Jim Stone - Volleyball Solutions

2011-11-30T12:03:00.001-05:00

Volleyball Training Solutions December Newsletter

Coming in December-New Website and Logo for Volleyball Training Solutions

In conjunction with the upcoming VTS website remake, we are introducing a new logo. Along with the new logo, we will be initiating some great new services. These will be detailed on the new site, but in a nutshell, we will:

Streamline the sign up/renewal procedure- You'll never leave the VTS site and there will be more payment options including easier processing of purchase orders.
Interactive Level of Membership- your club or high school staffs will be able to participate in members only VTS webinars that will focus on the items of most importance to your situation. VTS staff will also be available to comment of training sessions, competitions and offer suggestions for improvement.
Private folders for your program on Dartfish TV. VTS will create a private folder just for your team or club. You can upload/download videos of training sessions, past competitions, scout video, etc. This will be accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection. This is will be wonderful communication tool for both coaches and players. As part of this, if desired, the VTS staff can comment and offer suggestions.

Dartfish Analysis-a great learning tool !

Skill analysis for players-Any player will be able to upload video of their skills for analysis. For all skill analysis, we will use Dartfish Analysis Software. The VTS staff will make sure that the players will benefit from a quality analysis with suggestions for improvement. Players will download the video and be able to save on their computers.

So, we are making every effort to provide an increased level of service for both players and coaches. If you have thoughts or suggestions, feel free to pass along to VTS.

AVCA Convention

Stop by the Exhibitors area at the upcoming AVCA Convention and say hello. Our staff would enjoy the opportunity to meet you and talk about how we can serve you better. We will also be taking some video about how you use Volleyball Training Solutions and the positive (I hope) impact it has had with your staff or players.

Also, Front Range Head Coach Jim Miret and I will be presenting at the AVCA convention on Friday12/16 @ 2:30 on "Innovative Training Methods in Volleyball". Stop by and ask some tough questions.

Help us Grow

VTS on Facebook and Twitter- Like and Follow

The next time your on Facebook, go to the VTS page: Facebook-VTS and click the Like button. We want to use Facebook and Twitter: VTS on Twitter as a important tool of communication with members. We all get tons of e-mail, so if we can communicate via these tools, it will help make your inbox less congested.

If you like VTS and can help us grow, all help is appreciated. Word of mouth is the best advertising, so mention us to colleagues, on chat rooms and forward our website to interested parties.

VTS Staff at Clinics and Conventions

If VTS can assist in finding great staff for your state or area coaching clinics, we'd be glad to help out. All the contributing coaches on VTS are obviously very willing to assist in the growth of volleyball. If their schedules allow, I know they will assist you in any way. Just drop a note to the VTS office and we will follow up right away.

Simple Drill to Work on Movement and Posture

This is a very simple drill for younger players that will provide lots of contacts, movement and work on posture. We put cones on the floor to be used as guides for the players to work on movement in specific directions. Keys for the drill; 1) keep head level when moving, 2) just shuffle step to the ball, 3) work on platform management with a focus on angle the platform to the target.

As always, pass on your thoughts and suggestions.

Wishing everyone a great holiday season.

~jim

Jim Stone
www.volleyballsolutions.com

Front Range Volleyball Club Implementing Dartfish TV into Staff/Player Development

2011-11-08T15:20:00.000-05:00

Volleyball Training Solutions and Dartfish TV will be a major focus of staff and athlete development in the upcoming year. With the use of tools offered in both Dartfish TV and Dartfish "EasyTag", the ability to share video information will be at the fingertips of coaches, players and parents within the Front Range program.

For Coaches

Every team within the Front Range club will have a folder on VTS-Dartfish TV that is accessible by both coaches and players. The coaches, using "Easy Tag" will be able to mark video events within practices and competition. The "tagged" video will be uploaded to the team folder for viewing by players either at the practice facility or at home. This will allow timely feedback for players on recent practices or tournaments. Also in the video folders will be "model" video so players can have a visual of the desired skill being performed.
There will be a coaches video folder that Front Range Head Coach, Jim Miret, can place video of drills, skill keys, or points of emphasis for staff coaches to view and implement into their training sessions. This will allow Front Range coaches to be consistent within the club as to teaching skills and planning practices.

