US Sports Volleyball: Three Volleyball Drills to Round Out Your Team’s Skills and TOP 20 Craziest Volleyball Attacks by Simeon Nikolov

 

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Three Volleyball Drills to Round Out Your Team’s Skills

• By Grant Young

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There isn’t enough time in the day for volleyball coaches to perfect every aspect of every one of their players’ respective games. 

Each player needs something different in order to improve their specific skillset, and every team will be comprised of different players that will require different coaching methods and techniques. 

And even if a coach has the exact same roster of players for two consecutive seasons (which is all but impossible), those players are going to be different from who they were one season ago, and will therefore also require different coaching.

While this can seem daunting, the reality is that no coach (or player or team) is going to be perfect, and there will always be more for teams to work on. This is why having a few fundamental volleyball drills that are proven to improve and help round out a team’s skillset is all a coach needs to rely on. 

And there are few coaches better to rely on than Michael Kane. 

Coach Kane has been the Dripping Springs High School women’s volleyball head coach for over 26 years. During this time, he has acquired many accolades; most recently winning the 6A state championship (being just the first season Dripping Springs competed in the higher division), which takes his total state titles to six. Coach Kane also holds the title of the winningest coach in DSHS history. With more than 800 high school career wins, this makes Kane one of the winningest coaches in Texas volleyball history. 

Setting Coach Kane apart is the culture he creates with the student-athletes. They feed off Kane’s investment and love of the game; which is proven by the Dripping Springs volleyball program averaging 35% of its players going on to play at the collegiate level.

While Coach Kane surely has access to elite athletes, the way he runs his practices — specifically, the drills he decides to utilize on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis — has contributed to this staggering success. 

This is why his ‘Volleyball Skills and Drills’ course is vital for any volleyball coach who wants to extract the most success out of their players as possible. 

Pass to Yourself, Jumpset to Your Partner

One simple warm-up drill that Coach Kane swears by is what he calls the ‘Pass to Yourself, Jumpset to Your Partner’ drill. 

This drill begins with players getting into groups of two and three. Once they’re in their groups, the player who has the ball will toss it into the air and jumpset it to their partner. The partner receiving the ball will then pass it to themselves by jumping it into the air above them then jumpset it back to the person who started with the ball. 

If there are two people in the group, it can continue this way for some time. And if there are three players in a group, each time a person jumpsuits they will walk to the other side of the line so they’re available when the turn comes back around to them. 

When having players do this drill, Coach Kane suggests adding variations after a few rounds in order to make it more difficult and get players more experience. For example, a coach can instruct their players to face backwards and have to react to the ball as it’s coming at them, or have them face both the left and right side so that they have to execute passes with a left and right shoulder drop. 

As a coach, be sure your players are hitting the ball in the correct position with the proper footwork. While this drill is simple enough, players need to essentially be able to jumpset and pass to perfection if they’re to ascend to the college level.

Dig 10 in Transition

Another great partner drill that Coach Kane swears by is what he calls the ‘Dig 10 in Transition’ drill. 

Just like the last one, the Dig 10 in Transition drill begins with two partners. The partner with the ball will start by tossing the ball nice and high before slapping it down around their partner’s knees or ankles. From there, the partner will dig it back to their initial partner, who will catch the ball. 

The goal here is for the partner to dig the ball from different points and angles so that they’re comfortable doing so in the game. 

The drill’s Transition aspect comes with the player who’s doing the digging beginning the drill by backpedaling, which is their way of simulating getting into position. Because executing a dig in transition is more difficult than doing so while standing stationary, this prepares players to execute their dig when it matters most. 

Double Dig Lateral Movement

A third drill that Coach Kane highly recommends is what he calls the Double Dig Lateral Movement drill. 

This drill is about getting players to shuffle their feet and having their hands at the ready. It will start with two lines on either side of the court, facing the net. The coach will then be tossing balls to the middle constantly, which causes one player to shuffle in, dig, pass, and then shuffle to the baseline while the person in the other line shuffles in. 

After a player does this two or three times, they go to the back of the line so the person behind them can get their reps. 

This drill helps coach players to keep their hands out in front of them at all times, which is going to benefit them in all aspects of the game, and at every level. And if players can get comfortable moving four to five feet laterally while executing a dig, that could make the difference between winning and losing.

US Sports Volleyball: Three Small Group Training Drills to Improve Your Volleyball Team and April Ross The Greatnes Of A Champion

 

Three Small Group Training Drills to Improve Your Volleyball Team

• By Grant Young

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Volleyball stands out as the ultimate team sport due to the high degree of cooperation and communication it demands among teammates. As opposed to individual sports, volleyball's success hinges on the collective efforts of all team members working toward a shared objective. Each player carries a specific role, and the team's triumph relies on everyone effectively fulfilling their responsibilities. Hence why having effective volleyball coaching lessons is so crucial. 

