Watch as Coach Michael Bynon explains, and players demonstrate these arm swing and digging progression drills. The focus of the progression is good arm swing mechanics and good defensive positioning. The defender will use a […]
Middle Blockers Hand-on-Ball Contact Drill with Laura Johnson – McGill-Toolen Catholic HS (AL)
Watch as Coach Laura Johnson explains, and players demonstrate this drill for middle blockers that trains hand-on-ball contact. Coach wants players to focus on drawing their hands up fast and getting their elbows tight and […]
Island Exile Drill with Jenny Glenn – Metropolitan State Univ. of Denver
Watch as Coach Jenny Glenn explains, and players demonstrate this competitive drill that is great for conditioning. This is a narrow court, timed drill and can be played 2v2 or 3v3. Players will compete for […]
Dig or Die Drill with Nancy Dorsey – St. James Academy (KS)
Watch as Coach Nancy Dorsey explains, and the players demonstrate the Dig or Die Drill. This is a quick rep drill with two teams competing against each other to score 7 points. As the drill […]
There Is Nobility in the Struggle with Dr. Colleen Hacker – Team USA / Pacific Lutheran Univ.
Watch as Dr. Colleen Hacker discusses mental toughness and how today’s environment and culture do not value and respect the struggles and difficulties that athletes encounter. Not achieving in any form of athletics may be […]
You Are What You Eat
By: Adam Sarancik Author of: Coaching Champions for Life One of the most dramatic and consequential shifts in my lifetime in the personal habits of people, including many athletes, is the casual way in which […]
Hitter’s Hand Contact Drill with Kathleen Miller – Oak Lawn Community High School (IL)
Watch as Coach Kathleen Miller explains, and players demonstrate this hitter’s hand contact drill. The hitters are up on a box and working on four different shot selections: #1 finishing the swing with the thumb […]
Arm Swing: Good Contact on the Ball with Matt Darling – Gannon Univ.
Watch as Coach Matt Darling explains, and players demonstrate this rotation drill working on arm swing. Keeping on top of the ball, players will focus on creating good contact. Coach explains proper hitting motion and […]
Training Seam Serving & Visualization with Megan Lenhart – Cornerstone Univ.
Watch as Coach Megan Lenhart explains training seam serving and visualization. Her servers work on serving to four seams that you would see against a three-person passing setup. She explains the locations of the four […]
Point Blank Defense with Kellen Petrone – Univ. of Pittsburgh
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. […]
Create a Positive Self-Talk Routine with Zack Etter – Univ. of Massachusetts
Watch as Zack Etter discusses creating a positive self-talk routine when communicating with players. He recommends sharing positive information everyday as today’s players are surrounded by negativity. Create an environment that focuses on the positive […]
The Mental Approach to Coaching
By: Adam Sarancik Author of: Coaching Champions for Life “When evaluating your team, look first in the mirror with honest intent.” What is your mental approach to coaching? By your mental approach, I’m not asking […]
2-Ball Drills with Renee Saunders – Skutt Catholic High School (NE)
Watch as Coach Renee Saunders explains, and players demonstrate these 2-ball drills which focus on ball control and help players filter out distractions. Players partner up and start by passing and rolling balls to each […]
Serving Breakout Sessions with Kaylee Prigge – Univ. of Wyoming
Watch as Coach Kaylee Prigge explains, and players demonstrate the breakouts they use to train game-like serving. The first breakout is 5 minutes and players are limited to 6 reps. Coach uses chairs on the […]
Middles Warmup: Tracking the Ball with Jessica Burke – St. Thomas More Catholic High School (LA)
Watch as Coach Jessica Burke explains, and players demonstrate this warmup for middles which helps train ball tracking. Middles start by hitting off a toss, following the ball in to attack. Coach adds a setter […]
Blocking Warm Up Drill with Jaylen Reyes – Univ. of Nebraska
Watch as Coach Jaylen Reyes explains, and players demonstrate this blocking warmup that focuses on high block reps and eye work. The drill starts with a pass to a setter and the middle blocker works […]
I’m Stressed and I Have the Capability of Calming Down with Dr. Colleen Hacker – Team USA / Pacific Lutheran Univ.
Watch as Dr. Colleen Hacker explains that when you are angry, frustrated, stressed, or have lost focus, your next word or thought should be “and”. Whatever the negative situation is that you need to announce, […]
Hazing/Bullying in Athletics
By: David T. Morris Originally Published in: Student-Athletes: Control Your Own Destiny Definition of Bullying: As defined by the organization, stopbullying.gov, “bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real […]
Middle Attacking: Self Toss to Attack Drills with Dan Meske – Univ. of Louisville
Watch as Coach Dan Meske explains, and players demonstrate this drill progression that works on middle attacking. Middles will control the pass by tossing to themselves then setting to the setter. This helps players to […]
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 […]
Under Over Attacking Drill with Allie Yaeger – Binghamton Univ.
This is a partner’s drill, and they are each lining up on the ten-foot line across from each other. One partner tosses the ball in the air and the other will indicate over or under […]
Hitting Around the Block Drill with Phil Nickel – Dallas College Eastfield Campus
Watch as Coach Phil Nickel explains, and players demonstrate this hitting around the block drill that uses pool noodles instead of live blockers. He uses different colored noodles to make it easier for the hitters […]
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 […]
Put It Into Practice
By: Dr. Colleen Hacker Originally Published in: Achieving Excellence Provided by: Human Kinetics Coaches and sport leaders cannot control athletes’ feelings of confidence; however, they oversee the environment in which athletes perform. The following suggestions […]
Prime Our Posture Drill with Kelly Hunter – Univ. of Nebraska
Watch as Coach Kelly Hunter explains, and players demonstrate the everyday ‘Prime Our Posture Drill’. The player will stand on a BOSU ball and hit the ball off a tilted board. She will do 50 […]
Minimizing Your Athletes’ Anxiety with Robert Schinke – Laurentian Univ.
Watch as Robert Schinke discusses minimizing your athletes’ anxiety. Lack of confidence is the main cause of anxiety for athletes as an upcoming event nears. Focusing on previous negative performances instead of their positive performances […]
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 […]
Blocking Progression Drill with Renee Saunders – Skutt Catholic High School (NE)
Watch as Coach Renee Saunders explains, and blockers demonstrate this swing blocking progression drill. Coach Saunders will cover in detail each section of this blocking progress. Blocking a Glove – Single Hand Middle blocker will […]
Serving Warm-Up with Megan Lenhart – Cornerstone Univ.
Watch as Coach Megan Lenhart explains, and players demonstrate, this partner serving warm-up drill. The drill starts with servers working on tosses, establishing routine muscle memory. Their hitting arm is in the proper position for […]
Rising Above the Noise: Six Ways Student-Athletes Can Overcome Online Bullying
By: Chris Szabo – Rewild Coaching and Consulting After a Tough Loss for student-athletes, the aftermath of a tough loss can be emotionally challenging, especially when the pressure to perform is amplified online. Social media […]