For Players

Testing Leg Strength

Front Range physical therapist, Djimmer Bosman, will video athletes during physical screens. These screens are performed to identify potential physical issues with athletes. The video is placed into a player folder to show the athlete the video of the screen, along with video of rehab exercises that can be done at home. The parents of the players will be part of this so they know the exercises to be done by the athlete.
Players will have skill video uploaded to VTS-Dartfish TV and using Dartfish software, will have their skills analyzed with drawings, voice overs and suggestions for skill development.
Players will be able to download video from matches and training sessions to their personal computers to develop their own video library.

For Club Directors

Jim Miret- Front Range Head Coach

The challenge for all club directors is to create a communication tool so all coaches on their staff are constantly developing their coaching skills. Dartfish TV allows for the easy distribution of video teaching keys that staff members can access from anywhere. In the Front Range program this is being used for practice organization, teaching cues, sport psychology presentations by staff member, Tim Engels, physical training concepts by Billy Gilsan and video feedback of training sessions.

So many clubs have multiple teams and training sites. To monitor the progress of coaches and athletes is a never ending challenge for club directors. Using the Volleyball Training Solutions site on Dartfish TV is a wonderful tool for club directors to disseminate video information and feedback to both athletes and coaches.

2011-10-28T17:54:00.001-04:00

Volleyball Training Solutions Update

Visit to Kansas State

Suzie Fritz

I had a great visit to Kansas State to watch a training session as they prepared for their upcoming match with Missouri (which they won in five sets). Head coach Suzie Fritz and her staff, Jeff Hulsmeyer and Jeff Grove were wonderful hosts. I thought the practice was very productive and the players were engaged. The emphasis upon statistical evaluation of performance within the practice, as well as coming into practice was extensive. The coaches, based upon statistics, focused upon transition attack and defending against specific sets. During drills the statistical performance of the team during that drill was provided with the appropriate feedback.

There are two specific items that I will relay that were good ideas for all coaches. Jeff Grove indicated that in every drill, there were three items to be considered 1) how to score or evaluate the drill, 2) how the ball is entered (serve, toss, etc.), 3) the focus of the feedback. Jeff indicated if the focus of the drill was hitting, for example, they probably wouldn't give a lot of feedback on defense.

The other item that I thought was nice was that in advance of practice a player would write down what she was going to work on that day. A teammate would then volunteer to help her in that effort. The thought was that if players are working to both improve themselves and a teammate, the training really becomes a team effort.

Dartfish TV for I-Pad Coming Soon

VTS members have expressed a desire to be able to view videos on Dartfish TV via their I-pads. Many coaches would like to take their I-Pads to practice so players can view from the VTS libary on Dartfish TV the drills or skill keys that might be of emphasis on a particular day. This will be happening soon as Dartfish TV is in the advanced testing stage of allowing the viewing of Dartfish TV via various mobile units.

In advance of that, if there are favorite videos in the VTS library that you would like to view on an I-pad, let me know. I will need to re-upload the desired videos in a different format to allow viewing on your I-pad.

New Volleyball Training Solutions Website Coming

I conjunction with some of the new offerings for VTS, we have a new website being developed. Along with providing more information on new services being offered, the new site will make registering for VTS services a lot easier. Hopefully, this will be complete by December.

Interesting Article

Although this is a business related article I read recently in the Wall Street Journal, might there be some crossover to athletic teams?? Bad Apples

2011-10-22T22:48:00.001-04:00

St. Louis vs. Dayton - "In the Game"

Kent Miller-St. Louis

Kelly Sheffield-Dayton

A couple of successful coaches joined with VTS to create a great in-match coaching clinic. Kelly Sheffield, Head Coach at Dayton and Kent Miller, Head Coach at St. Louis, agreed to wear microphones to allow VTS members to listen in on in match strategies, insights, adjustments and, of course, some frustrations with referees.

Link to a portion of the video:

Link: Dartfish TV Link

We created two videos. One that focused on St. Louis and one that focused on Dayton. Every attempt was made to provide sufficient match footage to provide the viewer with a flavor of the match. It was a very entertaining match to watch. Both teams played great defense and all the sets were competitive. Dayton won the match 3-1.

A special tip of the hat to these coaches. To be willing to open their huddles to viewers takes a special attitude. Both coaches have a strong desire to assist in the development of coaches at all levels. I've attached e-mails for both. If you can take a moment and drop both a note, it would be a nice touch.

