Blocking a Glove – Single Hand

• Middle blocker will sidestep press
• Outside blockers will swing block with their outside hand to the mitt

Blocking Ball – Single Hand

• Middle blocker will alternate left and right hands
• Outside blockers will block the ball using their outside hand

Full Blocks with 2 Hands

• Middle blocker will hop step block
• Outside blockers use 2 hands with the focus still on the outside hand

Coach Norris was previously coaching at New Braunfels High School (TX).

By: Rainer Martens, Robin S. Vealey

Originally Published in: Successful Coaching

Provided by: Human Kinetics

Take this short true-or-false test to raise your awareness about giving feedback:

Questions

1. Save feedback until the end of practice so as not to disrupt practice time.
2. More frequent feedback is better than less frequent feedback.
3. When an athlete is making several technical errors, it is best to correct only one error at a time.
4. You and your assistant coaches should be the only people providing feedback in practice.
5. When giving feedback, do not tell the athlete what was done incorrectly—only provide feedback on
   how to do the technique correctly.
6. Give simple and precise information about how performance can be improved.
7. Frequent positive feedback, such as "Nice job!", is more important than lots of technical instruction.
8. Use sight and sound in providing feedback.

Answers

1. False—The sooner you give feedback, the more likely athletes will remember what the feedback pertains to and to practice correctly.
2. True, within reason—The more often athletes get useful feedback, the more they will try to correct their performance, and thus, the faster their learning will be. As athletes' technical skills improve, though, they need to learn to rely more on their own feedback and less on feedback from the coach.
3. True—Learning is more effective when an athlete attempts to correct only one error at a time, which means that you must decide which error to correct first. To do so, begin by determining whether one error is causing another. If it is, have the athlete try to correct that error first because this will eliminate the other error(s). However, if the errors seem to be unrelated, have the athlete correct the error that you think will bring the greatest improvement when remedied. Improvement will likely motivate the athlete to correct the other error(s).
4. False—Athletes, especially those who are a little older, should give feedback to each other (of course this feedback must be accurate).
5. False—In fact, feedback means to feed back exactly what was done. When athletes perform incorrectly, you should feed them back with what they did wrong. Then explain how to do the technique correctly.
6. True—Tell and show your athletes what they must do to correct errors. Be careful not to go overboard; give just enough information so they can concentrate on correcting one error at a time.
7. False—Positive feedback is good. However, specific positive feedback is much more valuable. Such feedback specifies what was correct and reinforces those aspects for all the athletes in a group. An example of specific positive feedback is, "Nice follow-through on that shot!" The same principle holds for negative feedback. If a player performs incorrectly, simply saying, "That was a terrible shot," is not helpful. The player already knows the shot was terrible. What is important is how to improve. A more effective approach would be to say, "Your shot was off the mark because you allowed your elbow to swing to the outside. Try keeping the elbow tucked in to your side."
8. True—People learn in different ways; some gain most from explanations of how to improve, whereas others need demonstrations. Both explanations and demonstrations should incorporate specific feedback. For example, you might demonstrate how a player performed a skill, explain what was good and what you believe needs more attention for improved performance, and demonstrate the refinement you would like to see. Show and tell your players how they can improve using specific positive and negative feedback.

  ]]> https://coachesinsider.com/volleyball/providing-positive-feedback-4/feed/ 0 126083 https://coachesinsider.com/volleyball/shuttle-series-ball-control-progression-with-nancy-dorsey-st-james-academy-ks/ https://coachesinsider.com/volleyball/shuttle-series-ball-control-progression-with-nancy-dorsey-st-james-academy-ks/#respond Mon, 03 Aug 2026 07:03:50 +0000 https://coachesinsider.com/?p=126671 Watch as Coach Nancy Dorsey explains the Shuttle Series Ball Control Drill. This focuses on communication, footwork, and ball control and really allows the coach to directly coach fundamentals.

 
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Provided by: Raise Your Game

The true test of a great leader is revealed not in what he does but what his people do without him. How does your team act when you're not there? How much slippage would there be if you took the week off? It takes tremendous security and confidence for a leader to hand off the reins. But it's vital.

In his book Extreme Teams: Why Pixar, Netflix, Airbnb and Other Cutting-Edge Companies Succeed Where Most Fail, Robert Bruce Shaw examined companies that make a point of empowering employees. He pointed to a study of a manufacturing plant where the productivity increased 20 percent in two months, a colossal jump. The radical idea? The company let its employees have agency over seemingly minor things like shift schedules and uniforms. That dose of freedom led to a happier and more productive workforce. And the numbers proved it.

Great companies, the visionary ones, have caught on to this idea. "Pick an area where your people are frustrated," wrote former Google VP Laszlo Bock, "and let them fix it. If there are constraints, limited time or money, tell them what they are. Be transparent with your people and give them a voice in shaping your team or company. You'll be stunned by what they accomplish."' Even in its early days, when Google was living in the gigantic shadow of Microsoft, the company practiced empowerment. Its founders were committed to "hiring the very best engineers we could and then getting out of the way."

Micromanaging might give the boss a feeling of control, but it will suck away the employees' will to do their best. They will find somewhere else soon enough, a place that gives some autonomy with a boss who's comfortable giving it. If a coach truly wants the organization to thrive - and not just himself to thrive - then he should want free thinkers. He should seek out those who aren't afraid to challenge his point of view. As the saying goes: if everyone on your team is thinking alike, then someone isn't thinking. Allow for disagreements. Create an environment where subordinates are free to speak their minds.

Netflix's CEO, Reed Hastings, along with his executives, has consistently encouraged openness and honesty, with little concern for where someone is in the hierarchy. It has served the company well; Netflix accounts for about a third of the Internet bandwidth in the United States! Former Netflix executive Patty McCord explained the company's mind-set in a Forbes interview: "All hiring should be based on starting with a problem you have to solve, and what it's going to take somebody to be great at solving it."

Once the right people are on board, don't meddle and don't saddle them with unnecessary rules that do little but hinder them from shining. Serve them by trusting them. Orchestra conductors don't lead by playing every instrument; they lead by trusting everyone will properly play theirs.

You can't force your will on people. If you want them to act differently, you need to inspire them to change themselves. -Phil Jackson