“There is no best strength and conditioning program, only an ideal one.”
We just finished a three part series on the University of Minnesota’s approach to strength and conditioning in the last issue of Performance Conditioning Volleyball. This…
Ultimate Volleyball Workout
To be a great volleyball player you need speed, quickness and crazy jumps. What is the “best workout” to develop a championship-caliber volleyball player?
If you are tight on time, this is the workout for you. It includes only four exercises…
ACL Injuries: The Concussion of the Knee?
The concussion buzz continues. The NFL has just launched a new “Heads Up Football ” youth football program aimed at stopping the exodus of young boys from playing tackle football (USA Football reports the estimated number of participants at 2.82…
Volleyball Workout Do’s and Don’ts
Volleyball has specific physical demands. You must have speed, power and agility with short rest intervals. Since you don’t want to waste time training skills that won’t help you in your sport, let’s look at some common volleyball workout…
2 Speed Drills to Improve Your Volleyball Game
Volleyball is a game of quick feet and fast reactions. Most movements are performed in 3- to 5-step patterns, so it is critical for players to master first step speed mechanics.
Going from a dead stop to full speed in a few steps requires a…
Increase Your Vert for Volleyball With 3 Plyos
Volleyball players must have a big vert. Jumping high helps you deliver ferocious spikes and be a defensive force on the court. And the best way to improve this skill is with plyometrics—but not everyone understands this type of exercise.
Avoid Low Back Pain With This Stretching Technique
Sore low backs are common among volleyball players midway through the season. Despite their athleticism and dedicated training, many players suffer from back pain. The cause is simple to diagnose but hard to treat. Volleyball players move in short…
Swing Mechanics: “Getting Into the Swing of Things”
Attacking the ball is no different than hitting a baseball, swinging a golf club or serving a tennis ball: mechanics are everything! Let’s be very clear here from the beginning — an athlete does NOT have to be jacked or super-buff to bring the heat.
3 Fun and Effective Volleyball Serving Drills
The skills of a successful volleyball athlete are learned in practice, including becoming an effective server. Practicing serving is as important as any hitting, setting or passing drill, especially when the exercise mirrors a real game scenario.
Serving and Passing Butterfly
Directions:
Team 1 serves to Team 2 and vice versa.
Give a point, for every 3 ball pass a team executes. Goal is to get 50 passes in 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes…
Check Your Distance, Out of the Net, and Under-the-Net Digging
Purpose
To help players establish a starting distance in relation to the net when blocking and to maintain that distance after moving.
Setup
One player begins at the net in the middle in a blocking ready position. Additional players line up…
Cross Court
Two teams consisting of two hitters and a setter set up on each side of the court, with one hitter located in left front (LF) and the second hitter in left back (LB). The setter (S1) is located in right front.
Divide the court in half the long…
Defensive Drills
Purpose
To encourage players to be quick to receive the ball and to score on the opponent.
Setup
Three players spread out on each side of the court. The coach is off the court near the midline with a basket of balls and a feeder.
Defensive Systems
In all my years of coaching, I always felt that defense – individual player and “team” is the tactical area that will determine what team will ultimately win. No doubt, you have heard the coaching cliché – “Defense Wins Championships.” Good and…
Positioning Defensively as a Team
When on defense, having all your players in the correct position on the court no matter what defensive system the team is playing allows a team to be successful. If the players are in the correct position it means the court is balanced, which…
Defense of Choice: Choosing the defense that’s best for your team
When preparing your team for a season, coaches talk about players, what positions they will play and what will work best with their program. Once positions are settled and it comes time to put the team together on the floor, from a defensive…
Team Building Drill – All Aboard
Activity:
Using a plyometric jump box (or any approximately 2′ x 2′ plywood box), have your team get each member of the team up on the box. Each team member must have one foot on the box and last the length it takes them to sing a song, such as…
Transition Drills
Transitions in volleyball include the time spent moving from one skill to another and moving from defense to offense and back. A successful volleyball team practices transitions regularly, gaining precision and speed. Every player must know where…
Integrating Drills Into Practice
“Coach, can we run that again?”
“That was awesome!”
“Wow, that was close! Let’s do it again. We’ll take you.”
“It seems like the drill just started.”
“The time is flying by today!”
“Thanks, Coach!”
Team Building – Land Ski’s without the Ski’s
Activity:
Use one less volleyball than there are number of players on your team. The players must work as a team to carry the balls through a specified course, however they cannot touch the balls with any part of their body below the waist or…
The Importance Of Vision Training to Improve Sports Performance
The great volleyball players make the game look easy because they have vision. They can read both the opponents and their teammates, with a solid understanding of eye sequencing and peripheral awareness to be ahead of the play. Indeed, we can’t…
Team Building Drill – The Portal
Activity:
The team is stuck on one side of the portal (a hole in a wall or space or whatever one can imagine). The entire team must pass through the portal without touching the sides of it to safety on the other side.
Know Your Opponent
Creating scouting reports starts with remembering that the purpose is to provide a competitive edge over your opponent. This starts by playing competitively with the opponent. For instance, it does not matter what you want run offensively in your…
Dynamic Duo: The Setter-Coach Relationship
Let’s begin at the beginning. Other than my father (Dennis Berg), Charlie Wade and Dave Shoji were the two coaches who taught me to play volleyball. I was the one who was always playing up — the 14-year old playing with the 16s. At the time, these…
Simplify Your Offseason Workouts: A Matter of Priorities
I received this question from a high school volleyball coach:
In our offseason, we get to go two days a week and do have access to our weight room for about an hour. Then, in February, we will get our weight room for about an hour and a court…
Train the Way You Play!
“Our athletes must get stronger in order to compete.” Coaches think it and say it all the time about their players. But what does that statement really mean? What characteristics do we really desire and need our athletes to display to become more…
Taking Your Setter From Good to Great: Seven Qualities for Which to Strive
One of my favorite books on leadership is Good to Great by Jim Collins. In it, Collins describes the characteristics of companies and leaders that take a business from average to highly successful. Much of what he writes about can be related to…
Serving: What You Need to Know to Gain an Edge
SERVING IS A CLOSED-LOOP SKILL. All of the other skills in volleyball are open, which means there are a number of random variables occurring simultaneously that have an impact on the final outcome. As a hitter, you cannot control the set; as a…
Swing Strategy
Teams use the swing strategy when they want particular players (usually left-side hitters) to receive serve from all six rotations. The swing allows a team’s best passers to receive serve as much as possible, including when they’re in the three…
Mental Work and Communication Responsibilities During Team Defense
Most athletic performances are the result of interaction of physical action based on mental directive and influence. Some sports require greater emphasis on physical aspects of performance, whereas others rely more on mental aspects for optimal…