always puts the team first instead of self-interest, meaning that they want greater achievements with the team rather than just individual achievements for themselves. A way the coach keeps his players motivated during hard scenarios is to try to calm themselves and reset their focus on the fundamentals of the main objective of the game. A lot of the time he says our minds go faster than our bodies, and we have to take a moment and control ourselves to focus back into the game. Some goals the coach has are to see his players get better at the game every day; not only that, but also to improve from the previous day. He’s famously known for telling his players, “be 1% better than you were the day before,” showing he wants them to always do their best no matter how they played before. He also says that if you can achieve that, you can become successful regardless of the team’s record or scoreboards.
Coach Barber grew up playing volleyball. She attended a volleyball camp in New Bedford, and her coach there was a college coach. She really wanted to play in college herself, and knew she would enjoy playing, so she jumped at the opportunity. She later on became a coach, which started her coaching job for the freshman girls’ volleyball team at Old Rochester Regional High School for three seasons. However, she had to leave because of COVID and needed to finish her student teaching semester and degree. Years later she found herself at Dighton Rehoboth Regional High School, becoming an assistant coach for both the boys and girls volleyball team and has been in the program for 5 years. What Coach Barber enjoys most about coaching the boys’ volleyball team is the small moments and victories the team has. Another moment Coach Barber enjoys is when a player struggles a lot with certain skills and then perfectly does them; she feels proud in the moment to see such improvements. Other moments she likes are when the team comes out on top and also when she sees kids leave the program more mature and wiser than when they entered. Coach Barb appreciates when the team does really well in showing the new players how to play the game and the basics. Also, she thinks the boys’ volleyball team veterans instill confidence in younger players. In games, older players lift up younger players, letting them know if they make a mistake, it’s alright, and to move on to the next point. She thinks some areas where the team can improve are keeping their cool and also being able to perform under extreme pressure. When looking for a good volleyball player, she looks for athleticism, hard work, dedication, and a player that is always coming every day to learn new skills and be a better player. Coach Barber’s way of keeping her players stay motivated during hard games or practices is to be clear and open with her players. She knows some players don’t like to be sugar coated, but she says that “there is a fine line between crushing their feelings and letting them know that wasn’t the right choice…” During her coaching with the girls’ volleyball team, she thinks the girls’ team has more grit and is able to understand what their coach says to them. When the team loses games they shouldn’t or they all play badly, Coach Barb holds them accountable and talks about the cons of the game so they can fix it during practice. Some goals Coach Barb has for the team are to make it to states, but she knows the team wants that more than anyone and that it’s more about their goals that matter.
During my time at Dighton Rehoboth Regional High School I was always a fan of playing volleyball. I started volleyball my eighth grade year and even though it was different from high school I enjoyed playing it. During my first year of volleyball, I had a good experience because of how the upperclassman showed me what to do and corrected me when I did something wrong. The coaches both helped me just as much with talking to me after a mistake in a game and telling me how I can improve for the next game. My freshman teammates were Hawykyns Pray, Logan Menezes, Andrew Cabral. These teammates became more like brothers throughout the four years I spent with them at high school and in the program. During my last and final season of volleyball I came so far then how I played freshman year and I wouldn’t be able to do it without my coaches, coach Barber and coach Pacheco and all my teammates I met throughout my years playing.
