The Art of Coaching Volleyball

When training a setter, hand position, body position and repetition of form is key. In this video, John Dunning provides a simple, 6-step way to practice setting at home or in practice. For younger setters, following through into a “superwoman” position helps trains proper form. As setters become more advanced, tweaks such as “vanishing hands” […] The post Setting basics for beginners appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

The Inner Game of Tennis Terry Liskevych reviews "The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance" by W. Timothy Gallwey, a leading innovator in sports psychology. Gallwey's guide has become a touchstone for hundreds of thousands of people. Not just for tennis players, or even just for athletes […] The post Book review: Mental Training Books appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: Practice getting power, snap and speed in the arm swing. How it works: A player stands several feet behind the net in a simulated attacking bow-and-arrow position. A coach tosses a ball to the player's dominant hand from several feet away, mimicking a set. The player hits the ball with their normal arm swing, […] The post Attacking drill for young players appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Don Patterson | AOC senior content manager Setting the middle efficiently and effectively is a major asset for teams at all levels. It spreads the attack, takes pressure off the pin hitters and can be very hard to stop, especially at the lower tiers of the game, where defenses don’t see it as much. But […] The post Note to young setters: Don’t shy away from running the middle appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

When reviewing attacking footwork, players generally have a very powerful "step, close", but when you add in the first step, some players become less athletic and this step becomes ineffective. Using the term "prowl step" for this first step can help players recognize the point of this step and the way their bodies should be […] The post Attacking footwork: Prowl, step, close appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: To get passing reps coming from multiple angles on the court. How it works: Start with three players in serve receive and one or two targets on one half of the court with three additional players or coaches on the other half of the court with a cart of balls. Each server will serve […] The post Serve receive from various angles appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: To provide an easy visual on hitting angles and blocking positioning. How it works: Have one player on a box holding one side of an elastic band. Another player will grab the opposite end of the elastic band and move around the court to simulate the trajectory of different attacks. Have several blockers adjust […] The post Elastic blocking drill appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Terry Liskevych reviews "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck. Dweck offers new insights into her now famous and broadly embraced concept. She introduces a phenomenon she calls false growth mindset and guides people toward adopting a deeper, truer growth mindset. The post Book review: Mindset appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: To give players a new and creative way to keep score. How it works: Players start on the court in 6 vs 6 with each side having 5 pieces of candy. The coach begins chipping balls in, alternating sides with each rally. When a side wins the rally, one player from the winning side […] The post Fun ways to keep score: Candy incentive drill appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Purpose: Hone in on serving strategy and technique based on each player’s preferred serve. How it works: Josephson and Barnard pick apart each player’s serve to help them refine their technique, strategy and consistency. No 2 servers are the same; learning to optimize a player’s existing serve and make small adjustments can be the ticket […] The post Picking apart the serve: Skill progression appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Don Patterson | AOC senior content manager Now that we’re into the new year, a lot of volleyball players are getting back on the sand, so this is a great time to talk about drills that will enhance your skills for the upcoming beach season. As you know, just playing regular beach doubles helps strengthen […] The post 3 challenging beach drills to improve your ball control appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Dianne DeNecochea | Former Pro Beach Player, Juniors' Coach Good, short and organized highlight videos will catch the eye of college coaches IF they need your position in your grad year AND they see in the video that your athleticism, court movement and skill level could make their team better. When you send intro emails […] The post Making a highlight video that will get college coaches to your court appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Before the start of a new season, you can have informal team meetings to forge stronger relationships for the upcoming year. Here are four icebreaker questions you can toss around at the meetings. Below, you'll find a printable list to handout to players of the 4 icebreaker questions for athletes to answer. Our recommendation? Print […] The post Four early season icebreakers appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

Clinician: Debbie Brown, former head coach at the University of Notre Dame Purpose: Passing is the cornerstone of a successful team, and perfecting the basics of form and position creates a solid foundation for building that success. How it works: Coach Brown stresses the importance of staying low and level before passing the ball. Hips […] The post Training passers: Basic form appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.

In this video, Ron Kordes explains two different playing time philosophies and talks about how parents must be well-informed on how the coaches are gauging court time for each individual player. Kordes explains that when an athlete makes a club team there is a certain guarantee that the player will receive at least some playing […] The post Playing-time philosophies appeared first on The Art of Coaching Volleyball.