Free Ball Wave volleyball drill. Why do we call it that? Well, it’s simple really. Donnie tosses a free ball to the passer (she passes it perfectly because it’s a free ball and those are easy). Then the setter and hitters run the combination plays he calls out. After the hit, the next group/wave steps up. This drill is convenient for transitioning and running plays in a controlled setting.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
1. Have 2 groups of hitters: 1 outside, 1 middle, 1 rightside
2. Before starting the drill, determine 3 different plays and name them 1, 2 and 3 (e.g., Play #1: outside hits a shoot, middle hits a 1 and rightside hits a slide. Plays 2 and 3 should include different sets for all the hitters).
3. Just before throwing in a free ball, call out “1, 2 or 3.” The players are responsible for remembering each call.
4. After one group hits, the next group runs right up to the net (as if preparing to block).
Have an interesting combination play? Feel free to share it in the comments below!
I tell my club and high school volleyball teams all the time, “Nobody wants to put in the time, but the ones that do are the best.”
What am I talking about? Serving and passingvolleyball drills. Over and over and over and over…. There’s not a lot of flash in passing, but it takes reps to make great habits.
This volleyball drill is very simple. But there’s a lot going too. 3 passers on each side, a setter on each side getting reps and servers on each end. Servers have carts full of volleyballs to make sure they can keep serving at a rapid rate. Passers pass to the setter and the setter sets the ball to a location.
We usually switch spots every couple of minutes to help keep it fresh. This is a great volleyball drill that we will usually do the day after a long night of matches to clear our heads and find a good passing rhythm.
I started my own volleyball club this year. I am the club director and a volleyball coach of two of the teams (13 and 15).
Finished tryouts yesterday but we’re still completing our club today (and I definitely lost sleep over it last night).
Since I wasn’t sleeping at all, I started thinking about this tryout process and how stressful it is for a coach. I mean, we all know that tryouts are stressful for the player (check out my beautiful wife’s article on how stand out at a volleyball tryout) but no one ever thinks about what the coach is going through.
Here are several stress buttons (believe me, most volleyball coaches think this):
I only have #_ of spots to fill.
What if no one shows up to tryouts?
The players I already have are not impressive enough to convince a new awesome athlete to join.
I’m a new club that no one’s heard of (no track record, etc).
I want this girl but is she too good for my team? Will she definitely say no? And if she does, who is the backup? How long do I wait before I call my alternate choice?
What if all my first choices say no?
What if this player is awesome but an attitude rears its ugly face halfway through the season and makes me wonder if it’s worth the talent she’s contributing? (been there)
Well, in my opinion, here are a few steps to help you get the best players on your club team.
Publicize your tryouts. Publish your tryout on the regional USAV site, here’s ours.
Organize a couple open gyms to get a pre-look at the players who may be interested in your team. Some super stud may not be able to make it to your tryout, now’s a time to see what she’s got.
Know what position you need to fill before your tryout and focus on those players.
Have a lot of energy at tryouts (I drank a triple espresso before mine).
Explain to the parents and kids what will happen at the tryout and in your club in the next 5-6 months. They must be well-informed. First impressions are everything and if parents are running around trying to figure out what’s going on, they’ll be turned off immediately.
If you see a player you like, let her know you’re interested. Be honest. Tell her (and her parents) your coaching strategy and don’t be afraid to brag a little on your past winning seasons.
Call your top picks immediately after tryouts, or even tell them before they leave the gym. Don’t ever, ever, wait until tomorrow to let a girl know she’s made the team (even an alternate). Of course, sometimes you have to wait and see if Josie Jock chooses you… but if she doesn’t, don’t wait long to call your alternate.
Oh, and, if you make hasty promises to a player at tryouts, you better follow through. If you don’t (and I’m not saying you wouldn’t but…) you and your club will lose credibility. And when that happens, every volleyball parent in the city will know about it.
Well, Donnie decided to turn this into a fun, challenging high school volleyball drill for his team.
In case you forgot the rules, here they are:
1. Four 2-minute rounds of 3 on 3.
2. You can double any ball.
3. You have 3 seconds to get your butt behind the end line and serve.
4. No roll shots if the set is above the net.
Then they end (just like the sand volleyball pros did) with Spike-off.
In Spike-off, stick with 3 on 3. Alternate serving. Team A takes the first one, team B takes the second one, team A takes the third one and so on for 10 total serves. Each serve number = that many points. For example: the first serve=1 point; second serve= 2 points; etc…
What a workout! The girls were breathing pretty heavily after this one. Can your team hang in this lung-buster?
You’ve heard the expression “Any given sunday…” That quote is so true they made it into a movie. And for those of you who don’t know it refers to football – meaning that no matter how good a team is, the game of football creates so much parity that any team can lose or win on any given game day. That’s encouraging right?
But does that apply to Volleyball? Does our favorite sport create the same kind of parity on any and all competitive levels? I will argue yes.
Here’s a high school example (Donnie’s team the other night).
Any given Sunday can explain why a team can end a match with these scores: 23-25, 25-15, 24-26. Donnie’s team was clearly the better team. Better record. More skill. (Better coaching) Scores like these leaves spectators scratching their heads, “So, they barely beat you in the first set and then you annihilate them in the second set… and then, they barely win again in the third?” How does that happen? It’s obvious who the better team is. And yet, they’re not winning every match.
How is this possible? What was Purdue’s secret? Was it the packed house? Was it the coaching? Was it the players? The water?
Let’s ask the coach:
Ok. Let’s ask me:
Purdue is a great team but, I think it may have come down to who wanted it more. Penn State volleyball is a dynasty but ask the coach said Purdue never stopped fighting. They had a lot to fight for and nothing to lose (23 years of losing can get pretty old).
When it comes to volleyball, or any sport for that matter, “any given Sunday” is definitely a true statement. Of course, there are many factors to winning volleyball. Strategy, skill, endurance, knowledge… but when it comes down to it, the team who wants it more will come out on top. As Purdue showed in a historical win over Penn State: Anything can happen.
