During the last two summers with the U.S. Men’s National Team, I was impressed with the velocity of the serves on the international level. What may have been even more impressive to me were the abilities of attackers to hit their way out of the…
Team Scoring Cauldrons: How Youth Volleyball Coaches Can Adapt
Legendary North Carolina soccer coach Anson Dorrance popularized the term “competitive cauldron” to describe a system of grading and charting players’ practice performance. Many volleyball coaches have adapted his system to their own uses, and…
“Leadership Through Team”
Inception
The whole thing started in my earlier days as a coach when we figured out, as every coach does, that in order to have a strong team environment, we would need to have strong leaders. This was a hit-and-miss proposition at best, in that…
How to get your Student-Athlete Recruited
I think it’s very important for everyone to understand that there is a place for every volleyball player to play on the next level. The different levels of collegiate volleyball are Division I, II, III, NAIA, and Junior College. Certainly your…
Fast-Tempo Strategy
The fast-tempo strategy incorporates fast, low-arching quicker sets to various zones along the net. This style of play can be a variation of the spread offense, but the fast-tempo can be employed no matter what offense a team is using. Although…
Thinking Critically About Calling a Time-out
A volleyball coach calls a time-out during a match for a variety of reasons. One of the most routine times to call a time-out is to stop the other team’s “momentum,” such as when the opposing team is scoring a run of points. The thinking is that…
Developing Leadership Skills Through Conversations, Evaluations and Retreats
Talent and skills…there are differences between the two. Talent is a thing that just comes naturally; it’s a thing that an individual was just born to do. Skills are things that an individual needs to work on and develop. Leadership is a skill…
Deliberate Practice
As coaches we have all seen the famous quote “practice makes perfect”. That quote was then prominently modified to “perfect practices, makes perfect”. Though both are great motivating statements and fundamentally true, the focus of this article is…
Creating a Winning Culture: Six Keys to Success
People:
When I came to interview for the job at Kentucky I was really impressed by the people with whom I interviewed in the six hours I was on campus. Starting with Mitch Barnhart, our athletics director, and Lisa Peterson, our senior women’s…
Create a Championship Atmosphere with Focus, Motivation, and Fun in Practice
The first key in developing a championship atmosphere is to convert as many drills as possible into games. The mentality of team members working through drills is to get it over with or just finish it. The athletes’ outlook is quite different when…
Competition in Practice, Practicing to Compete
For some athletes, competitiveness is in their blood. For others, competition is the necessary evil of the sport at which they enjoy or even excel naturally. As coaches, it is in our best interest to develop all of our athletes’ willingness and…
Coaching Great Players into Great Teams
When I coached the women’s volleyball team at Stanford University, many people automatically thought that as a coach you just recruited the best athletes, you rolled out the balls, and, if you’re smart, you stayed out of the way. In some cases you…
Medicine Ball Exercises with Cameron Davidson – Penn St.
Watch: Medicine Ball Exercises – Cameron Davidson – Penn St.
Box Jumps with Cameron Davidson – Penn State
Watch: Box Jumps Cameron Davidson – Penn State
Back Exercises with Cameron Davidson – Penn State
Watch: Strength & Conditioning – Back Exercises Cameron Davidson – Penn St.
Conditioning on the Court: Blocking Drill with Julie Kaiser
Coach Julie Kaiser explains and players demonstrate this Conditioning on the Court – Blocking Drill
Warm Up: Tips and Rolls with Thanh Pham – Univ. of St. Thomas
Coach Thanh Pham explains and players demonstrate the Tips and Roll Warm up drill
Circle Conditioning Drill with Julie Kaiser
Coach Julie Kaiser explains and demonstrates this Circle Conditioning Drill
Performance Training with Ruth N. Nelson
Ruth N. Nelson and Robert Selders JR. explains performance training using a bosu ball
Triangle Setting Drills with Tom Keating
Coach Tom Keating explains and demonstrates Triangle Setting Drills
3 Man Setting Drill with Kevin Hambly – Univ. of Illinois
Coach Kevin Hambly runs his squad through a 3 Man Setting Drill
Setting Drill: Multiple Contacts with Arnie and Lloy Ball
Coaches Arnie and Lloy Ball discuss and demonstrate a Multiple Contacts Settling Drill
Training a Setter: Skills and Drills with Coach Terry Pettit
Watch: Training a Setter – Skills and Drills with Coach Terry Pettit
Setting: Game Situation Drills with Christy Johnson Lynch – Iowa State
Watch: Setting – Game Situation Drills – Christy Johnson Lynch – Iowa State
Fast Tempo Offense: Play Sets with Matt Peck
Watch: Fast Tempo Offense – Play Sets – Matt Peck
Poor Set Drill with Kevin Hambly – Univ. of Illinois
Watch: Poor Set Drill – Kevin Hambly – Univ. of Illinois
Wall Target Accuracy Drill with Anne Kordes
Coach Ann Kordes explains aWall Target Accuracy Drill and player demonstrate
Serving: Arm Swing with Jeff Lipton
Coach Jeff Lipton explains and demonstrates Arm Swing at the AVCA Convention
Serving: Footwork with Jeff Lipton – Stevens Institute of Technology
Coach Jeff Lipton explains player demonstrate this serving footwork drill
One Leg Serving Drill with Gwen Egbert-Papillion
Watch: One Leg Serving Drill with Gwen Egbert-Papillion