What truly sets volleyball apart as a great team sport is the constant need for communication. Teammates must consistently communicate to coordinate movements, call out plays, and provide support. This level of communication fosters a strong sense of camaraderie and unity among team members, as they rely on each other both on and off the court. 

In addition, the fast-paced and dynamic nature of volleyball necessitates quick decision-making and adaptability, both of which are significantly enhanced by teamwork. Players must be constantly aware of their teammates' positions and movements to make split-second decisions and adjustments during a game. 

Overall, the combination of communication, trust, reliance, quick decision-making, and adaptability makes volleyball the ultimate team sport. It not only promotes physical fitness and skill development but also fosters essential life skills such as working collaboratively, effective communication, and adaptability. 

While this is all true, many volleyball coaches that they get better results during practices when they train in smaller groups, as opposed to the whole team. Ashlie Hain is among them. 

Coach Hain is the Head Women's Volleyball Coach at the University of California Irvine (UCI). Hain, a two-time team captain and setter for the Anteaters, played at UCI from 2001-04 and is still the career leader in assists with 5,698. She returned to UCI after coaching at American River College (ARC), amassing 127 wins in six years there and being voted the Conference Coach of the Year as well as the Northern California Coach of the Year in 2013. 

Coach Hain’s ‘Inside Volleyball Practice Vol. 2 featuring Coach Ashlie Hain’ course covers numerous techniques and drills with an emphasis on high-intensity repetitions within small groups. This video is an excellent resource for volleyball coaches or players at any level of competition.

Bowling Series

One drill that Coach Hain loves employing is what she calls the Bowling Series drill. 

This begins with a group of three players, and is meant to emphasize passing and receiving the ball along the midline. From there, two players will line up on one side of the net while facing a third player, who is standing in front of one of the two players in a ready position. The drill begins with one of the two players underhanding a ball to the lone person, who bumps it back to them before shuffling horizontally in front of the other player, who then underhands the ball they’re holding. 

The player will continue moving back and forth between the two players until they do about six reps, at which point the three players will alternate positions so that a new player is standing alone. 

The next aspect of this series involves each of the two players tossing the ball diagonally for the shuffling player, which will create a unique angle to hit. There are multiple other variations this drill can take, including the two players who are underhanding standing at differing distances, so that the player who’s bumping the ball must shuffle forward and backward instead of laterally. 

The goal for this series of drills is to get the players active and moving while keeping their eyes trained on the volleyball, which will be coming at them from different angles to mimic game-like scenarios. 

Tooling the Block

In volleyball, tooling the block is a volleyball attacking move where a player hits the ball into the block and out of bounds to score a point. It's also known as "block out".

To tool the block, a player hits a weaker part of the block, such as the top where the hands are, so the ball changes direction and is deflected out of reach of the defenders. Because this can be a difficult technique, Coach Hain uses a Tooling the Block drill to help her players improve at it. 

This drill begins with a line of five players on one side of the net, with a coach and a bucket of balls on that same side. Another coach will be on the other side of the net, standing on something with their hands up to mimic a blocker. Then each player will take turns bumping the ball off of the coach’s outstretched hands to replicate what tooling the block will be like. 

In this drill, coaches should be looking to ensure their players are seeing the block and scoring off the block by using a variety of different tips and shots off of it. 

Serving to Different Areas

Developing an effective serve is crucial to scoring points in volleyball. In order to address this, Coach Hain divides the other side of the court up into different segments, splits the group into two lines of three, and has them competing against each other to position their serves at select spots on the court. 

The main goal of this drill is to get players comfortable hitting serves to all areas of the court, and making sure players vary where they’re hitting their shots. Adding the competitive element will make the drill much exciting, and should enhance the drill’s success. Coaches also have the option to add a consequence for the losing team, like doing extra conditioning or having to shag all of the hit balls.

US Sports Volleyball: How to Teach Serving Volleyballs & Full 5th set from Penn State-Creighton in NCAA volleyball regional final

 

How to Teach Serving Volleyballs

• By Grant Young

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Teaching volleyball players how to serve can be a deceptively daunting task. 

Regardless of what level you’re teaching at, there’s a good chance that your players have already picked up poor serving habits and techniques that could cost your team when the games get underway. And if these habits aren’t quelled by a coach, they’re only going to worsen over time. 

Volleyball serving drills are a great way to hone your players’ serving skills. But in order for these drills to make an impact during the game, you need to get crystal clear on how to actually teach your players how to serve the volleyball.

