Developing Impactful Practice Sessions

It’s not what you know; it’s what your team is learning. Like many of your programs, the USA Girls U-18 team lacked training time as we prepared for the 2019 U-18 FIVB World Championships. Our staff knew we had to use every available minute wisely. The items below were the foundation of the practice principles we used daily that resulted in winning a Gold Medal at the World Championships. I hope you can use this information to make your practice sessions productive.

Regardless of your coaching philosophy or methods, common factors will facilitate learning. First, all your activities must be organized to provide the quality repetition required to facilitate skill development. Second, feedback is essential for the player to celebrate the small steps that are the building blocks for skill development. Finally, the coach’s enthusiasm is contagious and is essential to a positive learning environment. Of course, there are other components to running a good practice. However, these are the foundation: repetition, feedback, and enthusiasm.

Time Management

Practice time is not an endless resource. The coach’s ability to manage time efficiently is essential for achieving the maximum quality repetitions.

Front-load as much information as possible

On-court time with your team is valuable. I suggest you don’t spend it pontificating about what’s on deck for the session. With good planning, you can save court time for playing volleyball.

• Flipped Classroom: Prepare your team for the upcoming practice session by sending out to the players, in advance of practice, videos or written material on the skills or team activities that will be the focus of practice. Before practice, review the material to ensure they grasp the specific focus areas. Especially with video, spend time ensuring the players are paying attention to the specific areas that will be rehearsed in practice. Don’t assume players are seeing the same things as the coach.
• On-Edge Learning—I verbally quizzed players on previously presented material to ensure they could recall and understand team concepts and technical keys. These “quizzes” take place in team meetings in a Socratic fashion. It is a bad look for players not to know the correct answers, and it encourages them to be prepared. For long-term retention, information must be continually recalled, so I constantly review new and old information.
• Notebooks- all players brought notebooks to practice and would write coaching points for the practice session. I avoid giving handouts of information. Studies have shown that writing newly presented material facilitates long-term retention better than other methods of communication.
• Water Breaks—Since our focus is time management unless monitored, water breaks can become a social time for the players, resulting in a loss of focus and wasted time. Former USA coach Toshi Yoshida would divide the players into two groups for water breaks. While one group was getting water, the other continued with practice repetitions. Then, the groups would switch. I’ve also seen coaches not take water breaks as a group. Players would have their water bottles courtside and hydrate while chasing balls, keeping score, etc.

Logistical Planning

Setup of the court

• Whiteboard—Since the focus is time management, I wrote down the practice activities, teams, training partners, and keywords for the upcoming practice. Include the scoring for activities, how players will rotate in and out, what the non-active players are responsible for, etc. Review this material at the start of practice. This will facilitate a faster transition from one activity to the next activity.
• Have players assigned to clean the floor and ensure that all training materials, including scoreboards, balls, targets, etc., are ready for practice.
• Every non-participating player should have a role (e.g., referee, floor wiper, handing or chasing balls). Keeping players involved will help them maintain their focus throughout practice.

Communication Keys

• Listening skills—Players should exhibit positive listening skills (eye contact, affirmative nods). Ask questions of players about what you may have just said to ensure they understand the provided information.
• Bring players to you – In large training facilities with many teams training simultaneously, it is loud, with many distractions, and it is challenging for players to hear instructions or feedback from a long distance. You’ll communicate your message more efficiently if you quickly bring the players to you, say what is needed, and then they return to their court position to continue with the activity.
• When giving instruction, as much as logistics allow, have the players face away from distractions. I always try to arrange a huddle with my back to a wall so the players face me and a wall to limit visual distractions that could impact their focus.
• I use keywords as opposed to lengthy explanations to communicate key concepts. Coaches should go through skills or concepts and attach a single word or phrase to focus on an action by the player.

Feedback

There are many forms of feedback, some more impactful than others. Here are a few aspects of providing quality feedback essential for player development.

• The coach’s feedback should be timely. For example, a coach doing a post-practice review might say, “We didn’t do a good job of transition attack approaches.” Although the observation and feedback might be correct, it is not timely. Feedback should be given immediately so the player has the opportunity to make corrections.
• Avoid stopping an activity to provide feedback. I use “feedback on the fly.” Provide your observations while the drill continues. Pull the players out to speak with them if necessary, then return them to the activity. Keep in mind that practice is for repetitions, not talking.
• Players can only focus on a few items at a time. Coaches must determine the 3 to 5 items of importance in an activity or with a specific player, and feedback should be directed to those areas.
• Feedback should be specific to the desired behavior. A coach saying, “Nice job,” for example, is providing enthusiasm but not quality feedback. Decide on your area of focus and direct feedback to that specific area. For example, “Next time, let’s accelerate on your hitting approach.”
• Provide an immediate opportunity for the players to repeat the skill using the feedback provided. Organize your activity so that once you give feedback, the players can repeat the skill immediately so they can implement the feedback you provided. Long durations between contacts and feedback will result in the player forgetting what was said to them. An easy example of this is long hitting lines or the ever-present “butterfly” drills.  
• Video is a very underutilized form of feedback. One cautionary note: during a video session, ensure the players look at the same thing the coach sees. Don’t assume both are observing the same thing.

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

• Too often, coaches approach their practice with a plan that entails “doing a little of this and a little of that.”. The activities lack focus or any form of quality control. The challenge for the coach is to construct activities that allow for a specific purpose or goal, provide quality, game-like repetitions, and give valuable feedback. Organizing a good practice takes significant time to ensure every activity has some attachment to improvement.
• Don’t assume that all players receive the contacts necessary for improvement. A player can go through a 90-minute, 6v6 scrimmage and not receive many serves. Script game-like activities so players receive focused contacts in a live environment.
• The tempo of practice is a priority for achieving maximum repetitions. Coaches should ensure players move quickly on the court, regardless of the activity. The slower the activity, the more opportunities for players to lose focus and enthusiasm.

Bring the “Juice”

Coaches need to take responsibility for the practice atmosphere. Being high-energy and upbeat will make for positive vibes for the work ahead. Of course, at some point, the players must embrace their responsibility to have an atmosphere in practice conducive to improvement. However, the coach initiates this atmosphere. Coaches should try hard to catch players doing things right instead of pointing out every mistake. The adage of “critique instead of criticize” will go a long way to make the practice atmosphere productive. Always try to finish practice on a positive note. You can highlight improvements, great efforts, and individual or team accomplishments. At the same time, players are not foolish. They know if the practice wasn’t up to an acceptable standard. Sometimes, the best a coach can do is “let’s be better next time.”

Practice is the most critical component to developing a competitive team. Every minute of practice should be productive in building skills, team dynamics, fitness, and a better understanding of the game. You might be wasting valuable time if your practice activities don’t fall under one of these categories.