Find drills for your next practice, fun games for volleyball camp, and articles covering topics like visualization and playing time philosophy!
If you're looking for an easy passing drill you can run at your next volleyball practice, try shuttle passing!
Shuttle passing is great for teams of all ages, and can be altered to change the level of difficulty for your team in particular! I've run this drill with 2nd and 3rd graders, and with high school teams as well. Once you understand the basic concept, you'll be able to make adjustments to the drill, making it a great ball control warm-up for your team!
Read MoreTeach your volleyball team how to serve a volleyball underhand. Perfect form for young players and beginner players. Recommended for 1st-6th grade!
Spend 5 minutes at practice breaking down the underhand serve using these 4 steps, and you'll be on your way to a season full of successful serving! (Prefer to watch and learn? Skip to the Video Guide at the bottom!)
Read MoreOne element of game time that we often struggle to replicate in practice is PRESSURE. The pressure to get the first serve of the game in, the pressure to make the serve after a teammate has missed, and especially the pressure of serving accurately and aggressively on game point! Few "punishments" can mimic the feeling of having all eyes on you and the pressure you feel to get the ball in. Likewise, few punishments actually feel as bad as missing during a critical time in the match.
Read MoreWhen you are training a group of players to be elite athletes it can seem like spending time playing games at practice is a waste of time. What we sometimes forget as coaches is that fun is a major component of the learning process.Thinking back on my time as a player I first remember running around laughing with my teammates and playing fun games. Yes, I remember playing hard, training, and running through drills, but the most vivid memories are from when I was playing "deadfish," "the downball game," and more.
Read MoreSummer is officially underway and I've just finished up the second week of my volleyball club's camps! This last week we had a pretty young group (3rd through 6th grade) and I saw a LOT of hitting errors over and over again. There are a few simple solutions to some of the most common errors, and I wanted to share them with you!
Read MoreDo you need a quick game to run at your next volleyball practice? This easy serving game will challenge your players to serve to zones without them even realizing that they're learning! Just print out this drill and save it for your next practice. Keep it in your binder as a reminder when you need inspiration! You can make this more competitive by splitting your players up into teams and having them try to go around faster than the other team, going in reverse order, or even giving them a certain order they need to serve in!
Read MoreWe've all been there. "Why am I sitting out?" "Why does Sarah start but I have to sub in?" "Why do I never get to serve?" These are all thoughts we probably had as players on one team or another. We usually chalked it up to Sarah being the favorite, or the coach not paying attention to us, or not knowing what they're doing... Yes, those are teenage thought patterns.
We didn't often think beyond ourselves, and our parents were (occasionally) right there with us. As a child, my dad was my coach for a lot of my teams, so I usually got to hear him talk through all of the possible game-day scenarios he could think of, and what he would do in each instance.
Read MoreHey coaches! I’ve been advertising this drill a ton because not ONLY did I make a video describing the different ways to set it up, I also made a printable version for you! This drill, Hitting Lines vs. Defense, is one of the most versatile drills I’ve covered for you so far. The setup is easy and the concepts are pretty basic, but it’s SO useful! Just because it’s not complicated doesn’t mean it’s not for high-level teams either. Teams at all skill levels can use this drill and it will benefit them. Want the short version?
Read MoreOne of the toughest skills I have a hard time creating drills for is setting. When you cover passing and hitting, these are skills that all players on your team will need to use. But setting? Yes, everyone needs to know HOW to set... But they will rarely set from the setting position and would therefore not benefit as much from constant setting drills. HOWEVER!
There is something to be learned from practicing this skill occasionally. I'm a big fan of training my players to play every position so that their understanding of the game is pushed beyond the confines of their position (wow, that was deep lol). This drill gives players a good understanding of what it take to be a setter, and will help them see the court from a new perspective.
Read MoreBusy coaches often find themselves heading to the gym without a practice plan. Yes, some of us can get by without a plan, but is that all you want? Just to get by? Take 15 minutes on your lunch break or just before you leave and come up with a plan! Heading to practice with a plan will give you confidence in the skills you're teaching your players. Not only will you run an organized practice, the parents will see that you've shown up prepared and they will place more trust in your coaching abilities.
