Skip To Main Content

The Home of Bulldog Athletics

The Home of Bulldog Athletics
Deidra Rader

Girl's Volleyball

Why I Coach: Volleyball's Deidra Rader

Volleyball's Deidra Rader: "After first developing the individual athlete, my passion is to build teams that play with a confidence and selflessness captured in this snapshot."

As a dual-sport athlete at Tulsa Union -- volleyball and basketball -- I enjoyed competition at a high level with coaches who are still my mentors to this day. However, I've reflected on the oddity that from junior high on, in neither sport, did I have a female coach until I went to Oral Roberts University. That hit me hard as I started exploring the "reasons why I coach" at the beginning of my career -- I rarely experienced sound female voices speaking into my life. Now I'm nearly 15 years into coaching and with that initial realization leading the way -- my desire to be a steady glimpse of life ahead is more resolute than ever.

Let's take a trip down memory lane: During each of my summers at ORU, I worked at a Christian sports camp called Kanakuk. Director Joe White weaved athletics and the love of Christ in such a dynamic way - his passion was contagious. As we poured out every last drop of our energy shepherding high school girls, we were in turn refilled with intentional inductive Bible studies and mentor sessions for the counselors. It was a beautiful display of the "circle of life" and how the passion of the mentor/mentee relationship was first planted in my heart.

Pastor Willie George even gave a sermon about his transition from stepping into the Founding Pastor role and allowing Pastor Whit to take the reins that hit home with me as a coach. He explained there comes a time when we step back and allow the "next generation" to step up. You're there to be a guide as they push through their own discomforts in pursuing what God has called them to be. 

Mentors play a large part in shaping one's actions as a mentee often emulates the behavior of the mentor. It's a phenomenon we see extend to nearly all aspects of how learning occurs. My mentors did a lot of things well, and some not so well, just as I have made similar mistakes... But demonstrating that a leader is a constant learner and problem solver is more important than any sports skill they ever taught me. Teaching me to have a "beginner's mind" who has been taught "a" way, but not necessarily "the way," gives me the ability to adapt and learn throughout every circumstance and I can utilize that mindset for a lifetime. I pray that's a trait my athletes emulate.

"If you coach the person, the skill will develop. If you coach the skill, the person may not."
 - Tony Westbury

This quote resonates with me because I believe that building character pays dividends on the court. So we take the time to train the "intangibles." Through many different mindset training tools - journaling, breathing, visualization, prayer and meditation, we train our athletes to dig deeper alongside their physical development. They need these tools because I venture to create intense, challenging practices where our athletes feel equally safe to intensely fail as they strive to push themselves to their limit.

I aspire to affect the way an athlete believes in herself by speaking life into her. My husband Daniel is an OSU and Navy-trained engineer. Now, I don't claim to have his brains, but I like to think of myself as an "Engineer of Belief." I remind athletes where they've been, evaluate where they are, and paint the picture of where they're going. And seeing the fruit of their labor on that voyage is pure joy.

In the picture lead, EVERY SINGLE GIRL is unabashedly celebrating. I see a group of individuals who are each on their own personal journey of improvement uniting for a common goal. You can't tell which player actually scored the point because they are celebrating the TEAM'S accomplishment of winning the rally. They have died to self and truly are playing for the essence of "team." ...And life is about being a team player. I'm coaching future coworkers, spouses, business owners, mothers, ministry leaders. And I pray they hit their stride in each of those team scenarios because of the lessons they learned as student-athletes. 

I'm filled with a deep gratitude that I get to walk alongside them on this trek whilst playing one of the most dynamic sports on God's green earth.
To sum up the reason why I coach: To empower young girls to own their God-given talents, offer those gifts to others as each stage of life requires them, and accredit their success to our Savior.
Print Friendly Version

Sticky bar

Scores