Are they actually not trying? Or is something deeper going on?
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A volleyball is a volleyball, right? WRONG! Not all volleyballs are created equally, but most people can’t tell the difference. This is why I’m going to explain the different types of volleyballs, when it is best to use each, and even include a few to avoid if possible.
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Volleyball relies on quick bursts of speed. Sprinting, jumping, diving, reacting… but conditioning is important, too! Use this fun and easy volleyball game to work on serving accuracy under pressure while conditioning your athletes.
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Although peppering is fun and incorporates the basic skills of passing, setting, and hitting, some coaches are strongly opposed to the use of this classic volleyball warm-up.
In this article, I’m going to explain the pros and cons of peppering so you can better decide if this is a warm-up you want to use with your players.
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If you are a new volleyball coach and want to learn the basics of how to coach volleyball, you’re in the right place! Although there is a lot that goes into coaching, you can feel much more confident on the court by understanding these fundamentals.
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The libero position can be confusing, even for experienced coaches! Learn about libero basics, some of the more complex rules, and get explanations on the most challenging aspects of using a libero.
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Stop sending over freeballs! This volleyball drill is easy to run and will have your players hitting downballs and back row attack in no time! This is a fun volleyball drill to run with youth and middle school volleyball teams, at volleyball camps, and clinics! Perfect for coaches who like a more aggressive style of play.
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New Year’s resolutions are a fantastic way for volleyball coaches to review what worked for them, identify where they struggled, and create a plan to get better! But New Year’s resolutions don’t have to all be about self-improvement where you’re hunched over a notebook. There are plenty of activities where you can get up and out of the house, while still bettering yourself as a coach!
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Do you need a crash course on the basic rules of volleyball, what skills young volleyball players need to know, and what concepts you need to teach them? Let me walk you through how to coach beginner volleyball step-by-step!
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Volleyball warm-ups for young athletes do not need to be the long, complicated stretches you remember from PE. Arm circles, butt-kickers, and Frankensteins are fine for older children and adults. But what about your 4th-grade rec team? Check out a basic warm-up for your athletes, and then build your own from there!
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Y’all know by now that I promote communicating with your players in a positive manner whenever possible.
Well… now I’ve got (more) evidence to back up my thinking!
While hunting down research I sited in Episode 23 of the Get The Pancake Podcast, I came across another study that seemed worth reading! Of course after I read the paper, I realized this information NEEDED to be shared!
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This serving game is a great way to spend 15 minutes laughing, cheering, and bonding with your team. Use this game with your young players to keep them engaged at practice, or play it with an older group as a reward for hard work.
Whether you’re using this as a drill for volleyball camp or during team practice, you’re sure to share a ton of laughs with your athletes.
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It’s currently the beginning of the school season, which means one thing is certain: We’ve all got a LOT of work to do.
Players will always be growing and developing, and even us coaches aren’t as perfect as we’d like to believe. But there’s something I’ve seen a lot of this particular season and I want to help you see it and overcome this lazy play with your own teams.
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Coaches of young or new volleyball players might benefit from review this passing concept with their team: Face the hitter, angle your platform to target.
Too often this is something that we as coaches tend to overlook. Between getting them to not bend their elbows when they pass, making sure they’re standing in the right place, or sometimes even just paying attention at practice, it can be easy to forget about small things.
In this case, it’s a small thing that makes a HUGE difference.
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Ahhh, the classic “Sharks and Minnows” game.
If you went to volleyball camps as a child, you probably played this game at least once.
But the hard thing about playing games as a kid, is that you don’t always remember them as an adult!
Let me give you a quick refresher on this classic warm-up game as you start to prepare for summer volleyball camps.
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Summer is almost here, and this is ALWAYS the time of year when I am asked what players should do to prepare for school volleyball tryouts.
There are plenty of options out there….
Summer camps
Private lessons
Skill clinics
Open gyms
While all of these will likely improve a player’s skill level, physical fitness, coordination, and mental understanding of the game, there’s one big opportunity that many families tend to overlook: beach volleyball.
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According to Coach Karch Kiraly, (U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team Head Coach) the most important skill in volleyball is to learn to read the ball.
This is one of those answers which is simple in theory, but very, very challenging in practice. You can’t just TELL players to read the ball. Heck, half of them probably wouldn’t even know what you meant (and of course, they’d just nod their head and go with it until you called them out).
In order to play volleyball well, you need to anticipate where the ball will go. This has recently become a point of pride for coaches who yell at their teams for diving (they wouldn’t need to dive if they read the ball correctly). Which… they’re not wrong! But we need to make sure we teach players to read and anticipate before we expect them to eliminate any dives or rolls.
This drill teaches players how to read the hitter through simple, repetitive plays that draw attention to movement patterns, helping players learn faster.
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The hesitation. The apprehension. The questions. The tears.
These are all fairly NEW to me as a coach, despite beginning my coaching career over a decade ago.
Nearly all players can handle being told how to correct their form without bursting into tears and making you feel like a horrible person.
But there’s a shift happening. I’m not entirely sure of the reason WHY (though I have some guesses), but once I started making adjustments to my coaching style, I was able to see players settle into the comfort of learning and actually contribute to their team.
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OK, I’m making BIG claims for this drill, but I’m ready to back those claims up!
See, I’m really big on PROGRESSIONS. Progressions start simple, add small pieces of information, and ultimately lead to BIG gains.
The best part about this drill I’m about to share with you is that it will work for ANY age group (even the littles who can’t get their fingers above the net) and your players will LOVE it.
This is also a great volleyball camp drill, for those reasons and more.
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Volleyball stats offer a (mostly) objective look at player and team performance, and can be vital to helping determine appropriate areas of focus for future training, determining optimal rotations, and providing a broad look at team performance overall.
Looking at individual stats can help players understand their strengths and weaknesses, analyze match performance, and in some instances, even help them get recruited.
Although stats SEEM intimidating… they don’t have to be! Coaches and parents new to volleyball should not be intimidated by the overwhelming spreadsheets, computations, and volleyball jargon common when discussing volleyball stats.
I’m going to break down some of the more basic statistics for you, so you can feel more confident coaching volleyball, watching volleyball, and talking volleyball.
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