Watch as Coach Kellen Petrone explains, and players demonstrate this base release drill that focuses on moving backwards as well as forward. The defender will execute the base release on the hitter’s toss and be […]
Blocking Vision: Don’t Close Your Eyes with Rocco Lucci – Niagara Frontier VB Club
Watch as Coach Rocco Lucci explains, and players demonstrate this blocking vision drill. Blockers will first focus on ready position, making sure they are elbows-distance from the net. Keeping thumbs up and fingers out wide, […]
Shuttle Passing Drill with Melissa Wolter – Univ. of West Florida
Watch as Coach Melissa Wolter explains, and players demonstrate the Shuttle Passing Drill. This flexible drill can be timed or completed through a certain number of touches. Players will group in threes and the outside […]
Timing Drills for Pins & Middles with Erin Glickert – SUNY Cortland
Watch as Coach Erin Glickert explains how to work on timing with attackers. Athletes work on timing, footwork, and step-close in this drill.
Pre-Game Pass & Shuffle Drill with Becky Edwards – Lancaster High School (NY)
Watch as Coach Becky Edwards explains her pre-game drill. There are multiple variations to warm up different game-like movements and skills. Getting many touches and reps in quickly is important.
The Decisive Intangible for All College Athlete Recruits
Originally published in an Adam Sarancik Book Most college coaches have similar goals, philosophies, and priorities when recruiting athletes for their program. In short, they want people, athletes, and players who tangibly have sports skills […]
Hula Hoop Setting Drill with Renee Saunders – Skutt Catholic High School (NE)
Watch as Coach Renee Saunders explains, and players demonstrate this hula hoop setting drill. Two players standing on boxes and holding hula hoops above their heads are the targets. The objective of the setters is […]
Training Outside Hitters Using Pool Noodles with Lyndsey Oates – Univ. of Northern Colorado
Watch as Coach Lyndsey Oates explains, and players demonstrate how they use pool noodles to help train their outside hitters. Using pool noodles is great if you are short on bodies or to save your […]
Drill to 15 with Kayla Allen – LC Anderson High School (TX)
Watch as Coach Kayla Allen explains, and players demonstrate the Drill to 15 warmup drill. This drill is used at the beginning of practice, has high reps, and the players practice all skills regardless of […]
Setting Routine with Kamalani Akeo – Univ. of Pittsburgh
Watch as Coach Kamalani Akeo explains the setting warm-up routine used to prep their setters for all the skills they’ll be using. This drill is useful to learn footwork, warm up the arms/hands, and get […]
Out-of-System Hitting Drill with Jen DeJarld – Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School (IL)
Watch as Coach Jen DeJarld explains the out-of-system drill used to improve players’ skills in challenging situations. Players switch around positions after certain touches, making it so everyone gets reps in different positions, and it […]
Parents and Guardians
By: Rainer Martens & Robin S. Vealey Originally Published in: Successful Coaching Many coaches find that the most challenging relationship to manage is their relationship with their athletes’ parents. This includes guardians, but we will […]
Out of System Around the World Drill with Renee Saunders – Skutt Catholic High School (NE)
Watch as Coach Renee Saunders explains the “Around the World” Drill. This drill includes multiple progressions for ball control and out-of-system training, as well as encouraging loud communication and hand control.
Double Blocking Drill with Louis Mitchell – Renaissance High School (MI)
Watch as Coach Louis Mitchell demonstrates double blocking and how to train closing the gap between a middle blocker and a right-side blocker.
The Sports Nutrition Challenge Hiding in Plain Sight
By: Greta Jarvis, MS, MPH, Founder of: Center for Active Women It was around sophomore year of high school when my classmates, teammates, and friends started restricting their eating: the Flat Belly Diet, the Cabbage […]
Pre-Match Shuttle Warmup with Zoe Bell – Ardrey Kell High School (NC) and Corey Sarubbi – Carolina Juniors Volleyball
Watch as Coaches Zoe Bell & Corey Sarubbi explain, and players demonstrate this pre-match shuttle warmup. The drill is used in a half-court setting before high school and club games and usually takes 3 to […]
Consistent Parent Communication with Nathan Emrick – Carterville High School (IL)
Watch as Coach Nathan Emrick discusses the importance of consistent parent communication: Communication must be consistent Everything goes back to your standards and focus Positive & Negative Feedback Encourage parents when their kid does something […]
Can You Be Too Positive? with Jon Gordon – The Jon Gordon Companies
Watch as Jon Gordon responds to the question, “Can you be too positive?” He states that you can never be too positive because you need that positivity to elevate your state of mind. He cites […]
Middles: Attacking Targets with Jaylen Reyes – Univ. of Nebraska
Watch as the coach explains, and players demonstrate the ‘Attacking the Target’ Drill. The focus is on hitting targets in specific zones. Both players must hit or come close to the target before moving on […]
Shoulder Strengthening Exercises with Erica Miller – Pope High School (GA)
Watch as Coach Erica Miller explains, and a player demonstrates various shoulder-strengthening exercises. There are four body positions, with multiple movements in each: lying flat on the ground, hands and knees, plank position, and standing […]
Communication
Originally Published in: The Coach’s Bulletin Board It’s not what we say, but what they hear. “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” (George Bernard Shaw) NEGATIVE words […]
Tsunami Pressure Drill with Jenny Glenn – Metropolitan State Univ. of Denver
Watch as Coach Jenny Glenn explains, and her players demonstrate the Tsunami Drill, a pressurized serve-receive drill designed to limit scoring runs and improve passing. The Tsunami Drill functions as a small drill within a […]
Digging: Knee Slides Drill with Sarah Martin – Morehead State Univ.
Watch as Coach Sarah Martin explains, and a player demonstrates knee slides. The focus of the knee slide is to drop the hips under the ball, maintain a strong parallel platform, and drive the ball […]
Running Effective Meetings
By: Rainer Martens & Robin S. Vealey Originally Published in: Successful Coaching Provided by: Human Kinetics Let’s face it, everyone would prefer fewer meetings, but they are necessary at times, and you need to be […]
Attack vs. Gloves Hitting Drill with Todd Chamberlain – Univ. of Louisville
Watch as Coach Todd Chamberlain explains, and players demonstrate this hitting drill that works on tooling the block. Attackers will approach, focusing on arm swing and their in-system and out-of-system footwork. Hitting off a blocker […]
Educating Athletes That Social Media Is Their Life Resume with Kim Karr – ICANHELP
Watch as Kim Karr emphasizes the importance in communicating with your athletes and parents that their posts on social media represent their life resume. Colleges and athletic departments are checking potential recruits’ and applicants’ social […]
In-Season Maintenance: Med Ball Circuit with Jon Kosrow – JK Strength and Fitness
Watch as Jon Kosrow explains, and athletes demonstrate this in season med ball circuit. The circuit consists of the med ball scoop toss, ice skater hops, and lunge wood chops. These drills work on generating […]
Changing Up Your Favorite Drills with Renee Saunders – Skutt Catholic High School (NE)
Watch as Coach Renee Saunders explains, and players demonstrate breathing life into old drills. With 28 years of coaching experience, she has determined that it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel, but you can […]
Pressure Serving Drills with Becky Edwards – Lancaster High School (NY)
Watch as Becky Edwards explains that every day before a game, they have a 5-minute serving warmup focusing on different types of serves. After the warmup, it is time for pressure serving, in which all […]
The Team! The Team! The Team!
By: Jamy Bechler Originally Published in The Leadership Playbook The old acronym of T.E.A.M. in which together everyone achieves more is true more often than not. Players need teammates that are willing and able to […]