This is why we've compiled a few of the best lessons on serving the internet has to offer. These three courses will give you a great idea of how to develop your volleyball players’ respective serves and help fix any flaws they have accrued on past teams.

And because these courses are taught by elite coaches who have decades of experience under their belts, you can be sure that their teachings have produced innumerable aces. 

Volleyball Serve: Basic Serving Technique

Allison Lebar has enjoyed great success during her tenure as the varsity girls' volleyball coach at Riverdale Country School in New York. She consistently led her program to the New York state tournament and helped many of her players achieve their dreams of playing volleyball at the collegiate level. Her ‘Volleyball Tips & Drills Video Library’ course contains some exceptional tidbits on how to teach the serve effectively. 

Coach Lebar notes that there are three basic elements to the serve. The first is the step, the second is the toss, and the third is the way the server moves their arm. 

When it comes to the step, an important point Coach Lebar makes is that players must take a normal, natural step when serving. Many players have a tendency to over-step when serving, which can cause them to fall off balance and deliver a poor ball. 

During the tossing portion of the serve, it’s crucial that the player toss the ball directly in front of them. Coaches often notice that some players have developed the habit of tossing the ball closer to their serving hand because they think that will make for a better serve. But doing so actually increases the chances the serve won’t be hit clearly. 

And the third portion of the serve is the way the server moves their arm. For this, Coach Lebar suggests that the server bring their arm back behind their head and then extend to the top of their reach to make contact. In addition, the server should not stop their swing at the point of making contact and instead follow through straight in front of her body.

Float Serving

Pat “PP” Powers is considered one of the world’s best volleyball coaches. He spent six seasons as Head Men’s Volleyball coach at the University of Southern California, winning 100 matches and twice coming within one win of the NCAA Volley Four.

But Coach Powers’ playing career is even more impressive. Among his many accolades is winning a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics, along with being only one of three players in the world who has won both an indoor and an outdoor world championship. 

His ‘Volleyball Tips and Techniques’ course includes a good few coaching tips that only someone who has both coached and played at the world-class level could know. 

Among these include how to execute a float serve. A float serve is volleyball’s version of a knuckleball, where the ball is jump-served and moves in unpredictable ways that make it hard for opponents to return it. 

When doing a float serve, Coach Powers notes one should make a concerted effort to not spin the ball at all when serving. The reason for this is that the server should want to take all control off of the ball, thus maximizing its unpredictable movement after it’s struck. 

In addition, Coach Powers notes that the first thing the server should do before executing the float serve is to locate the needle insertion point on the ball, and position that on the other side of where they’re going to hit the ball. The reason for this is that needlepoint weighs more than anything else on the ball, and therefore the ball will move more effectively and unpredictably if this point is positioned away from you. 

When it comes to making contact with the ball during a float serve, rather than hitting it with the fingers that will create spin, Coach Powers suggests the player hit it with the palm of their hand (specifically, in between the two bones right at the beginning of one’s hand) instead.

Serving

2024 was Coach Genny Volpe’s 21st season as the head women’s volleyball coach at Rice University in Texas. Genny Volpe has established the Owl volleyball program as a power in the Southwest, having taken them to eight NCAA tournaments (2004, 2008, 2009, 2018, 2019, spring 2021, fall 2021, 2022), the only eight appearances in Rice's history.

Coach Volpe’s ‘Game Ready! Implementing Game Situation in Daily Practice’ course contains a few excellent tips on teaching serving practice in a way that will help players retain that information. 

One way Coach Volpe does this is by creating game-like serving drills. An example of this is when Coach Volpe divides her roster into two different teams and has them competing against one another with their serves. 

This can be done in multiple different ways. A coach can have their players aim for a specific section on the court, and tally all the times they serve it in that section, a radar gun could be used and the team with the highest average velocity wins, or any other creative way a coach can come up with.

US Sports Volleyball. Can Volleyball And Women's Sports Be Saved?

 

Presented on US Sports by CoachTube.
Featured course:
Youth Volleyball Skills and Drills featuring Coach Julie Torbett
https://tinyurl.com/YouthVolleyballSkills
This informative video presents the essential fundamentals a volleyball player needs to compete successfully. Coach Julie Torbett teaches players key techniques and provides a wide variety of unique drills for practicing and mastering volleyball skills. Among the topics covered are: posture, passing, setting, hitting, blocking, serving and a Five to Five Drill. Each area of the game is taught in a progressive manner that will maximize practice time and player improvement. The techniques and drills in this program have been instrumental in helping to create successful players at all levels! 85 minutes.
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It's not a Republican vs. Democrat issue Warriors Of Light. It's good vs. evil. Can the intrusion of men into women's sports be stopped with the Trump administration? Looks possible as the people and especially women are speaking up and taking action.

