The Art of Coaching Volleyball

  Clinician: Laurie Eisler Laurie Eisler demonstrates a simple read drill that works on increasing defensive range by improving your blocker's footwork.

    Making errors is common with young players. That’s why it’s critically important to be “relentlessly positive,” says Jackie Richter, varsity coach of Lakeville North High School and head coach for Mizuno Northern Lights club volleyball program. It’s also important to understand that young players are more capable than we give them credit for. […]

    Russ Rose goes through his list of Serving Fundamentals: At the lower levels serving can be one of the best indicators of success, while at the higher levels, you try to have an effect on your opponent. At the higher levels you may get 3 errors to an ace while at the collegiate […]

Lizzy Stemke finds a creative use for the antenna in this video that emphasizes defensive posture and pursuit. The defender starts in base defense and drops into defensive position when the coach slaps the ball. The coach enters a down ball to a defender. Meanwhile, another coach holds an antenna above the defender’s head. The […]

  Clinician: Christy Johnson-Lynch, head women’s volleyball coach at Iowa State University Purpose: To execute a specific play or skill in a game-like setting How it works: Teams line up in six-on-six format, and play begins with a serve. The winner of that rally and each subsequent rally receives a coach-initiated downball. Play continues until […]

  Developing confidence playing the first ball if it’s close to the net comes with practice. Here, you’ll see Bishop’s players fielding tosses from a coach and deciding whether to take a full swing for a kill, redirect it with 2 hands over the net or set it high and back to their teammates.

    Hear the rules and tips to keep your players eligible while still getting them noticed from Debbie Brown, head coach at University of Notre Dame from '90 - '14.

    Clinician: Jim Stone, head coach of the US girls' youth national team Purpose: To increase ball control and communication, and challenge players to focus on consistency in order to benefit the setters How it Works: Put players into pairs of two and have one partner on the net with a ball and the […]

    Clinician: Kevin Moore, Assistant Coach at Northwestern University Purpose: To improve ball control and serve receive in a competitive team setting How it Works: Have six players on each side of the court. One coach initiates a hard down ball to one of the teams from near the service line, and the two […]

    Clinician: Mark Rosen, head women’s volleyball coach at University of Michigan Purpose: To train servers to take advantage of service-line opportunities and passers to focus on getting sideouts How it Works: Start with four players on one side in serve-receive formation, who play out the first ball. Four players on the opposite serving […]

    When it comes to serving, Penn State coach Russ Rose believes that “leading leads to winning” and that serving should be used as an aggressive weapon. If athletes are able to serve consistently, Rose encourages aggression. Conversely, he wants inconsistent athletes to keep the ball in play. He says each player should create […]

    In matches the previous weekend, Colorado State coach Tom Hilbert noticed his team struggling in several areas: Blockers were slow getting to the net. Middles weren’t aggressive enough during long rallies. Outsides transitioned poorly from passing to attacking. In this video, he describes his plan for structuring a practice to address these issues […]

Are your passers inconsistent? Watch this! Tracking the ball and staying behind it are necessary for good passing. McMaster University coach Dave Preston teaches his players to assess the ball’s trajectory before it crosses the opposing team’s attack line. This gives the defense more time to get in position to receive the ball.

  The 3-part active dynamic warmup you'll see here is a great way to start any practice or pre-competition routine. It warms the body, reduces injury risk and improves performance. Taught by Joseph Virga of Parisi Speed School of San Diego, this warmup has 3 phases: stationary, movement and then ground exercises, which activate muscles […]

    Clinician: Lauren Carlini, four-time NCAA All-American and member of the USA National Team As Lauren Carlini progressed from youth club to high school volleyball, then on to college ball and the USA National Team, she continually sought ways to become better at every level. Listen as the four-time NCAA All-American shares her philosophy […]