Planning a Productive Practice

These coaching tips will help you maximize the effectiveness of your valuable team practice time.

The key to player/team improvement is the number of times they contact the ball in a game-related fashion:

Make sure practice is planned to maximize ball contacts
Keep the practice up-tempo. However, remember the John Wooden saying, "be quick but don't hurry".
Avoid long delays in practice explaining drills or providing feedback. Players will lose focus and not get the contacts to improve
Have points of emphasis for individual practices and also within a weekly practice plan. The weekly points of emphasis will assist you in planning daily practices
Make sure your practice expectations are clear and communicated early in the season. Players will adjust to your expectations if you are consistent.

To Win Your Team Must Have a Strength

How to win by focusing your team's vision on its most powerful strength.

It is very difficult with the time constraints we have for your team to be good at every skill.

Early in your season, identify what skill will allow you to win

Communicate that to your players… “we will be successful this season because we are good at____________________

Make sure that you practice your strength every day.

Reinforce to your team during timeouts your strengths and make sure they focus on what they are best at

Backrow Defense

Use these coaching tips to help improve back row defense skills:

The block is your key to court position.
Make sure you are lining up around the block so you can see the hitter and the ball.
Be conscious of posture:
- Knees in front of toes
- Head in front of knees
When the ball is being attacked, make sure feet are on the ground and you are balanced.
Pursue the ball with your feet first, then arms
When contacting the ball:
- Hips are lower than the ball
- Angle hips and arms to middle of the court
On hard attack, your target is the middle of the court. Digging the ball off the net is better than digging the ball back to your opponent.
The attitude of the defender is key. Every ball should be pursued.

Receiving Serves

Use this tip to teach your athletes how to successfully receive serves.

Most servers will serve in the direction they are facing. Do a good job of lining up with the shoulders of the server, watch the speed of the arm to anticipate deep or short serve, make a quick move to where the ball is going.
Move feet quickly, preferably using shuffle steps to keep hips and shoulders facing the ball, stay in a low posture and let the ball drop down to you. Do not stand up to pass.
Contact the ball with your forearms when the ball is located between your hips and knees.
Keep shoulders forward and angle your forearms to target. The passing motion should be very simple. Too many passers have unnecessary motions with arms and body.
After ball leaves forearms, stay conscious of posture, staying low with knees bent.
Good passers will receive at least 100 balls every day in practice.

Doug Beal's Tips For Player Success

Doug Beal, Coach of the 1984 Gold-Medal-winning U.S. Men¬¥s Olympic Team and current CEO of USA Volleyball, outlines his traits a winning volleyball athlete should cultivate:

Respect the other team's athletes.
When you block a ball, turn around and celebrate with your teammates.
Don't play them, play yourself.
If you only play to win, you limit yourself. You can do better! Play every ball as if it was the most important play of the game.
Don't watch the other players to see what they're doing. Don't worry about the score. Play your very best, every play, and the rest will take care of itself.
Celebrating together builds enthusiasm and confidence.
Playing against yourself builds skill and sportsmanship.