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US Sports Volleyball: SJSU Women's Volleyball Busted Boycotts Ensue!

 

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The Complete Exercise Program for the Female Volleyball Player
A variety of exercises that are designed to help physically developed women volleyball players at any level of fitness
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San Jose State STUNNED! Utah State Volleyball BOYCOTTS game over TRANSGENDER player Blaire Fleming!
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US Sports Volleyball Featuring: The Magician of Beach Volleyball | Kristen Nuss

 

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Featured course:
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A variety of exercises that are designed to help physically developed women volleyball players at any level of fitness
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On today's show we visit with an AVP legend in the making and more.
Enjoy.

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The Magician of Beach Volleyball | Kristen Nuss
Kristen Nuss defies a lot of things: The limits of speed, gravity, and how tall a pro beach volleyball athlete should be, for starters. Her indomitable game, sheer athleticism and incorruptible spirit are exactly what the AVP is all about.
With back-to-back 2023 Gold Series wins, Nuss and her partner, Taryn Kloth are dazzling fans and legends, stunning opponents, and proving Nuss is the one to watch for years to come. She’s everywhere the volleyball is going to be.
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US Sports Volleyball: Indoor Volleyball Essentials

 

by Charlene Johnson

Description

The essentials taught here are critical to any serious volleyball athlete. This course teaches the skills and techniques I practiced daily as an NCAA All-American, an Olympian and international professional, and then taught my teams as a coach at Nebraska, as a club coach and with the Junior and Youth National Teams with USA Volleyball. The course covers wall setting, defense, footwork, serving, passing and walking progressions.

The videos are recorded inside a gym where I explain and demonstrate the basic fundamentals and proper technique to execute each skill correctly. I also show through a series of progressions how to advance from basic break down to a more practical practice drill. Throughout this course I show proper techniques and daily practice drills that you can do on your own at home, in a gym with someone else, or in a team practice. Book this course.....

The Coach

Charlene Johnson

Olympian and NCAA Champion Coach

Charlene Johnson Whitted (formerly Johnson-Tagaloa) has built an impressive volleyball resume as an Olympian, NCAA Division I National Champion coach, Youth and Junior National Team Coach with USA Volleyball, international professional player and collegiate 2x All-American. Her accolades include numerous MVP and All-American awards, Hall of Fame Inductee, Gold Medal Winner, and more.

Career Highlights include:

• 2012-13 Junior National Team Coach
• 2010-11 Youth National Team Coach
• 2010 Youth Olympics Coach, Singapore
• 2006 National Champion Coach, Nebraska
• 2006 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee
• 2000 Olympian
• 1999 NORCECA Best Setter Award
• 1999 Bronze Medal, Pan American Games
• 2x AVCA All-American
• 1994 WAC Player of the Year
• 1991 WAC Freshman of the Year
• 2x Junior Olympics MVP

Charlene has spent the past fifteen years, except the years she was coaching at University of Nebraska, as the Director of Volleyball for American College Connection, providing college volleyball recruiting services through her website at www.VolleyballRecruitingCoach.com. She also acts as the instructor of Charlene Johnson Whitted Volleyball Camps, conducting camps all across the country. Her camp schedule and complete bio are available at www.cjwvolleyball.com. 

Book this course today!

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US Sports Volleyball - Play Better Volleyball: Hitting

 Play Better Volleyball Hitting featuring Coach Santiago Restrepo

by sportvideos

Description

This video features Coach Santiago Restrepo and the University of Oklahoma volleyball team. The comprehensive program details numerous techniques and drills to help your players learn and improve their hitting technique. Among the topics covered are: a complete breakdown of proper hitting mechanics, approach drills from a wide variety of different sets, and advanced hitting concepts and drills. A great resource to help advance your hitters to a higher level! Book this course.

The Coach

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Santiago Restrepo has achieved numerous honors as both a player and a coach. As a player, he was an NCAA Division I All-American and has played on the American Volleyball Players Pro Beach Tour. As a coach, he was an assistant at Saint Louis University, and has been the head coach at East Stroudsburg University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the University of Oklahoma. Restrepo led Oklahoma to six NCAA Tournament appearances in a row and five consecutive 20-win seasons from 2009-14, including Sweet 16 national-tournament berths in 2006 and 2010. Restrepo completed his 14th season as University of Oklahoma coach in 2017. He started his tenure at Oklahoma City University in 2018. Book this course today!

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