The Art of Coaching Volleyball

Preparation during the 90 minutes before a game

Championship Performance — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0000

During pre-match preparation (90 minutes prior to competition), one of your goals is to help players achieve the right frame of mind. You want players "psyched up" to meet the physical demands of the game, but also mentally attuned to the complexities of the match. Athletes preparing for a match are under real pressure. As […]

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Zero-rule-drill

Holly Motheral — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Holly Motheral teaches a 4 v 4 warmup drill in this video that rewards teams that don’t let the ball hit the floor without a touch. Play can begin with a coach initiating either a free ball or a down ball. Once the rally starts, teams rotate every time they put a ball over the […]

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Handle the heat, hit the box

The Art of Coaching — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In this drill, introduced by La Jolla Country Day High coach Peter Ogle, players are challenged to pass tough serves to target -- in this case, a box that's positioned where the setter would stand.

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Russ Rose: 5 v 5 drill

Russ Rose — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:27:00 +0000

Russ Rose shares a 5 v 5 drill in this video that emphasizes one-on-one blocking and digging behind a one-person block. On each side, there are two outside hitters, a back-row setter, a libero in left back and a middle back. Hitters are not allowed to tip or hit roll shots. Coaches enter the ball […]

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Half-court volleyball drill

Michael Henchy — Sun, 31 May 2026 07:01:00 +0000

Michael Henchy shares a 4 v 4 drill in this video where hitters can only score on one side of the court. This drill also works as a 3 v 3. Ball entry can be a serve, free ball or down ball. In this video, the drill starts with hitters being restricted to cross-court shots, […]

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Setting deception: Be tricky? Or be consistent?

Christy Johnson Lynch — Wed, 27 May 2026 21:34:00 +0000

Head Coach at Iowa State University, Christy Johnson-Lynch, talks about the mental game of being a setter. The key is to have a neutral stance no matter if you are setting behind to the right side hitter or in front to the outside hitter. The setter's hands should be neutral and above the head before […]

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Ball control digging sequence

Terry Liskevych — Sun, 24 May 2026 10:15:00 +0000

Purpose: To warm up players and increase ball control skills How it works: Players partner up and each pair should have a ball. One player lines up on the 10-foot line with their back to the net (Player 1) while the other player is a few steps up from the end line (Player 2). Players […]

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Drill simulating 6 v 6 with fewer players

Dan Fisher — Thu, 21 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Dan Fisher introduces a drill that allows teams with less than 12 players to simulate 6 v 6 and work on rotations. To demonstrate, Fisher puts six players on one side and represents the other side by himself, throwing balls across the net each time the team hits a ball to the other side. By […]

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Opinion piece: The hardest position in volleyball

The Art of Coaching — Mon, 18 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Grad Assistant Blog

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The impact of positivity on team culture through question-based learning

Keith Lundgren — Fri, 15 May 2026 07:41:00 +0000

When discussing positivity, we want to be clear regarding what we are not talking about. This includes blanket statements about being positive or hype type/feel-good scenarios. World champion Novak Djokovic stated in a “60 Minutes" interview that “the difference between the [people] who are the biggest champions and the ones who are struggling to get […]

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Winning with empathy

Shelton Collier — Tue, 12 May 2026 21:17:22 +0000

All of us coaches want to win more games, have the respect and approval of our players and are hopeful that players will speak well of us when talking to parents or other people about their experiences playing for us. Quite often, coaches will read blogs like this to get drill ideas or game strategies […]

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Basic key terms to know for games

The Art of Coaching — Fri, 08 May 2026 21:25:00 +0000

This video includes descriptions for a few basic key terms that signal different aspects of the game: Free ball: An emergency last contact for the opposing team that's sent over the net and is considered a "freebie" for your team. Free balls are an opportunity for your team to create a kill. Down ball: An […]

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