Kent Miller: kmille89@slu.edu

Kelly Sheffield: kelly.sheffield@notes.udayton.edu

New Website, New Membership Levels Coming

The saying "Change is good, you go first" has merit sometimes. The VTS membership has grown every year and we wanted to do a couple more things to meet the needs of the members. First, we wanted take advantage of some the Dartfish technology which is fairly awesome and will impact the learning curve of your coaches and players. Second, we wanted to create a way to interact more with coaches to meet the needs of their staff and players. So, we will be offering a membership level to facilitate more interaction with members. Video upload, download, club or staff webinars, more emphasis on skill analysis for players, etc. Hopefully, we can get this going and on the website by November. The basic service will stay the same, but a lot more options to offer coaches at every level.

Good VTS Karma

Kevin Hambly

VTS contributor, Kevin Hambly has the Illinois team undefeated and ranked #1 going into this weekend's match against Nebraska. Kevin has always been very supportive of VTS and we hope the season finishes strong for the Illini.

2011-10-15T12:09:00.003-04:00

VTS Goes Interactive

The response to the VTS video library has been wonderful. Our mission is to provide a wide variety of quality instructional videos to all levels of coaches. I feel strongly there is not a singular coaching methodology that will guarantees success. By design, VTS will present a variety of coaching methods from highly successful coaches. Sometimes a particular phrasing or a way to operate a drill makes sense to players or coaches. I know I've learned a lot in my travels to various training sessions around the country.


A Scout Report your Players Can Access from Home

We are going to take a new step in our coaching education program. We want to build on the video resource aspect of our service and now add the ability for coaches to interact with VTS staff. There are several ways for this to take place.

We will have a new interactive membership level that includes the current video library, along with member only webinars, personal interaction with VTS staff to focus on specific interests and challenges within a team or program. This might include personal correspondence, via phone, e-mail or Internet conferences. I'm excited to move forward in this program to meet the specific needs of the members.

Other items that are being offered is the ability to create private team folders. This would allow the upload and download of video for viewing by your players. This might include video from a practice, a match or a scout video.

One possible use of this option is to use the wonderful Dartfish Easy Tag software (free download) to create edited match or practice video.

Here how this might work: a coach will video their match. During the match, the coaching staff "tags" the match with Easy Tag. The "tags" are e-mailed to VTS, the video file is uploaded to the team folder on Dartfish TV, then the VTS staff will sync the tags and video and place the edited video into your folder for viewing or download. So, this will be a easy way to create scout tapes, rotation or skill video for your players.

For additional information about Dartfish Easy Tag, go to: YouTube- Dartfish Easy Tag

There are so many ways to use video to take your team to a higher level both with skill development and general volleyball knowledge. Give the VTS office a call and we can talk about how to best meet your needs. The new interactive level will be ready to go by December (were working on the website now).

Might this be a Reflection of Volleyball Coaches?

Walking Lock Step

The recent sad death of Steve Jobs brought out the first Apple commercial in conjunction with the Super Bowl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8

The lock step approach by the characters might resemble volleyball coaches. Do we all need to pass with three passers, attack only certain areas of the net, pass to the same area, and on and on. I would encourage you to embrace the creative process, try new things and challenge your players to go to a higher level.

2011-10-03T18:20:00.001-04:00

Observations from the Road

I've just returned from a 10 day road trip that allowed me to visit some highly successful programs. I always find these opportunities to visit other coaches in action both exciting and fun. So often I will see or hear things that I definitely put into my coaching routine. I also am so happy there are successful coaches "out there" that want the game to improve and are willing to share their knowledge.

I was at the University of Illinois, the current AVCA #1 team in the country. Also, six time Indiana state champion, Indianapolis Cathedral and NCAA Men's Champion, Ohio State University. I mixed in 2010 NCAA tournament teams Indiana and Dayton. As I visited the training sessions of these successful teams one theme was common to all. That theme was the focus on detail in every aspect of the training sessions. All these coaches have an eye for detail, organized to the minute practice plans, focus on the part of coaches and players to every aspect of every repetition during training. The coaches know exactly what they want from every drill and provide quality feedback for both team and individual performances. They are also very aware of and attempt to influence the "atmosphere" in the training sessions. There is a difference between implementing a drill and really understanding what is necessary for the drill to accomplish desired goals. These coaches really understand the nuances of a drill or a skill that take on importance at the higher levels of play.

