Watch as Coach Dennis Hohenshelt explains and middles demonstrate this Blocking – First Step Drill.
The Cure for PTSD (Play Time Stress Disorder)
I hear it often amongst my coaching colleagues. The constant battle coaches have with players, parents and administrators over how to deal with playing time. Most parents claim to have an unbiased opinion but we all know the truth behind…
Creating Team Trust
The trusting person does the right thing even when no one is watching. Trust means doing what you are supposed to do even when you don’t want to do it. Underneath the search for trust in team sports lies a nucleus of trust-enabling…
Band Work – Kirsten Bernthal Booth – Creighton Univ.
Watch as Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth explains and players demonstrate these Band Work Drills.
Setters: Releasing From Rotations with Bryan Bunn
Watch as Coach Bryan Bunn explains and players demonstrate Releasing From Rotations.
Floor Skills – Sprawling – Mike Johnson
Watch as Coach Mike Johnson explains and a player demonstrates proper technique when sprawling.
Does Traditional Periodization Face Extinction in Today’s Volleyball Club Play?
The traditional periodization model of a year-round off-, pre- and in-season conditioning isn’t practiced in today’s club volleyball. In a recent edition of my column (titled ‘Addressing the Over-the-Top Culture in Volleyball’) we looked at the…
Defense – Reading the Attacker – Mike Johnson
Watch as Coach Mike Johnson explains and players demonstrate this Reading the Attacker Drill.
Setter Weave Drill with Tom Keating
Watch as Coach Tom Keating explains and players demonstrate this Setter Weave Drill.
Drills I Use – To Make My Team Better
I thought I’d take a moment away from philosophical writings to give you some meat and potatoes. I have heard a lot of coaches speak over the years. What I like the most is getting something that I can take back with me to the court and put into…
Setting: Neutral Hands Drill with Lizzy Stemke – Univ. of Georgia
Watch as Coach Lizzy Stemke explains and a setter demonstrates this Neutral Hands Drill.
How to Prevent In-Season Volleyball Injuries
Overuse injuries can and most likely will happen in volleyball. These injuries are common and need to be understood, along with preventive measures and/or corrective strategies to overcome and minimize injuries and any future damage…
Partners Passing Drill with Kirsten Bernthal Booth – Creighton Univ.
Watch as Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth explains and players demonstrate this Partners Passing Drill.
Family Matters: Anne Kordes
In a perfect world, everyone would work for Google or Facebook. Besides the free gourmet meals at lunch, in-office massages and liberal work-from-home policies, the folks at Facebook who want to start families automatically…
Setting High Balls with Kevin Hambly – Univ. of Illinois
Watch as Coach Kevin Hambly explains and a player demonstrates Setting High Balls Technique.
Avoiding player feedback dependence
The other day I came across the following question from a fellow volleyball coach: What do you do to make sure your players don’t become dependent on you for feedback in matches? This sort of thing is a significant touch point…
Outside Hitters Drills with Russ Rose – Penn State
Watch as Coach Russ Rose discusses and players demonstrate these Outside Hitters Drills.
Identify and Develop: Cultivating Leadership
Coming off one of our worst seasons our staff has had in 10 years, we were frustrated. We didn’t understand why we struggled on the court during the sea-son. Why didn’t leaders emerge? We weren’t holding one another accountable and it really…
Pepper Pros and Cons
Some in the volleyball community have weighed in with their thoughts of our game’s most popular drill. An advantage basketball has over volleyball is the simplicity of a ball, a hoop, and any number from zero to nine friends. Pepper is our…
Middles Serve Receive Drill – Dennis Hohenshelt – Univ. of VA
Watch as Coach Dennis Hohenshelt explains and his squad demonstrates this Middles Serve Receive Drill.
Four Areas to Maximize your Team’s Practice Session
As coaches begin to plan a practice, one of the first things we think about is how to manage our time efficiently. We’d like to think all of our practices are run with great precision and precise detail. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the…
Blocking Drill – Attack vs. Block with Joel Walton – Ball State Univ.
Watch as Coach Joe Walton explains and players demonstrate this Attack vs Block blocking drill.
Six Tweaks to get your Setter to the Next Level
Let’s say you have a pretty good setter that you want to help become a great setter, or perhaps you coach a team with some great hitters and a decent setter and you just can’t get past a certain round in the postseason. When you’re looking for…
2nd Step Set Drill with Hugh McCutcheon – (Retired) Univ. of Minnesota
Watch as Coach Hugh McCutcheon explains and players demonstrate this 2nd Step Set Drill.
Prehab: Ankle Work with Barry Kagan
Watch as Coach Barry Kagan explains and athletes demonstrate Eversion, Inversion and Dorsi flexion exercises.
A Drill to Improve Quick Hitting
Statistically, the most efficient attack in Volleyball is the Middle quick set, or “1” ball. A good “1” hitter is an outstanding weapon, especially in transition; therefore the ability to slow down or stop a quick attack, especially with one…
Hitting Warm Up with Bond Shymansky – Univ. of Iowa
Watch as Coach Bond Shymansky explains and players demonstrate this hitting warm up drill.
Volleyball Camp Drills and Games
Summer is, of course, prime season for volleyball camps. As anyone who has ever run one knows, camps present their own set of challenges for drill and game selection. When you’re designing a plan for a practice session you at least know the…
5-Minute Passing Drill with Nancy Dorsey – St. James Academy (KS)
Watch as Coach Nancy Dorsey explains and players demonstrate this 5 Minute Passing Drill.
Warm-Up: A Hot Topic
The warm-up has been practiced in some form as long as volleyball has been around. It’s taken for granted and usually not a part of any volleyball conditioning program discussion, but warm-up is a dynamic, critical activity with important…