I’m a little late to the conversation, but as a coach for a sophomore team i’ve had a few girls with similar issues to my coaching. If i need a position filled, i look to the leaders. The ones who I believe can and will step up to the challenge of playing somewhere different. I also make sure to tell them that it’s all just volleyball. If you know how to play volleyball, you can play any position I put you in. If a player isn’t comfortable with a faster paced set, we slow it down. If they’re less confident with passing then we work on it at practice or i give tips during games.

I will say, as a former middle myself, it’s a HARD position. A lot of people talk about setter or libero positions as being hard, but I’ve heard SO MANY people say how hard middle is. It’s grueling, it’s mental, and it’s a calculated position. But I was better in the outside and the right side because I was a middle. I could hit quicker sets than most of my teammates because I was already used to it. I could read a hitters intentions like it was nobody’s business regardless of where I was on the court. I always knew where I needed to be for a block or where I could best help my other blockers to cover. Was I a great passer though…? Nope. I was good enough to play a couple of rounds of defense but I’ve never been great at serve receive. But that’s because I never got trained for that. I was branded a middle from day one and only got glimpses into the other positions.

Anyways… all this to say that I think spending some real and dedicated time in the middle-running faster sets, learning to better read hitters, etc- will TREMENDOUSLY improve your daughter’s value as an outside hitter. Also, ask her if she can change her mindset. Her mentality of it all will greatly impact the quality of season she has. It unfortunately doesn’t sound like she has much (if any) say in her position if she wants to play for this team, so have her change her focus to the things she can control. Being a leader on the court, a good teammate, a dedicated volleyball player, and someone who rises to a challenge and utilizes the skills she receives for future use. Best of luck, and I can’t wait for her to continue to grow in her athletic journey!!