Coaching Volleyball
Tryout Planning and Positional Keys
It’s early June, and high school coaches are scheduling open gyms, organizing summer team camps, and planning the fall tryouts. Early summer is a good time for the coach to evaluate the previous season, assess the strengths and challenges ahead, and decide what they want to implement in the upcoming season. Here are a couple of considerations for the summer activities and fall tryouts.
Read MoreAddressing Athlete Burnout
Burnout is a word we are all familiar with. The number of times the word is tossed around, you’d think it would have a definitive meaning. Burnout is a “catch-all” term indicative of other issues that cause unhappiness.
Read MoreBetter Routine = Better Performance
Most habits don’t start as habits; they start as routines. At first glance, these two terms seem interchangeable. However, the difference is quite stark. Both habits and routines are regular and repeated actions, but habits take place with little or no conscious thought. Meanwhile, routines require a higher degree of intention and effort that leads to positive results.
Read MoreYou Need More Than Facts to Change My Mind!
Why are coaches so resistant to experimenting with new methods that might result in a modification of current beliefs? The uncomplicated answer is a lack of knowledge. Lack of knowledge may have merit in a small percentage of cases. However, what I see more often is that coaches are so ingrained in their methods and so comfortable with their practice format that they become resistant to change, regardless of easily accessible and more productive methods being available at their fingertips.
Read MoreMind Map Your Practice For Improved Organization and Learning
Coaches of all levels might consider using mind maps to maximize their potential to focus players and coaches on specific aspects of a practice activity. Mind maps have significant potential to assist in organizing practice activities, involve the players in establishing a cognitive path (or map) for improvement, and provide a greater understanding of the components of quality skill execution and team play.
Read More“Three Ideas” Newsletter
Hello, everyone! Several coaches provided some positive feedback on the video library. I’m glad that the library is providing a resource that is readily accessible. I’ll be putting a video of the week in the newsletter, but you can access the video library at your convenience. On a different note, I enjoy the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments. I relish the possibility of the “Cinderella” team making it to the Final Four. However, no team from a mid-major conference made it to the regionals. Hopefully, this will not be a trend that will include volleyball. However, I have no reason to believe that volleyball can fight this trend.
Read More“Three Ideas” Newsletter
Hello, everyone! I’m changing the newsletter’s format, hopefully streamlining your reading. Each newsletter will have three thoughts for you to consider in your coaching. They will be brief, but hopefully, you will find them interesting and worth trying in your practices. A spoiler alert: I avoid preaching about the “right” way to do things. I prefer to present ideas that you can experiment with in your practices. Lastly, I will be uploading videos that you will be able to access for free. Each newsletter will have a link for the latest upload(s).
Read MoreFostering Player Creativity
Before a player can receive a serve and run a quick set like Ngapeth, there is the ability to have good reception and spiking mechanics. Before Carlini could make a great set while going to the floor, she had developed the floor skills that would expand her range on defense or, in this case, setting. Before the Italian libero executes a bump set to their quick hitter, forearm ball control has been developed.
Read MoreThinking About Feedback
Coaches tend to rely solely on verbal feedback, but one could argue that verbal communication is not the most reliable form of feedback. Words can be easily misconstrued. Experimenting with new feedback methods merely requires the coach to possess an adventurous spirit and a willingness to try new things.
Read MoreHow Journaling Made Me a Better Coach
Much to my detriment, I never kept a journal while coaching collegiately. I mistakenly thought journaling was for nerds or teenagers with loads of angst. Besides, who has the time? The thought of scribbling in a notebook positively impacting my coaching skills was nowhere on my radar. I began to keep a daily journal during my work with the USA U-18 team.
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