Watch as Coach Kellen Petrone explains, and players demonstrate this point blank defense drill. This digging drill starts with a defender in the back corner, advancing a step closer to the hitter after every dig. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Vitamins: Ball Control Moves with Carrie Lehocky – Hope College (MI)
Watch as Coach Carrie Lehocky explains a daily volleyball drill she calls “Vitamins”. This drill is focusing on ball control, opening your hips, platform, and moving your body to the ball.
Middles & Outsides: Creating Different Runs with Jessica Burke – St. Thomas More Catholic High School (LA)
Watch as Coach Jessica Burke shows how her team practices creating different runs on the offense. Repetitively allowing them to make calls based off of timing and where the setter and other hitters are will […]
Breathing Exercises
By: Dr. Colleen M. Hacker, Mallory E. Mann Originally Published in: Achieving Excellence Provided by: Human Kinetics Learning to breathe properly can either activate or calm and relax your body. You can use the […]
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.
Commit Blocking with Haley Case – Univ. of Indianapolis
Watch as Coach Haley Case talks about commit blocking and how it helps her team control the game. Knowing which opponent needs to be stopped and who on your team can do it is key. […]
Pre-Practice Band Routine with Jon Binish – Bolingbrook High School (IL)
Watch as Coach Jon Binish explains, and players demonstrate this everyday pre-practice resistance band routine. Explain to your players the reasoning behind this routine, emphasizing that the focus is to improve shoulder health and movement […]
3-Man Pepper Variations with Maci Battle – Rocket City Volleyball Club
Watch as Coach Maci Battle explains 3-Man Pepper. This drill does not take up a lot of space, so it can be used with lots of players on a court. It’s important to focus and […]
9-Dot Challenge with James Leath – Mental Performance Coach
Watch as Mental Performance Coach James Leath presents a group of athletes with the 9-Dot Challenge. The challenge has 4 rules and the athletes have 5 minutes to work by themselves, then with a partner, […]
The Ten Most Important Things a Coach Should Do in the Off-Season
Even if the last game of the season ends in a victory, the off-season begins for me after the last out of that game. Next season, I know I must be better and my team […]
Game-Like Serving in Practice with Genny Volpe – Rice Univ.
Watch as Coach Genny Volpe explains, and a player demonstrates this serving progression that helps create tough and consistent serves that challenge your opponent. Start with a standing serve, keeping the ball between the top […]
Jack and Jill Setting Drill with Natalie Reagan – Long Beach State Univ.
Watch as Coach Natalie Reagan explains, and players demonstrate this flexible setting drill that works both short ways, with the flow, and long ways, against the flow. The focus will be on body position, balance, […]
You Have to Teach Culture and Leadership with Joe Sagula – (Retired) Univ. of North Carolina
Watch as Coach Joe Sagula talks about team culture and how you must teach people what you expect. Coach explains that the more turnover you have, the more time you will need to develop leadership […]
Hand-On-Ball Contact Warm-Up Drills with Joshua Walker – Baylor Univ.
Watch as Coach Joshua Walker talks about how to train hand contact. Hand contact is important for ball control, and he explains how each drill helps with hand-on-ball contact.
Focus Drill with Zoe Bell – Ardrey Kell High School (NC)
Watch as Coach Zoe Bell explains drills that require focusing your attention on multiple things at once. Having multiple balls alive in the drill that they have to focus on helps athletes get comfortable in […]
Practicing Empathy
By: Dan Gould and Cliff Mallett Originally Published in: Sport Coaches’ Handbook Provided by: Human Kinetics The coaching process has been increasingly recognized as a complex social and cognitive system. In this context, the quality […]
Working on Team Chemistry with Haley Eckerman – Kent State Univ.
Watch as Coach Haley Eckerman explains how she works on team chemistry. In the off-season, the team has a weekly one-hour session on leadership and culture. A different player plans each activity, and Coach Eckerman […]
Plank Tunnel Team Building Challenge with Blake Williams – Battle-Tested
Watch as Blake Williams explains and demonstrates the Plank Tunnel team building challenge. The group starts in a low plank position which creates a tunnel. The end person will crawl through the tunnel as the […]
Head Coach Blueprint: Cover Letters Are the Key to Getting Interviews with Chris Fore – Eight Laces Consulting
Watch as Chris Fore discusses how to get that first head coaching job. The key factor of getting an interview for the head coaching position is the cover letter. A great cover letter can make […]
Passing Early Prep and Routine with Michael Fisher – University of Pittsburgh
Watch as Coach Michael Fisher shows how they work on serve receive by being ready with early preparation. Michael emphasizes that the passer must do the same thing every time. They will call either “Float” […]
18 Out of 30 Hitting Drill with Todd Chamberlain – Univ. of Louisville
Watch as Coach Todd Chamberlain explains the “18 Out of 30” hitting drill. This drill reinforces swinging strong and with intent to get a kill without worrying about errors. The main goal is to take […]
Why Every Great Coach Assesses Their Athletes – Beyond the Scoreboard & Stats
By: Julie Hatfield-Still Provided By: Beyond The Game Alliance As a coach, you’re constantly evaluating whether it’s watching how athletes perform in a drill, tracking game-day stats, or observing who shows up ready to […]
Setters Key: Hands Up on Time with Luka Slabe – USA Volleyball
Watch as Coach Luka Slabe explains, and players demonstrate a setting drill focused on getting the hands up on time. Coach emphasizes the importance of always being ready to go with big hands, waist-high, and […]
Mental Toughness: A Skill That Can Be Developed with Dr. Colleen Hacker – Team USA / Pacific Lutheran Univ.
Watch as Dr. Colleen Hacker explains that mental toughness is a skill, and it can be developed. It is about how an individual responds to adversity, difficult situations, setbacks, and failure. Mental toughness is not […]
Full-Feature! Winning the Sideout with Renee Saunders – Skutt Catholic High School (NE)
We are releasing a FULL 36-minute session from the 2025 AVCA Coach of the Year Virtual Super Clinic, available in our Volleyball Coaches Insider +Plus video library. Free access to this video will expire on […]
Match Video Review: Coaches & Players with Ted Kopacz – Colorado State Univ.
Watch as Coach Ted Kopacz explains how to review footage with athletes to get the most out of their learning experience. Analyzing footage should be efficient and quick. When they can physically see their movements […]
Hands Over the Net: Adding a Middle Blocker with Mackenzie Nelson – Northeastern Junior College
Watch as Coach Mackenzie Nelson explains a blocking drill designed to improve athletes’ performance. This drill keeps them engaged by being mentally stimulating along with training blocking footwork.
How Coaches Can Develop an OUTSTANDING Working Relationship With Your AD
By: Kevin M. Bryant, CMAA Many times, in my 35-year career in college and high school athletic administration I have heard coaches share their frustrations about their athletic director. While I would like to […]