THE PACE
COACHING GUIDE
How to coach each personality type, manage pressure moments, leverage trait pair synergies, and implement PACE at every level — from youth club to college.
"Individualized coaching improves outcomes. PACE gives you a structured way to do this — ensuring quieter contributors aren't neglected and vocal leaders are harnessed effectively."
— PACE White Paper
COACHING BY TRAIT TYPE
Select a trait to see the full coaching profile.
High-P athletes are driven by results, personal excellence, and competitive challenge. They are the players who want the ball in big moments and push themselves hardest in training.
- Competitive drive and work ethic
- Willingness to take on pressure moments
- Goal-oriented preparation habits
- Physical intensity and aggression
- May force plays when the system isn't working
- Can become tunnel-visioned on personal stats
- May struggle to defer to teammates in key moments
- Risk of burnout from self-imposed pressure
Doubles down on action — may try to force a spike through a triple block, take on too much individually, or get frustrated when plays don't work. Their instinct is to do more, not less.
Empower them to make plays, but give them a specific assignment: 'Your job in the 5th set is to win the first point of every rotation — focus on that.' This channels their drive without letting it spiral.
Challenge them directly: 'I need you to be our best player in this set.'
Give vague encouragement: 'Just play your game.'
Use performance data: 'Your hitting efficiency drops 12% when you force the line — trust the cross.'
Only give emotional feedback without specifics.
Set clear, measurable goals: 'I want 80% serve efficiency from you today.'
Give open-ended goals that don't satisfy their achievement drive.
Acknowledge competitive effort: 'I love your intensity — now let's channel it.'
Tell them to 'calm down' without redirecting the energy.
TRAIT PAIR SYNERGIES
Most athletes have a dominant and secondary trait. Understanding how trait pairs interact helps coaches build chemistry, assign roles, and make tactical substitutions.
Fire and fuel. P executes with intensity; A amplifies the energy and brings the team along. This is the most visible pairing on court — the player who makes the big play AND celebrates it in a way that lifts everyone.
Power and precision. P scores; E picks the moment. This combination produces the most dangerous attackers — those who hit hard AND read the block perfectly. The 'smart aggressive' player.
Drive and discipline. P's competitive aggression is tempered by C's team-first instinct. This player competes hard but within the system — the ideal team captain who leads by example without alienating teammates.
Heart and brain. A keeps everyone believing; E ensures the belief is backed by a smart plan. This pairing bolsters collective efficacy — 'we got this AND here's how.' The tactical optimist.
System and intelligence. C executes the defensive plan; E reads and adjusts it in real time. This is the backbone of elite defensive systems — the player who covers the right spot before the ball is hit.
Energy and unity. A creates positive culture; C maintains the trust and cooperation that sustains it. This player is the social and structural glue of the team — often the player everyone else rallies around.
IMPLEMENTATION BY LEVEL
PACE evolves from a teaching aid with youth athletes to a performance optimization tool with college programs. Here's how to implement it at each level.
At the club level, PACE is a teaching tool, not an evaluation tool. The goal is to help young athletes develop self-awareness and vocabulary for their own tendencies — not to label or sort them.
Use accessible nicknames: P = 'Go-Getters,' A = 'Spark Plugs,' C = 'Rock Solid,' E = 'Thinkers.' Make it feel like a superpower, not a test.
Share the framework in a pre-season meeting. Ask parents: 'Which PACE trait did you see your child show today?' This creates alignment between home and court.
Give cooperative kids a chance to lead. Challenge dominant kids to support roles. PACE should expand athletes' range, not reinforce their defaults.
Recognize P for the big play, A for picking someone up, C for the smart cover, E for the savvy adjustment. Every trait gets its moment in the spotlight.
At the high school level, PACE becomes a tool for building team identity and managing the complex social dynamics of adolescent athletes. Stakes are higher; so is the opportunity for meaningful development.
Run PACE as a team-building exercise at the start of the season. Use the results to create a team profile and discuss what kind of team you want to be.
Select captains based on PACE: A = vocal motivator, E = strategic thinker. Both are valid leadership styles — and naming them helps athletes understand their role.
When clashes occur, use PACE to depersonalize: 'She's a thinker — she's not being cold, she's processing. Give her a moment.' This builds empathy across trait types.
High-P athletes may neglect studies in pursuit of volleyball. Coach conscientiousness in school too: 'Your Performance trait means you can dominate the classroom the same way you dominate the court.'
At the college level, PACE implementation should be sophisticated — akin to how professional teams use sports psychologists and analytics. The stakes and skill level are much higher.
Assess prospects' PACE profiles to fill specific team needs: 'We need a high-Attitude libero because our team currently lacks an emotional leader.' Communicate this transparently to recruits.
Track PACE profiles against performance metrics: serve % under pressure, hitting efficiency in 5th sets. If high-E correlates with low error rates in crunch time, that's actionable data.
Use PACE to inform tactical subs: deploy the 'Anchor Libero' (C/E) when the team needs steadying; deploy the 'Spark Plug Libero' (A/P) when the team needs igniting.
Segment mental training by PACE needs: visualization and goal-setting for P players, positive self-talk for A players, mindfulness for E players, assertiveness training for C players.
Club: introducing and nurturing. High School: balancing and building cohesion. College: optimizing and specializing.
— PACE White Paper
"PLAYERS WIN GAMES. TEAMS WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS."
— PACE White Paper
PACE helps turn a group of players into a true team by ensuring all dimensions of performance — physical, technical, mental, emotional — are addressed.