Three Ideas Newsletter 4.14.25
Three Ideas Newsletter
A Newsletter by Jim Stone
Hello, everyone! I procrastinated getting this newsletter out because I sat in front of my television watching 5 1/2 hours of the Master’s tournament. Watching Rory McIlroy have a two-stroke lead, then give up the lead, then be in front by four strokes, then behind by one stroke, then missing a four-foot putt to win the tournament, then finally winning on a playoff hole. My emotions went through the wringer. The positive spin is that McIlroy is resilient. As the club season winds down and school is finishing, I’ll take a break from the newsletters beginning in May. That being said, if I can assist you in any manner, don’t hesitate to reach out over the summer months.
As always, if there is any topic that you would like me to explore, feel free to let me know.
Thank you for reading!!
~Jim
Quote for the Week: In a powerful scene in the movie Cool Runnings, the story of the unlikely journey of a Jamaican bobsled team to the Olympics, the team’s coach, played by the late John Candy, observes to one of the team’s stars: “A gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you’re not enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it.”
This Week’s Three Ideas
Idea #1 – Use the Knee Drive to Pass/Defend Low Balls – This video focuses on how to pass the short serve or defend a tip accurately. The primary goal is to maintain the integrity of the passing platform. The body remains relatively upright when playing the ball, with the ankles and knees dropping the hips under the ball. The platform and shoulders direct the ball to the target area. Begin by introducing the skill without a ball to help the players get comfortable with the technique. WATCH THE VIDEO
Idea #2 – Cracking Under Pressure – This article details the journey of world-class skater Amber Glenn. Capable of skating with the best, but Glenn would perform inconsistently at key moments. Developing a reputation for not handling the pressure moments, she attacked the problem in a high-tech manner that proved highly successful. The assumption is often made that poor performance under pressure is a mental block. For Glenn, the impediment was, to a large degree, physical. By focusing on breathing and heart rate while viewing and rehearsing the most challenging aspects of her skating routine, Glenn could perform to her abilities in world competitions. How might this impact volleyball coaches? Prepare your players for pressurized environments by implementing these situations in training. Create drills that require success in a row or plus/minus scoring. Or the obvious is rehearsing the end of set situations where you’re in front and need to close the set out, or coming from behind at the end of a set. Read About Amber Glenn
Idea #3 National Championship Preparation – Here are a few thoughts to consider as the national tournaments approach. 1) You want players to be physically fresh. Consider shorter, high-intensity practice sessions. 2) Work on “Plan B” strategies. Rehearse what you will do if a player is injured, or alternative serve-receive patterns if a player struggles with reception. 3) Work continuously on the consistency of your sideout offense. Consider incorporating offensive wrinkles to adjust your offense to counteract the opponent’s block. In general, worry less about your team’s liabilities, and work a lot on making your team’s strengths even stronger.
The World’s Most Interesting Man?? – Years ago, Dos Equis beer would do commercials on “the world’s most interesting man.” Jonny Kim might be a candidate. At age 41, he has been a Navy Seal, then graduated from Harvard Medical School, and most recently, he took his talents into outer space as a NASA astronaut. Senator Ted Cruz put it aptly, “It’s ridiculous that Kim was already a Navy SEAL and a Harvard-trained doctor. “He can kill you and then bring you back to life,” Cruz said, “and do it all in space.” What caught my eye was his focus on Spaced Repetition as a means to acquire and maintain knowledge. READ ABOUT JONNY KIM
Video of the Week: In this week’s video, we look at the offense used by the Ohio State men’s team to win multiple national championships. Your team may be unable to replicate the entire OSU system. However, you might be able to incorporate some of the concepts (overloading the RF blocker, more hitters than blockers, approach angles by the LS attackers) into your system. VIDEO OSU MEN
Archive Blog Posting— In this archive post, we investigate the science behind visual cues and the limitations of your eyes and brain when processing information. I found this article fascinating and underscores the importance of implementing visual cues into teaching. ARCHIVE POST
I speak at the Art of Coaching clinic in Denver on May 17/18. For registration information, go to AOC-Denver. I’ll be joining Russ Rose, Terry Liskevych, Emily Kohan (CSU), Megan Pendergast (Denver), and Jenny Glenn (Metro State). I hope those in the Rocky Mountain area can attend.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
To join the newsletter mailing list, visit the Jim Stone Consulting Homepage (link below).
~Jim