Jean Kesterson

Coach Jean Kesterson, from Indianapolis Cathedral, ran all drills by the scoreboard clock. Again, a high level of emphasis placed on serving with hoops placed on the floor in the target areas of the day. Lots of drills were organized with the number of successful contacts. Upon completion of the drill, players would touch the team/school logo and yell "I'm a winner". Coach Kesterson explained that not all young players feel that they are winners and she is making the attempt to reinforce an important attitude. Also, with every successful serve to target, players would yell "Irish" (school mascot).

Coach Hambly was very focused on serve and pass. I have never seen a team serve as many balls during a training session. The serve reps took place in small increments periodically during practice. But, if you total the number of serve attempts for the entire session, it would be a significant number. He also placed a high priority on video feedback during practice. Players would go back and forth from the video station back to the drill with keys to focus upon.

Coach Sean Byron, fromt the OSU men's staff, did a wonderful presentation on blocking. It is very obvious that the OSU men focus on every detail of the skill. The blocking video that I was able to gather is valuable for coaches of every level.

Indiana Coach Sherry Dunbar ran a great practice in Bloomington. Great attention to blocking footwork and execution. All the middle blockers went through countless repetitions of moving from the middle to the outside. This combined with lots of focus hand movement above the net was a valuable session for the middles. From my perspective, blocking is always the last thing that young players learn. With the focus that Sherry is placing upon the skill, I have no doubt that Indiana will bring this group of young athletes along very quickly.

Dayton v St. Louis- VTS lets you listen in!!

It was an interesting experiment when Dayton played St. Louis last Friday. Both Coach Sheffield from Dayton and Coach Miller from Dayton agreed to wear a wireless microphone during the match. It was a well played match and both coaches were impressive relative to the information they were giving to their team. Lots of keys that provided important information to their players.

Videos from the above training/competition sessions, as well as training video from Ohio University, West Virginia, Cleveland State and the Ball State Men will be on the VTS site in the upcoming days.

2011-09-24T20:52:00.004-04:00

Volleyball Training Solutions October Newsletter

Club Mentoring

We will be sending out information in the upcoming weeks about a new level of service designed primarily for clubs, however, there is also a potential use for high school programs as well.

So many clubs are in a situation of having a majority of their coaching staff being relatively inexperienced in designing, implementing and evaluating practice sessions. In addition to this, there is some inexperience in developing team systems, organizing a line up and game management. Club directors and lead coaches are often too busy handling administrative responsibilities to address this situation in a manner that allows for the coaching development of their staff. VTS will offer to assist in this important aspect of operating a club. This mentoring program will offer:

Access to the VTS video library (presently over 220 videos from top coaches) for all your club coaching staff
Webinars designed specifically for your club staff addressing the needs within your staff. These would cover topics that are suggested by the club coaching staff.
The ability to upload video for comment and exchange of ideas by VTS staff and your club coaches
Access to VTS staff to answer questions and serve as mentor to club coaching staffs

This should be an exciting addition to the VTS lineup of services. More information will be out soon regarding the "Club Mentor" program.

Support VTS Staff

I cannot encourage you enough to support the contributing coaches on the VTS staff. All are allowing me to include them in the site without compensation. Their sole focus is to provide you with the best volleyball instruction. So, if you can catch one of their matches, attend a camp or clinic, or drop a note to say thanks, it would be appreciated. I'll be sending out e-mail addresses of staff coaches. Feel free to drop a note.

AVCA Convention

Jim Miret and I will be at the AVCA convention in December presenting "Innovative Methods of Coaching Volleyball". I hope that if you're attending the convention you'll stop by and give a listen. Both Jim and I feel the development of a team is based on the mastery of the fundamental skill development. We will explore how to organize training sessions to maximize use of time, repeat skills as much as possible, put players into situations that mandate point management and creativity. This will be a classroom session that will afford a lot of interaction.

Men's and Boy's Volleyball

Pete Hanson-Ohio State

VTS is making a concerted effort to place more instructional video designed for the coaches of boy's programs. I've attended recent training sessions for both the Ball State and Ohio State men's programs. Just as in girls volleyball, there are good male athletes everywhere. If we can channel these athletes into quality boy's volleyball programs, our sport will continue to grow. We want encourage all the clubs "out there" to consider offering programs that will encourage the development of boy's volleyball in your area.

