Coaching
Teaching Your Players to Throw Correctly
Incorrect throwing mechanics will impact a player’s ability to execute the skills of attacking and serving correctly. The absence of proper form will also impact the athlete’s long-term health by placing undue stress on the shoulder. In my book, A Game Plan for Better Practices, we explore the mechanics of throwing and teaching suggestions. It…
Read MoreOrganize Your Practice for Learning
“You haven’t taught until they have learned” ~John Wooden If you want your players to learn and make it stick, you need to make it harder. By harder, I don’t necessarily need physically more challenging. Many studies indicate that the learning process is more lasting if there are learning challenges that make the process more…
Read MoreWhat Can the High School Coach Take From The Olympics?
Unless there is a galactic championship out there, the Olympics demonstrates volleyball at the highest level. As the Olympics wind down, I find myself bleary-eyed from watching as many matches and events as possible. I have the utmost respect for these athletes that push the edges of their talents. Although these are the best players…
Read MoreKeys for Great Practices!
If you want to play better on game night, you must have productive and efficient training sessions. That’s a “no brainer” statement. The challenge is how to create productive training sessions. I want to provide components of a productive training session that I value. There is no question that there are many practice formats by…
Read MoreOptions When Evaluating Serve Receive
Being proficient in serving and passing is essential to point-scoring opportunities, either directly or indirectly. With an effective serve, I can earn points directly via serve aces or force the opponent out-of-system and into an easily defended attack. At every level, there is a direct correlation between the quality of the pass and the ability…
Read MoreModel Your Coaching After Abe Lincoln!
Jim Collins, the author of the best-selling business book “Good to Great,” was giving a speech on leadership. He offered the following scenario. “I would like you to picture Abraham Lincoln, sitting there at 1:30 in the morning in October 1862, getting the battle reports from Antietam. Seven thousand Americans, North and South, dying in…
Read MoreKeeping the Non-Starters Engaged
All coaches want positive vibes to permeate the team environment. Rarely do these vibes occur by accident. Unfortunately, society sends a strong message that it’s all about the individual, not the team. So, it’s swimming upstream for some players to be supportive and engaged when the spotlight is not on them. A wise coach budgets…
Read MoreTeam Culture, Water Buffaloes, and High Fives
An often asked question is how to create a great team culture. Building culture is one aspect of a program that you need to start with a finish in mind. What values do you want your team to reflect, and how might a coach instill those values? Perhaps the jumping-off point is this video that…
Read MorePlayer Movement and Essential Motor Skills
Volleyball is a game of movement. Players move in order to move again. We aren’t playing darts or chess; we play a sport where six players need to effectively cover 840 square feet and keep the ball from hitting the floor on their half of the net. At times, especially in serve-receive, three players are…
Read MoreWhat Volleyball Coaches Might Learn from Golfer Phil Michelson
Last week 50-year-old Phil Michelson won the PGA Championship, one of golf’s four major tournaments. In the process, he became the oldest golfer in history to win a major. Putting the age aside, Michelson is one of the all-time great golfers. He has won forty-five tournaments in total, including winning six major championships. Going into…
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