The Art of Coaching Volleyball

    Time Allowed: 60-90 minutes Scenario: The season is winding down and your team is entering the state playoffs. You have the regional playoffs on Friday. This is a Monday practice. Thoughts: At this juncture of the season, you want practices to be short with high quality. The feedback should be positive and put […]

Push your team to win multiples with the "tic-tac-toe” drill! In this video, Southlake Carroll High School coach Ryan Mitchell explains how he combines the classic paper-and-pencil game with volleyball training to take competition to another level. View more team drills to increase competition in your gym at the end of the season! Or, join […]

  Blocking is a crucial part of the game. But don’t expect all your players to perform equally well using the same technique. You’ll have more success if you let each player choose the technique that works best for her. However, there are a few tips that all players can use, says Head Coach Franz […]

  A rigid system that requires specific player types can be difficult to manage when you have players with varied strengths. On the other hand, a flexible system that accommodates the specific strengths and weaknesses of your players can make coaching more enjoyable. Watch as Associate Director Mike Schall of the Triangle Volleyball Club shares […]

Professional sport psychologist Chris McLachlin has worked with over 150 teams and has found some consistent traits in the great ones. Two that he mentions here are constructive conflict (a team’s ability to give each other feedback without taking offense) and patience. He especially notes the importance of resilience and believes that while every team […]

2017 Purdue Coaching Clinic

  Clinician: Christy Johnson-Lynch, head women’s volleyball coach at Iowa State University Purpose: To add extra touches in each rotation without losing the flow of a traditional game How it works: In this six-on-six drill, teams line up in rotation and take turns receiving a serve and an additional coach-initiated ball. After each team has […]

Doug Beal | Former CEO of USA Volleyball Since I retired as CEO of USA Volleyball at the end of 2016, many people have asked where I think the game is headed – this year, next year and 10 years down the road. My short answer: volleyball is healthy, vibrant and better positioned than ever to experience […]

    Colorado State women’s volleyball assistant coach Emily Hiza, also a 16s club coach, talks about making the final practice of the season fun with competitive activities like mini tournaments.

  Smart hitters know how to beat the block, whether single, double or triple. Here, you’ll see a drill that trains hitters on this skill. To set up, you’ll need 3 blockers, 2 outside hitters and a setter. The goal is for hitters to score consecutive kills. But here’s the twist: each kill earns a […]

Near the end of the 2014 high school season, with playoffs nearing and Bishop’s maintaining its undefeated record in the Coastal Volleyball League, Knights coach Tod Mattox continued to emphasize little things in practice so his players could upgrade good play to great play. In this session, the team worked on everything from disguising its […]

2017 Chapel Hill Coaches Clinic

  Your defense will perform better when there is trust between teammates, especially those who play next to each other. To achieve this, players need to communicate consistently. In this video, UCLA Head Coach Mike Sealy explains how verbal and non-verbal communication can strengthen or weaken trust among teammates and affect court performance.

Michelle Collier demonstrates how to make your warm ups most efficient without sacrificing valuable time in practice or games. In this video she will go over key points that will help your players not only get their blood-flow moving but work on their fundamentals, communication and focus as well. Download the description and FastDraw diagram […]

  Clinician: Tom Hilbert, head women’s volleyball coach at Colorado State University Purpose: To train players how to execute an emergency “pancake” dig How it works: This digging drill uses just a small area of the court with player 1 at the net and player 2 about 10 feet away. Player 1 gets down on […]