Three Ideas Newsletter 4.8.25
A Newsletter by Jim Stone
4/8/25
Hello, everyone! First of all I want to thank those who have joined our newsletter group. The numbers are growing and I hope that the content provided has value to your coaching. I encourage you to forward this email to your colleagues so we can grow the community. The video library is especially popular. I will be adding to that weekly.
As always, if there is any topic that you would like me to explore, feel free to drop a note.
Thank you for reading!!
~Jim
Quote for the Week: “There is no favorable wind for the sailor who doesn’t know where to go” —Seneca
Three Ideas
#1 – University of Wisconsin Blocking Progression – Blocking is the first line of defense in any team defensive system. Although the number of stuff blocks will be few, if you can deflect the attack to a backcourt teammate or channel the attack to a defender, your ability to score from a serve is increased. In this video, the skill is broken down so the players can work on specific aspects of the skill. WATCH THE VIDEO
#2 – Random vs. Blocked Drill Construction – No, this is not another tedious discussion of random drills presenting a better learning environment than blocked drills. Research indicates that random activities are probably more efficient. However, this doesn’t mean that blocked drill activities are meritless. I found this study interesting and might apply to volleyball coaches. The study focused on baseball hitting with players receiving extra practice in random, blocked, and no extra practice groups. The random group received 45 pitches that were either fastballs, curveballs, or change-ups delivered in a random order. The blocked group received 15 consecutive fastballs, then 15 consecutive curveballs, and finally, 15 consecutive change-of-pace pitches. The control group received no contacts outside of the traditional practice time. The random group improved by 56.7%, the blocked group by 24.8%, and the control group by only 6.2%. Some will say the entire study was blocked in nature. I understand that. However, my takeaway from this is that if you have your team in a serve/pass activity, you should try to vary the serve (court locations, spin or float, jump or on the ground, short and deep, etc.). This will help the servers and present random challenges for the passers, which is valuable to their skill development.
#3 Don’t Give Up on Your Small Setter – Especially at the high school and club levels, it is more important to have a good setter, regardless of their height, to run your offense than it is to have a tall setter who might be more of a factor with their block, but lacks the same setting abilities. Of course, having a setter with accuracy, leadership, and the ability to block is ideal, but how many coaches are blessed with that situation? The best collegiate teams in the country will only score 2-3 points per set via the block. Over the long run, a good setter who contributes with setting, defense, and leadership will contribute more to your team than the setter who lacks those ingredients but might block a ball or two per set. Check out this video in the Video Library on how Belarus designed a defense to keep their outstanding, but small setter in the front row. WATCH THE VIDEO
Blog Post – In the most recent blog posting, I looked at using mind maps to assist in practicing organization and focused feedback. Mind maps are an interesting tool that has the potential for involving player input to practice objectives. I encourage coaches to try this learning tool and let me know your thoughts. LINK TO BLOG
Video of the Week: In this week’s feature video, we look at a 7v5 drill that focuses on the outside blockers to block a quick attacker, then pursue the ball to the outside if the set goes to an outside hitter. There isn’t a middle blocker in the drill. The LF and RF blockers work on locating and defending the quick middle attack, then working on blocking footwork to the outside attacker. The emphasis for the blockers is not to guess and be wrong. We’d rather the blocker be late, as opposed to wrong. WATCH THE VIDEO
Archive Blog Posting— In this archive post, we look at the Harada Method of personal growth and development successfully used by Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani in his youth—the Harada Method emphasizes the building blocks of success both on and off the playing field. Without question, this developmental program can be incorporated by athletes or students who are focused on success. 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!
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~Jim
