The Art of Coaching Volleyball

U.S. women's national team coach Karch Kiraly, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, talks about the importance of feedback in raising your game to a higher level. With today's technology, he notes, it's fairly easy for players to get video of themselves playing. Here, he covers some of the ways athletes at all levels can review […] The post Karch Kiraly’s 2-minute Take: ‘All players should watch video of themselves’ appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: Work on dig to set transitions as well as covering the ball as if a blocker were present. How it works: Have 1 player in each back-row position. A coach will be in right front and another coach will be in left front to hit balls at the players. The setter is determined by […] The post Dig, set, cover drill variations appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Dan Meske, from the University of Louisville, explains key issues that can occur with Leadership and Followership. He explains and describes how to deal with the B3 Board, how to address what needs are not being met, learning where they stem their support and whether the coach is coaching it or allowing it to just […] The post Developing leaders: Leaders vs followers issues appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

John Dunning has young players set and hit the "1" ball out of the middle hitting position. Timing the "1" attack can be challenging, especially for young players. Teach them to start their approach right before the ball gets to the setter's hands. Most young players will fear being early the hit so will get […] The post Training your middles: The guessing game appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Pete Hanson, Ohio State head men's volleyball coach and one of the trainers of the AOC Men's Volleyball Head Coach Certification, discusses how to organize your serve receive and cover the gaps when the serve is coming at a high velocity. The Men's Volleyball Head Coach Certification includes 38 hard-hitting video lessons just like this […] The post Strategic Principles in Serve Receive appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: Teach players to play the ball out in a controlled and cooperative way; Keep players active by requiring them to hustle under the net after each contact. How it Works: Three players start on one half of the court. A coach initiates a free ball. After the first player touches the ball, the person […] The post Brazilian ball control drill appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: Learn how to create a team-wide standard of work ethic and blend the previously learned skills of each player together into a cohesive team. Key points: Coach Rose talks about the balance between having a team-wide standard for certain skills but being receptive to each player’s previously learned skills. Rose also touches on what […] The post Study the game & be consistent appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Penn State Head coach advises high school coaches to be honest about a player when a college coach shows interest. Russ Rose also touches on another element of choosing players and allocating scholarships: a family's income. Rose says that, unfortunately, a player whose family isn't wealthy must look for a college that can give them […] The post High school recruiting: Tell the truth to the players & the college coaches appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: Use a pepper series to warm up ball control, communication and leadership. How it works: Perform the following pepper drills: Alternate high and low swings, making the digger pass and dig with their hands. Follow the standard pepper sequence, but replace the “hit” with a tip, so the digger must stay low and move […] The post Pepper series warm-up appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Kristen Bernthal Booth of Creighton Volleyball addresses how she elicits goals from her team. She says the most telling question she asks on a pre-season goal sheet is, "How will you respond if you get this goal? How will you respond if you don't attain this goal?" Keeping players accountable for their goals and responses […] The post Addressing team & individual goals appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Goal setting provides direction, requires accountability, provide incentives, and improve performance by revealing strengths and areas that need improvement. But when is it time to let go of those goals? When should an athlete back up and take a very critical look at his or her training and/or performance goals and consider a revised set […] The post When to let go and reset your goals appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Jim Stone of USA Volleyball teaches players to aggressively approach the slide. He stresses loosening the shoulders and having players run as quickly as they can, forcing the middle hitter to trust that the setter will deliver the ball to the right side at the last moment. Stone also shows how younger players can begin […] The post Running slides: Walking before running appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Kirsten Bernthal Booth, head volleyball coach at Creighton University, talks about how she trains her liberos. Success is in the details: training the drop of the shoulder to create angles, training defensive lateral motions and quickness, and training defense for different tempo serves and attacks. The post Training your libero: Passing and digging tips appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

There seems to be a desirable sequence for the employment of different types of coping strategies when confronted with a performance slump. Sports psychologist Jim Taylor advocates an initial emotion-oriented focus to deal with the negative affect, frustration, and helplessness that accompany an unexpected decline in performance. He then suggests a more task-focused approach be […] The post Common causes of the performance slump appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

John Dunning, Head Coach at Stanford University, gets into the nitty-gritty of jump setting. He has three rules: use your arms to jump, show your form, and hold your finish until you land. Being a setter means commanding the court and being a decision-making leader. For setters, the basis of being an effective leader starts […] The post Jump setting fundamentals appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.