Midwest Trip

In my current venture throughout the midwest, I am happy to be visiting some new gyms. I'll be in Bloomington to visit Indiana's Sherry Dunbar next week. Will also be visiting Ryan Theis at Ohio University, Jill Kramer at West Virginia and Chuck Voss at Cleveland State. All have been very successful in developing very competitive programs. Also in the lineup is Jean Kesterson, highly successful high school coach at Indianapolis Cathedral High School

The Use of Video in Training Sessions

The importance of video to assist in the learning process cannot be understated. This short video shows how #3 ranked University of Illinois organizes their drills to incorporate video into their training sessions. I would also encourage the use of Dartfish TV to allow players to access training video or scouting video outside the practice sessions.

Facebook/Twitter Updates

Stay up to date with VTS activities and offerings via Facebook and Twitter. Become a fan or a follower at the following links:

Facebook: Facebook: Volleyball Training Solutions
Twitter: Search VTS_Jim

This is where notices of updated newsletters, recent video additions, new programs, etc., will be announced.

Fall 2011 Volleyball Training Solutions Update

2011-09-09T15:12:00.002-04:00

Fall 2011Volleyball Training Solutions Update

Kevin Hambly-Illinos

Upcoming Midwest Trip

At the tail end of September, I'll be doing a swing through the midwest states. Tentatively, we will be visiting the training sessions of University of Illinois with Kevin Hambly, Indiana University with Sherry Dunbar, Ohio State University Men's Team with Sean Byron and Ball State University Men's Coach Joel Walton. There will be several more programs that we will work into the schedule.

Kelly Sheffield Plugged

Kelly Sheffield- Dayton

We will be trying something new this weekend as we have University of Dayton coach Kelly Sheffield wear a wireless microphone during his match with the University of Michigan. It will give VTS member coaches an insight into how a very successful coach implements match strategy into timeouts and between points. I'm looking forward to this project. A huge note of appreciation to Kelly in being so willing to being a part of coaching education in our country.

Dartfish TV and the I-Pad

Dartish TV will soon be viewable via the Apple I-Pad and I-Phone. This is presently being given a test run with the World Taekwondo Federation. See: Link: Dartfish TV & I-Pod

Upon implementation, this will provide access to all the wonderful tools offered by Dartfish software to those coaches using the I-Pad or I-Phone in their daily routine.

VTS Mentoring for Club

This fall, we will be initiating a club mentoring program for the clubs around the country. One of the challenges for club directors is to maintain the quality of coaching throughout the club. Many times it is easy to get experienced coaches for the top teams, but the experience fades throughout the club. In an effort to provide coaching information for all club members, we will offer club specific coaching information. This will include access to VTS video, webinars for coaches, individual tutoring for coaches and possible coaching clinics at the club. The prices structure is still being developed and will be announced later in the fall. Our plan is to have top coaches around the country to serve as mentor coaches for interested clubs.

Player Development- A Different Perspective

Every country has a different system for player development. National federations have a wide variety of priorities and philosophies. I have had the good fortune to attend the last two Youth World Championships and carry on extended discussions with coaches from other countries relative to their system of player development. Without going into detail, suffice to say that most countries provide an environment that reflects a huge priority on developing their most talented players. As an example, Turkey, which won the most recent championship, has had their team together for the last four years, with the goal of winning the European and World Championship. They were successful on both fronts. Being the best in the world takes a level of commitment that is significant. However, with commitment comes success.

Good VTS Karma

Quite a few programs that have video on the VTS website are off to a great start this fall. In the most recent AVCA Division 1, the following VTS teams are represented in the top 25 teams nationally: Illinois, Dayton, Penn State, Michigan, Purdue, Minnesota, Oregon, Iowa State and Ohio State. Receiving votes were: Michigan State, Central Florida, Notre Dame and Cincinnati. We wish all the VTS programs good karma as the season progresses.

