The Art of Coaching Volleyball

Why Warming Up Your Athletes Matters Types of Warmups Active Static What Research Tells Us Warm up seen from 3 different perspectives: Warm Up Tool Training Exercises Assessment tool Set the tone for the rest of your time Why Warm Up? Increase Core Temperature Injury Prevention Improve Performance Stages of Warm Up Stationary Movement Ground […]

  Clinician: Terry Liskevych, Founder of the Art of Coaching Volleyball and former US National Team Head Coach (’84-’96)   Purpose: To maximize serve receive reps in a controlled environment   How it works: Six players prepare to receive serve in rotation one with no players opposing them. A ball then gets tossed in and […]

On offense, coaches need to look at both offensive positioniing and coverage. This critical component can be worked on with this drill that utilizes quick initiation to get your players ready to cover.

The drill April teaches here combines the skills in Challenge #1 and Challenge #2. You underhand serve over the net, run under the net to play it, then bump it up, set yourself and hit over the net. That’s a lot of moving parts, so you have to work hard to get good contacts and […]

Blocking fundamentals: Landing balanced

Terry Liskevych speaks on his view of a key thing to look for in a leader on your team: the ability to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses in their teammates.

In this video Cathy George has players working on their blocking, in a game like situation, by quickly switching between hitting and blocking and trying to block a player on the opposite side. This works by having a player on one side of the net hit the ball to the other side where the other […]

  The Front Row talks with Doug Beal, former CEO of USA Volleyball and head coach of the U.S. men’s 1984 Olympic gold medal team, about whether volleyball needs to tinker with its rules to attract a wider audience.   In the first of a three-part series, Beal offers his views on why the sport […]

  The “franzy” is a fast-paced serve-receive drill used by Bethlehem Academy. Here’s how it runs: A team gets 1 minute to serve receive in each rotation. Coaches award 0-3 points for each pass and attack. Points are tallied after the team has played all 6 rotations. The goal is to reach 200 points during […]

  The “belly-up progression” drill is excellent for training payers to move quickly and manage complexity. Used by Head Coach Bill Neville at the University of Washington, this drill has 3 phases: Setting only Setting and digging Setting, digging and hitting Players start on their bellies, then pop to their feet as the ball is […]

Don Patterson | AOC senior content manager Sleep is not a vice. We should all remember that. We hear stories about high-achievers who only sleep 5 hours a night, and it leads us to view sleep deprivation as a badge of honor – and maybe to feel guilty if we get a full 8 hours […]

Clinician: Laura Eisler, head volleyball coach at University of Alberta Purpose: To put the starting lineup under pressure on serve receive and challenge them to earn a "real" point after getting a sideout How it Works: Set up 6 vs. 6, with your starting lineup on one side. The score starts at 22-22. If the […]

In this video, Cary Wendell Wallin, a former NCAA Player of the Year at Stanford who is now the Director of Player Development at 949 Athletics in Orange County, talks about where the setter should be in relation to the middle blocker for the "One" set. She also touches on the importance of where the […]

  Clinician: Laurie Eisler Location, location, location Contact point Understands the game including alternative systems of play Can implement a game plan Can make adjustments to the game plan during the play Aware of teammates and opponents’ strengths and weaknesses Can see what is going on

Terry Liskevych | Former USA Volleyball Head Coach Playing multiple sports vs. playing only one sport has been a hot topic of debate for quite a few years. My opinion has never wavered. I think young athletes should avoid early specialization and enjoy some variety. Playing more than one sport has a lot of benefits, two of […]