A planned practice will make sure you are not wasting time between drills thinking of what drill to do next. No, practices do not have to be creative, but some thought into the drill progression definitely helps!
That's why I created a template for coaches to follow! This will give a quick prompt about the types of drills to run, and all you need to do is fill in the blanks.
Read MoreWait... it’s over already!? It is amazing how quickly a volleyball season ends! One minute, you’re scratching your head trying to figure out how you could POSSIBLY have 2 more months left (or the 2-3 week range for high school) and the next minute, you’re giving your final “good game” and facing a group of parents wanting details on the end of season party. What do you do?
Read MorePassing is arguably the most important skill in volleyball. Young players cannot get a rally going unless they receive training, and older teams will struggle to compete against a tough serve or offense without lots of reps and game-like drills. This is why it is so important to teach your team the basics! Give them a good foundation to build from when you teach them how to pass a volleyball. Check out this short video and get started!
Read MoreDoes your team need to work on moving their feet, communication, and teamwork? Want to add a competition to practice early on? Run the Passing Ladder Challenge at practice tonight! The Passing Ladder Challenge works best in groups of three but can be altered depending on the number of players you have and the group size you’d prefer. In this example, let’s use 3 groups of 3.
This drill is best for players who are beginner-intermediate skill level from 1st grade to 8th grade and can be changed by using the variations listed at the end of the article.
Read MoreOne of the most exciting parts of being a coach is when you finally see a concept “click” for your players. Younger teams who are used to just rotating around the court and playing the position they are standing in always seem to take FOREVER to understand the concept of playing defense at the net in the front row, and then transitioning off to play defense for a freeball.
Setters, too, will often hang out in backrow for too long before they realize that they should be moving up into the setter position in order to set at the first hint of a freeball. Although the concept seems simple to the experienced coach, this is one area that teams need to practice in a game-like drill in order to comprehend what is actually being asked of them.
Read MoreTournament days can be looooong days. Whether you'll be in the gym from 7:00am to 7:00pm, or if you're only going to half-day tournaments, the time spent under the fluorescent lighting found in big warehouse gyms can take its toll on you.
As a coach, there are a few volleyball tournament essentials that, if forgotten, will definitely ruin your day. And even though it seems like a no-brainer to pack a water bottle, I can't tell you the number of times I've had to pay for overpriced water because I left my personal one at home (usually on the coffee table right next to the front door, of course).
Read MoreDo you remember playing musical chairs as a kid? How everyone was nice and getting along walking around a circle of chairs until someone cut the music and you raced to grab a seat? It was fun, right? Got your competitive juices flowing? Well that was the inspiration for the most recent drill I created for my team’s practice to work on ball control as well as their competitive nature.
Read MoreTeaching middle school players how to set a volleyball can be challenging. Often times, there are only one or two players who show a natural inclination towards setting, and the rest are, more or less, hopeless. Or at least that’s how you feel at tryouts!
Training setters can be very time consuming, and when you are coaching by yourself it can be hard to justify spending practice time running a drill which is designed for only one or two players. But setters make or break a team! Spending time during practice working on their skills will only help you in the long run. Even better, you will likely see dramatic improvements right away.
Read MoreTeam rules can make or break a season. There are two important factors in whether or not team rules make an impact on your team:
1) Everyone has to know the rules, and
2) You have to enforce them.
While I can only encourage you to hold your players accountable and cheer you on for sticking to your guns, I CAN provide you with a list of broadly applicable team rules which any coach can implement.
Read MoreThis weekend I was working with young players (7th graders) during club volleyball tryouts. At this age, there are going to be a few players who stand out that have played club before or are just naturally athletic. There are also going to be a few people who have never played before and are just mimicking what they see others doing, even though they’ve had no formal training. My court was no different, and there were plenty of times I saw the opportunity to tweak a player’s movements or form to improve their performance. While this takes some one on one time with a player, it is definitely worth it to step aside for a minute or two and help them (read more at the bottom on why this can work to your benefit, even during tryouts).
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