The Art of Coaching Volleyball

  These coordination drills are an extension of a warmup and include ball drills, which are good for hand-eye coordination and getting comfortable being uncomfortable. During these drills, the main points are to stay calm and patient, focus on the ball, use your peripherals and keep the ball up. While demonstrated by 2016 beach volleyball […]

Jim Stone is one of the great thinkers in the sport of volleyball, so it’s not surprising that he has had great success in the coaching arena. For 26 years, he was head coach of the Ohio State women’s team, compiling an impressive 531-294 record and guiding the Buckeyes to 15 NCAA tournament appearances and […]

  To become a more effective defender, a player must learn to expand his or her court coverage. In this video, USA Youth National Team Coach Jim Stone explains how players can cover more area in the back court using these 6 moves: Shuffle to ball Knee walk Forward collapse Lateral sprawl Stride slide Barrel […]

Today we continue our “10 things I’ve learned” series with an entry from Terry Liskevych. Liskevych, who led the University of Pacific women’s program to five Final Fours from 1976 to 1985 and was head coach of the U.S. women’s national team at three Olympics, is one of the three founders of The Art of […]

Deborah Newkirk demands enthusiasm from any athlete that she trains, no exceptions! Enthusiasm goes hand in hand with excellence and Newkirk explains why this correlation exists and how to train it.  

Great coaches begin by being great students, and they never stop seeking the advice of others who have studied and taught the game. That speaks to the heart of our mission here at Art of Coaching Volleyball. If we can help you be a better coach by passing along the philosophies, training habits and methods […]

A great way to simulate what it's like to dig random balls off blockers' hands on scramble plays is by using a fit ball. As you'll see in this drill shared by Mark Barnard, head coach at Oregon State and former head coach of the Australian national team, spikes that deflect off a fit ball […]

In this lecture Terry Liskevych discusses attitude, feelings, and the mental game of volleyball. Terry wants players and coaches to be in control of their emotions and turn them into a positive attitude that contributes to the team.

    Clinician: Marie Zidek, assistant coach at University of San Diego Purpose: To make your team comfortable with playing out-of-system balls where the setter is taken out of the equation How it Works: One coach on each side initiates a hard-driven ball to the setter in right back. This creates an out-of-system ball that […]

    Clinician: David Beach of MAVS Volleyball Club   Purpose: To train going after every ball to open scoring opportunities for your team   How it works: In this fast-paced, timed drill, groups of three compete in an anything-goes atmosphere. One group of three stays on the court for the full three minutes while […]

  Clinician: Terry Liskevych, Founder of the Art of Coaching Volleyball and former US National Team Head Coach (’84-’96)   Purpose: To train the ability to score points even if playing against six players as a team of three   How it works: This three-on-six wave drill starts with a group of three on one […]

  A great drill to help your players develop good footwork and sound fundamentals for blocking is introduced here by Mike Talamantes, head coach at Park University in Missouri and also a coach at MAVS Volleyball club in Kansas. As Talamantes explains, players get a good warm-up with this drill while practicing blocking for multiple […]

    Clinician: Mike Sealy head women’s volleyball coach at UCLA   Purpose: To train passing and decision-making in a competitive environment   How it works: Players split into two groups. Each group positions three passers, a setter and a target on the court and remaining players at the end line. Teams alternate serve until […]

  Setter Attacking By: Mas Shibata This will be the final Article of the Critical Analysis of Attacking Series. It will be an analysis of Setter Attacking technique and strategies of International Players. Over the years, I have heard different coaching philosophies regarding when setters should attack and how often or how seldom they would […]