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How Aryna Sabalenka Dealt with Her Serving Issues and What Might Coaches Learn?

By Jim Stone | Sep 11, 2023 | Comments Off on How Aryna Sabalenka Dealt with Her Serving Issues and What Might Coaches Learn?

In the space of 18 months, Aryna Sabalenka has gone from not being able to serve the ball over the net to the #1 player in the world. There is much to learn about her process

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Can Volleyball Coaches Learn From a Soccer Coach?

By Jim Stone | Aug 20, 2023 | Comments Off on Can Volleyball Coaches Learn From a Soccer Coach?

Soccer and volleyball are very similar. Soccer coach, Tom Byer has developed a teaching his sport that volleyball coaches might consider.

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Statistics-One Size Does Not Fit All

By Jim Stone | Aug 10, 2023 | Comments Off on Statistics-One Size Does Not Fit All

I am an information fanatic on many fronts. I especially relish diving into a statistical match analysis, picking up on player or team tendencies, determining strengths and weaknesses, developing game plans, etc. Many software programs provide detailed analysis of a team’s performance. As much as I enjoy detailed information, the most valuable statistic(s) is the…

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A New Paradigm for Club Volleyball

By Jim Stone | Jul 28, 2023 | Comments Off on A New Paradigm for Club Volleyball

Coaches are in too much of a hurry to specialize players by position inhibiting their skill development. I propose a new paradigm that emphasizes all-around skill development.

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Keys to Developing a “Slide” Attack

By Jim Stone | Jul 5, 2023 | Comments Off on Keys to Developing a “Slide” Attack

In a previous post, we looked at the fundamentals of attacking a 1 or 31 set (terminology can vary) with the middle attacker. These sets are designed to provide a quick middle attack in front of the setter. In this article, I’ll examine keys to facilitate your middle attacker attacking the zones behind the setter.…

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If Coaches Don’t Know Goodhart’s Law, They Should

By Jim Stone | Jun 14, 2023 | Comments Off on If Coaches Don’t Know Goodhart’s Law, They Should

Coaches that use statistics to evaluate teams and players should be very familiar with Goodhart’s Law! Using statistics for feedback to your team may have unintended consequences!

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Essentials for an Effective Middle Attack

By Jim Stone | May 30, 2023 | Comments Off on Essentials for an Effective Middle Attack

We are going to dive into developing a middle attack. First, the coach needs to be comfortable with what is desired from the middle attack, who can accomplish the task, and the keys for implementing a middle attack into your offense. The type of middle attack you implement is based on the following factors: Too…

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Random Thoughts on Random Topics

By Jim Stone | May 25, 2023 | Comments Off on Random Thoughts on Random Topics

Good Coaches Are Always Scrutinizing Their Methods A highly successful coaching colleague recently made a video contribution to an online coaching education website. The video presented drills used to develop volleyball skills. After the video was online for a few days, the coach reached out to me, expressing dismay at the nasty nature of comments…

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Fixed vs. Floating Attack Zones for the Middle Hitter

By Jim Stone | May 16, 2023 | Comments Off on Fixed vs. Floating Attack Zones for the Middle Hitter

Whenever I’m in the development phase of an offense, I have two primary goals. First, I want to develop the offense from the middle one-third of the court, then work to the outside. The attack from the middle of the court is not restricted to the middle hitter. The backrow attack from the center-back player…

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The Pursuit of Higher Television Numbers

By Jim Stone | May 9, 2023 | Comments Off on The Pursuit of Higher Television Numbers

The 2022 Division 1 Volleyball Championship drew 786,000 viewers, significantly trailing the Collegiate Football Playoff championship game (17 million), the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship game (14 million), and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship game (10 million) in viewership. These figures represent the average views. Viewers that leave early or watch only parts of…

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