The Art of Coaching Volleyball

Kendall Kipp | Outside Hitter at Laguna Beach Volleyball Club Anyone who has played both high school and club volleyball understands just how different they are. The transition from one to the other can often be difficult. You finish one season after spending months working hard with your team, then you go back to square […] The post 5 keys to making a smooth transition from high school to club volleyball appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: Teach players to stay low as they dig hard-driven balls by utilizing the net. How it works: One player starts with her back to the net. The coach hits a hard-driven attack from the end line in front of the player. As the coach tosses the ball to themselves, the player takes one step […] The post Underneath the net digging drills appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Defensive systems are chosen based on the team’s level of play and the opposing team’s offensive style. Rosen comments on the perimeter defensive system and how it shifts depending on the team’s level. In this video, he explains how perimeter defense changes to match the team's level. For college teams, perimeter defenders must be deeper […] The post Higher-level perimeter defense appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Keeping the blue dot in front of you (blue-toward-you), strike the blue dot with a big open hand. Line the volleyball and tossing hand up with the serving/striking shoulder. The ball is tossed or delivered in front of the striking hand. The tossing hand delivers the ball just inches from the point of release - […] The post Blue drill: Pop-Pops Ball Handling Drill appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

The goal should be to stay on your feet if you can, but even Russ Rose realizes there are times when players will have to go to the floor to make the play. In this video, you will learn how to best teach some of the emergency moves involved in individual defense. The post Individual defense: Diving, rolling, & stationary digging appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Don Patterson | AOC senior content manager It's a known fact that blocking with big hands is a good thing. The trick is to get that point across to your players. A good start would be to borrow this colorful description from Brennan Dean, executive director at Wave Volleyball club in Del Mar, California, and […] The post Big hands = more blocks appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: To train passers to shuffle their feet to the ball and get the ball to their midline   How it works: Players line up in middle back on one side of the court with one player in the target position in middle front. The coach throws or serves balls from the opposite side of […] The post Lay the egg passing drill appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Setting middle attackers can be tricky business but once mastered, your team becomes stronger. In this video, John Dunning explains how far off the net setters should aim to set their middles and why just a few more inches of space can be the difference. The post Tips for setters: Setting middle attackers appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

"Ref, that's a NET!" How often have you heard a coach, parent or spectator yelling this? All the time, right? Well, there are a lot of subtleties to this rule in club volleyball, so the yellers often don't know what they're talking about. If your hair hits the net, does that count? Is it a […] The post Net violation: What’s legal, what’s not appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

You can only provide so much information in such a short period of time! During time-outs, make sure you are calling out 2-3 things for your team to focus on at the right time. The post When should you call a time-out? appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Most teams go into their matches confident, but few go into their matches fearless! See how to help develop your team's leaders and take your team to this fearless state. The post Developing leaders: Knowing yourself appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Terry Liskevych reviews "Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness" by Richard H. Thaler, a pioneer in the fields of behavioral economics and finance. Professor Thaler's research lies in the gap between psychology and economics. Nudge is about how we make these choices and how we can make better ones. Using dozens of eye-opening […] The post Book review: Nudge appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

The world of college recruiting is constantly changing, make sure you stay up to date on how best to communicate with recruits using these tips from Mike Sealy. The post Communicating with recruits appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Karch Kiraly, head coach of the U.S. women's national team and a 3-time Olympic gold medalist, talks here about how to gain more power and control as a hitter. As he explains, there's more than one theory on what's the best hand-contact technique for spiking, but through experimentation in his many years as a player, […] The post Improving your spiking with a ‘bigger, looser’ hand with Karch Kiraly appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

  Do you have a bad server on your team? Check out why Russ Rose believes these players should serve from middle back. The post Russ Rose: Bad servers – middle-back vs. right-back appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.