Welcome to the Chain Gang

A volleyball team is more than just six players on the court. Success isn’t built on individual talent alone—it’s shaped by trust, support, and the willingness to do the little things that don’t show up on a stat sheet. And in many cases, a team is only as strong as its weakest link. Some teams recognize this with words of encouragement, others with post-game huddles. This team? Those links are literal; they pass down a chain with a giant Longhorn logo to recognize each other for contributions off the court.

The idea for this tradition came from Associate Head Coach David Hunt, who attributes the original idea to the Navy SEALs. Every Friday for the past several weeks, a player has been chosen as the newest member of the Chain Gang for their impact on team culture. That person gets to take a Polaroid photo with the chain, which gets proudly displayed on the whiteboard in the practice gym. Then, that player is responsible for choosing the next person on the next Friday, and the cycle repeats in perpetuity.

This accomplishes a few goals for the coaching staff. First is recognizing players who might not always get recognized for their contributions on the court. According to Hunt, "Everyone on our team has a role, and every role is important for us being successful... and if you can embrace your role and how it's gonna help the group, then that helps us move forward." Additionally, the team must see feedback from sources other than the coaches. "It's one thing when a coach points it out, but it's another thing when you have a peer that points out something that they've seen." This, in turn, helps not only the players but the coaches too, as Hunt notes the importance of hearing what their players are valuing and what they're picking up on.

For the first week though, the coaching staff selected sophomore setter Rella Binney as the inaugural member of the Chain Gang for her attitude and growth mindset throughout last season. As a freshman and the third setter on the depth chart, her role on the team would change often. Some days in practice, she would get to work on her main skill of setting, but on many days she would only be asked to play defense or act as a serving sub (which she did in many games as well).

According to Hunt, she attacked every day with a positive attitude no matter how she was contributing to the team. "Last season, she embraced her role whatever we needed her to do. She sort of encapsulated how we wanna approach every day." This offseason, she has stepped into a more permanent setting role as the second setter on the depth chart.

Her mindset and attitude has had not only an impact on herself but on her teammates and the team as a whole, and that's what Chain Gang is all about. Hunt says that "You want people that'll raise the level of the group, not just from a performance standpoint, but like, an overall emotional standpoint," and that's exactly what Binney did for her team day in and day out. 

The staff hoped that this pick would help set the tone for picking future Chain Gang members, but since the first choice they have taken a hands-off approach. The players have taken complete ownership of the weekly ritual, acknowledging their teammates for their effort, discipline, and contributions to team culture. "Every time we've asked them, they had somebody in mind," as well as a strong reason to go along with it, adds Hunt.

This tradition has quickly become more than just a weekly ritual—it’s a reflection of the team’s values and the culture they’re building together. As the chain continues to be passed from player to player, it serves as a reminder that every contribution matters, both on and off the court.