September Update

2011-08-24T18:12:00.000-04:00

FIVB Youth World Championships

Molly McCage-USA

Just returned from Ankara, Turkey and the Youth World Championships. Some general observations:

Wonderful organization. Travel, logistics, hotel, playing facilities were excellent. You can tell the Turkish fans love volleyball. They have a women's professional league that is one of the best in the world. Signs promoting the event were all over the city.
Level of play was excellent. Different styles of play from the various countries. The Serbs were very tall and played a very simple game. Serve was tough, big block, very strong attackers. China a lot quicker, but still very strong attack. Turkey combined all the above. All the countries had excellent libero play.
The top teams have all placed a major emphasis on results. Turkey, the gold medal winner, identified players four years ago to compete for a championship. The players trained together in the same club and competed in many international events. Poland has their players together year around as they play on the same club and attend the same high school. China had trained together since April. Success doesn't happen in a vacuum. All the top teams have a very organized development program at the youth level.

http://usavolleyball.org/news/2011/08/21..../44274?ngb_id=2

http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/compet....660&Language=en

The final was a wonderful environment. About 8,000 fans, lots of flags, noisemakers, enthusiasm.
Our team was composed of wonderful players and people. The players worked hard, learned a lot and were a lot of fun to be around. They are capable of competing at this level, just a little more international experience is needed. Our block, pass and defense were very strong. Serve and attack were a notch below the top teams. We had the "pool of death" with both Serbia and China in our first pool. Although we competed well, to play those teams so early in the tournament proved to be a bit much. We finished with five consecutive 3-0 victories to finish 9th.
What was learned by the players? The speed of the game with the better teams takes some adjustment. The velocity put on the ball when serving and attacking was something that the players just don't see in this country. The other thing not normally seen is how high above the net the game is played. Both Serbia and China hit over the top of our block quite often. Not that our block was small, just these teams had a very high contact point.

On a side note, I've never seen traffic or driving like I saw in Ankara. The traffic lane markings were just a suggestion which everyone ignored. The amazing thing it works for them. No accidents, but you better bring your "A" game. Driving a car is a very aggressive sport in Turkey.

VTS Fall Video

I'll be leaving soon for fall video updates within the VTS site. I have a good idea on the college programs I want to visit. However, if there are suggestions for good high school coaches that we can feature please let me know. I'll do my best to make it happen.

Video as a Learning Tool

Of course, since I operate a website dedicated to bringing video to the instructional process, I have a fairly strong opinion as to the importance of providing a visual model to expedite the learning process. This is one of the items that I wish I had used more during my own collegiate career. In the attached video, Jim Moore, successful coach at the University of Oregon, shows the importance he places on having video involved in all his training sessions. Of course, the setup that Jim has in his practice gym is not possible in a lot of facilities or programs. However, the fact that he will have each training session available for coach and player review demonstrates the importance he places on video instruction.

Skill Analysis

Members of Volleyball Training Solutions can send some video of their players to have their skills reviewed and analyzed by Dartfish software. This can be an excellent tool for the players to improve their skills. We want VTS to be a tool that can impact the teaching of the sport in this country.

A Book Recommendation

I read an interesting book that has some potential to impact how you might train your players physically. The book is: "The Last Nine Innings" by Charles Euchner. Amazon Link: Amazon Link

This book is an analysis of baseball in a very interesting writing style. One of the parts I particularly enjoyed is the explanation as to how Steve Findley, center fielder for the Diamondbacks goes about his physical training program. The focus on core strength, flexibility and quickness over lifting weights. Something to consider for volleyball. The last I knew core strength, flexibility and quickness were ok attributes for our sport.

I hope all the coaches "out there" have very successful seasons. Feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance in any way.

~Jim Stone

FIVB Youth World Championships

2011-08-08T22:21:00.001-04:00

Leaving for Turkey in a few hours for the Youth World Championships. We've been training in Lake Placid for the last few days, which, by the way, is a beautiful spot. The difference between the USA girls and the rest of the world, is we train for this competition for a few days, the other countries train for a few months. We open against Puerto Rico on Friday. Yes, we arrive on Wednesday and play on Friday (yikes). Then play Serbia who is very good and China, also very good. We have a wonderful group of athletes who have made significant progress in a very short time. Updates will follow.

