The Art of Coaching Volleyball

    Watch the video to hear what Penn State women's coach Russ Rose says about equal playing time.

  By Mas Shibata   Armswing Load Position to Follow Through Once the Armswing Load position is reached as illustrated in A Critical Analysis of Attacking – Article 1 – Armswing Analysis, the elbow begins to travel forward and upward pointing toward the set ball leading the arm and hand to contact and the follow […]

Nabil Mardini explains his coaching various philosophies. He believes in ideas such as playing through, the 2-4-2 concept, and the importance of the serve pass battle. Watch this video to learn all of his philosophies and why he implements then.  

Debbie Brown talks about the importance of passing and shows us a great passing drill that can be done everyday without a coach. Passers receive balls from 3 different locations all while passing to the same setter target.  

  Many young players have trouble knowing when to push forward to keep a ball from hitting the floor. The transition digging drill presented here by MADFROG Volleyball Club coach Stefanie Samuels helps players recognize when to move forward. As she explains, you can’t always get to the ball with perfect form, so the key […]

    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 […]

By Stephanie Schleuder “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” –Babe Ruth   All coaches try to figure out how to get the most out of […]

    Teams that can shift between defense and offense quickly are more likely to score. In the “plus 8 transition” drill, balls are purposely deflected off a fitness ball to create out-of-system situations that players must handle. Watch and listen as University of Michigan coach Mark Rosen explains how he uses this fast-paced, game-like […]

    To help players improve their accuracy, try this “dynamic ball control” drill. Presented in this video by two-time Olympian Cilene Drewnick, this lively drill keeps players in constant motion. Here’s how it works: players must quickly transition from the role of passer to setter to hitter in a non-stop rotation. This teaches them […]

  Digging the ball successfully requires quick feet. The “cone” drill – demonstrated here by former Ohio State coach Jim Stone — forces players to shuffle toward the ball to make the dig. Players start in base position, marked by a cone. As the ball is hit, the player must shuffle toward the ball and […]

    Doane University coach Gwen Egbert noticed her players were struggling to cover dumps, defend the pipe and provide adequate cover. So she invented the “serve pipe dump” drill to improve her team’s play in these areas. The idea is to get players to hustle and make the play, then get back on defense. […]

  Challenge setters with the fast-paced “gauntlet” drill. Competing head to head, opposing setters must complete a series of pre-determined sets during the run of play. When hitters successfully convert sets to hits, their side gets credit. The first setter to complete all the designated sets wins the game. Watch as Colorado Juniors coach Tara […]

  As a coach, your job is to instruct and guide your players. But if you coach them too much, they may become dependent on you and unable to think for themselves. In this video, UCLA women's coach Mike Sealy demonstrates drills that help players learn at a “deeper level.” With this approach, players develop […]

  A Critical Analysis of Attacking - Article 1: Armswing Analysis By Mas Shibata   What do you teach first, the Approach or the Armswing? The reason I bring up this question in an article about the skill of attacking is to ponder the question as to whether you believe the approach or the armswing […]

    In this drill, Joe Sagula, head coach at University of North Carolina, works his blockers and back row defenders. Over the course of the drill the number of blockers increases to two and then three to work on blocking, defending around a changing block, and transitioning to attack off of a dug ball […]