The Art of Coaching Volleyball

    Clinician: Jim Stone, head coach of the USA girls' youth national team   Purpose: To get players moving their feet and practicing passing tempo balls   How it Works: Three players rotate in a small circle in left front, each passing a ball tossed by the coach who is standing near the middle […]

  For a coach, there’s nothing more frustrating than looking out on the court at a critical time in a match and seeing one or more players laughing with someone in the crowd or sulking about a previous play. Unfocused players are responsible for a fair share of a coach’s gray hair! But, as most […]

    Diane Flick-Williams of Western Washington University walks through seven steps of developing a practice plan that keeps players engaged and moving, yet focused and intentional with their goals. Williams acknowledges that progress does not always happen immediately but in baby steps. She delves into the importance of having an active relationship with the […]

    One of the primary goals for a sideout offense is to spread out the opposing team’s block to give your hitters room to put the ball down. In this video, Art of Coaching contributing editor Jim Stone takes a close look at 2 proven attack strategies: isolate and overload. Jim, coach of the […]

    Exercise physiologist and professor Don Moxley has a 30-year career in performance enhancement and assessment. Here he discusses in-depth ACL injury prevention, assessment and training. Topics include movement, flexibility, imbalances and stability, how force impacts the body and functional movement screening (FMS), with information on assessment tools and resources.

    Stanford University Women’s Volleyball Coach John Dunning wants his setters to be smart both on and off the court. To help them make educated setting decisions, he keeps in-game statistics from the sideline. Setters check the stats during matches to get a real-time feedback on what has or has not been working and […]

    Clinician: Ray Bechard, head women’s volleyball coach at University of Kansas   Purpose: To teach players how much of a struggle it can sometimes be to score consecutive points   How it works: This six-on-six drill has teams starting in base defense to play out a ball that begins with a joust. The […]

    Clinician: Tod Matttox, head volleyball coach at Bishop High School   Purpose: To practice playing under pressure by simulating an “end of game” situation where players must concentrate on all aspects of the game.   How it Works: Start with two full teams and a score of 22-22. One team initiates the point […]

    The purpose of digging the ball is to create a transitional opportunity. Yet when players dive, they take themselves out of the next play. Staying on their feet keeps them available and increases their team’s chances of shifting from defense to offense. It all starts from the ground up, explains McMaster men's coach […]

  Emphasizing competition in practice is a great way to motivate players to go after each point with a match-like intensity. This 3 vs. 6 drill, explained here by Oregon State coach Terry Liskevych, stacks the odds heavily against the 3-person team and forces them to figure out creative ways to win. A point won […]

  Stopping a middle attacker requires a quick reaction from your left front blocker. The key is for blockers to identify what’s going to happen and make the appropriate moves before the opposing setter touches the ball. In this video, USA Youth National Team Coach Jim Stone explains a drill progression used by Coach Kevin […]

  Tod Mattox, head coach of Bishop's High School in California, talks about having a "bomber," or lethal server, on your team and how useful a player like this can be.

Don’t waste valuable practice time for warmups. Use pre-practice drills instead. Southlake Carroll High School coach Ryan Mitchell uses this strategy to ensure his team is ready to go when practice starts. Watch the video to learn how you can implement it for your team.

  Clinician: Glenn Hoag, retired head coach for the men’s Canadian National Team. Purpose: To give players practice with footwork, passing and attacking How it works: Two teams face off in this full-court drill. Team A consists of a sole passer and setter. Team B is made up of a server, two passers, a setter […]

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 […]