Education
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…
Read MoreRandom 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…
Read MoreA Former Player Spurs My “Why”
It is distressing when I read how academia is redefining excellence. Admission standards are dropping, failing a class is almost impossible, homework is being deemphasized, and teachers and coaches need more support to do what they were trained to do. As coaches, we often question if the values we encourage and preach will last beyond…
Read MoreDirect Teaching Is A Roadmap for Player Development
“Not only is unguided instruction less effective, but there is also evidence that it may have negative results when students acquire misconceptions or incomplete or disorganized knowledge. Teachers should provide their students with clear, explicit instruction rather than merely assisting students in attempting to discover knowledge themselves.” -Paul Kirschner I’ve had many inspiring mentors during…
Read MoreMy Evolution to Constraint-Led Teaching
Without much effort, I can reflect on my coaching career and create a lengthy list of on-court and off-court mistakes. One of these blunders would manifest daily in how I taught volleyball skills. I was the guy on a box hitting balls at players so they could work on digging skills. Or I was tossing…
Read MoreA Painstaking, But Worthwhile Evaluation Tool
Hall of Fame coach Mike Hebert told me that one of his most valuable tools to develop as a coach was recording video and audio of himself during multiple practices. My first reaction was my fear of what I would see or hear if I tried this self-improvement tactic. I did summon the courage, and…
Read MoreCould the Suzuki Method of Violin Instruction Work in Club Volleyball?
“This method is not education of the violin. It is education by the violin.” — Shinichi Suzuki The late Shinichi Suzuki developed the Suzuki Method of violin instruction that over 400,000 children use worldwide. The goal of Suzuki was not to teach children to be elite violinists. The ultimate goal was to use the learning…
Read MoreThere is Value in Both Internal and External Cues When Teaching
Of the many things that, in retrospect, I wish I had done better in my career is giving more thought to how I provided feedback to players. I knew what behavior I wanted from a player or team, but I was uncertain about transmitting the information in the most impactful fashion. I’m better now because…
Read MoreAssisting the Inexperienced Club Coach
The phrase “heavy is the head that wears the crown” was used by Shakespeare in the play King Henry IV. The gist of the phrase was the King acknowledging the hardships of implementing his never-ending responsibilities. The inexperienced club coach feels a similar weight of being responsible for teaching, planning, and organizing all the activities…
Read MoreJS Consulting Newsletter 5/5/22
New Stuff This Week Quote of the Week – “Our level of improvement often has much less to do with our innate limits than with what we consider an acceptable level of performance.” ~Bill Stainton, 29-time Emmy Award Winner Blog Post This Week: One of the things that drive me crazy is when coaching is the off-speed…
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