Blog
Logistics Will Dictate a Quality Practice
“Novices argue tactics, and experts argue logistics” ~Erwin Rommel, WWII German General Former Los Angeles Laker head coach Pat Riley once said that he would spend three hours planning a three-hour practice. I have no doubt that a significant portion of this planning time was spent detailing practice activities. I am equally confident that substantial…
Read MoreGet Rid of “Time Sucks” in Practice
“Never mistake activity with achievement”. ~John Wooden The most valuable commodity for volleyball coaches at all levels is time. For collegiate coaches, practice is worked into a day that includes recruiting duties, administrative paperwork, public relations, marketing, budgeting, etc. Club teams must juggle the facility schedule, player and parent schedules, and the academic obligations of…
Read MoreThe Playbook of an Olympic Champion
“It seems that all true things must change and only that which changes remain true.” -Carl Ljung A recent Wall Street Journal article focused on the Gold Medal speed skating performances of Nils van der Poel. You’ve probably have never heard of Nils van der Poel. I hadn’t until a few days ago. Doing a…
Read MoreShohei Ohtani, The Harada Method and Volleyball
Shohei Ohtani has taken Major League Baseball by storm. The designated hitter and pitcher was Rookie of the Year in 2018, followed by being selected as unanimous MVP of the American League last year. Why am I studying a baseball superstar in a blog that generally deals with coaching volleyball? Although Ohtani has undeniable athletic…
Read MoreThe Marriage of Collegiate and Professional Sports
During my tenure at Ohio State University, I worked for six athletic directors. One of those directors was Andy Geiger, who established a standard of excellence and clear-cut goals for every program in the department. In a recent interview, the now-retired Geiger spoke about college athletics’ current state of affairs. As he viewed the collegiate…
Read MoreChange is Good….You Go First!
I was driving past a local business, and the sign out front said, “Change is good….you go first.” I wonder if numbers, data, and studies restrict our approach to the game at the expense of creativity and the ability to change from the script of accepted methods? There are a lot of game or practice…
Read MoreManaging Your Posture to Pass the Low Ball
Have you noticed that many club players wear their knee pads on their shins? I haven’t quite figured that one out because going to one or both knees is essential to expand both players’ range and ball control. Having the knee pads actually protecting the knees might be a good idea? I used to be…
Read MoreNebraska vs. Wisconsin
Along with 18,000 other volleyball fans, I enjoyed watching the Division 1 Women’s National Championship match last Saturday night. I can’t imagine a match where two teams fought harder and gave all the effort they possessed each time the referee blew the whistle. Some fans felt it was the best national championship match in history.…
Read MoreAthletes Need Their Coach
By no means would I consider myself a fan of figure skating. However, I am a fan of any sport that demonstrates athleticism, grace, and dedication to excellence. Recently, I watched a video of 15-year old figure skater Kamila Valieva. She displayed a remarkable skating performance that had the announcers gushing, “I’m speechless,” and established…
Read MoreWhat Volleyball Coaches Can Learn from Steph Curry
In a previous post titled Moneyball vs. Betterball, the idea of using statistics to improve skills instead of solely measuring outcomes is presented. In the post, I pointed out how the University of Virginia used the Noah Tracking System to provide feedback to the players as they worked on their shooting accuracy. A recent WSJ…
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