~Jim Stone

Volleyball Training Solutions July Update

2011-07-12T22:22:00.001-04:00

Volleyball Training Solutions July Update

Rachel Holloway Freemyer Talks Setting

It was a joy to do some video work with Rachel Holloway Freemyer, former All American setter from the University of Nebraska. Rachel was at the Front Range club to begin her preparations for her first professional season this fall in Holland. On the VTS site, Rachel and Jim Miret demonstrate some advanced setting moves and some drills to work on these moves. Also, Rachel talks about her setting decisions and technique in live situations. This is something we haven't done before and it came out great. A brief clip of the interview with Rachel and Jim Miret can be found below.

Video Schedule for July/August

I'll be pretty busy with the Youth World Championship preparation and tournament from July 20-August 22. The team will begin preparation in Tucson on July 20, proceed to Lake Placid on July 29th, then off to Ankara, Turkey for the World Championships from August 12-22. The first pool will be challenging with Serbia, China and Puerto Rico as the competition.

Follow the results at:

http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/competitions/Youth/Women/2011/

Upon return, the normal flow of upload will resume. I will be taking a lap around the country in the fall which I am looking forward to a lot. Hopefully, I can catch some VTS teams in action.

Recommending Good Coaches

If there are top flight high school coaches that would make positive video contributions to the site, feel free to recommend them. I know there are excellent coaches at all levels and I'd like to provide visibility to top coaches of younger players.

Observations from Atlanta and the Junior Olympics

I must be allergic to the ATL. Once again, Big South in April was the first, I leave with some disease. Perhaps it's mental? Anyway, a couple random observations in no particular order of importance:

Level of play was ok, good athletes for sure, but not great skill, very average defense. The outside hitters were very good. Hopefully, these players can be six rotation players in college?
The court set up makes quality serving impossible. The courts are waaaay to small. The athletes, especially in the older age groups need more room behind the courts.
The format makes consistent play challenging. Too many matches, players going from scoring responsibilities to playing inside of ten minutes. Barely enough time for a bathroom break.The fact that players are used to this format doesn't make it right.

Coaches Clinics

If VTS can assist in staffing state or local clinics, let us know. Our staff contains some of the best coaches in the country and we will be happy to assist if schedules allow. Contact the VTS office if you have ideas.

Good Luck in the Fall

My wish for a fun and relaxing summer and good fortune in the fall. Please contact us if you want to kick around ideas about your team. We'll help in any way.

VTS Summer Newsletter Update

2011-06-14T20:06:00.000-04:00

VTS Schedule in the Upcoming Months

Terry Liskevych-Oregon St.

We will be uploading some final video from a recent trip to Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State and Minnesota in the upcoming days. Then it will be a fairly hectic summer. I'll be at the AAU's and JO's with my Front Range 16's. Feel free to stop by court 9,418 to say hello. Then I'll be coaching the Youth National Team at the World Championships that will take up five weeks in July/August. At that point, I'm shooting for a lap around the country, stopping at VTS member schools as well as top collegiate and high school programs to add to our video library. I'm certainly hoping for the gas prices to drop for at least the month of September. If you are a VTS member and have an interest in having the VTS entourage (me) drop by your campus or school, let me know. We will try to work in a visit.

Team Folders

We are initiating "Team Folders" for programs this fall. These folders will allow you to upload video for your team or coaching staff, provide your team and/or staff access with user name and password, and they will be able to view the video in your folder from their homes or dorm rooms. They will also be able to comment, point out key positions, etc. We can also provide video that demonstrates systems and skills for your staff. Since every program has different needs, give the VTS office a call and we can talk about your needs and how we might assist.

Rachel Holloway Freemyer

Rachel Holloway Freemyer Talks Setting

Former All American setter at Nebraska, Rachel Holloway Freemyer, spent a few days at the Front Range facility this week. Fortunately we were able to grab her to do some instructional setting video and do a voice analysis of some of her setting moves. I hope to get this up on the site in a few days. Just watching Rachel set was a joy. Great setting mechanics and athleticism. One of the things that Rachel spoke about was the amount of time and repetitions that is needed to become an elite setter. This is where the NCAA rules that restrict the time that players can spend with a coach outside the season really impacts the level of play. The repetitions that are missed are, indeed, significant.

Nice David Brooks Article

The author and commentator for the New York Times wrote a very interesting article relating to what messages we send young people as they graduate and move on with their lives. Check in out at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/opinion/31brooks.html?ref=davidbrooks

Referral Program

VTS is initiating a referral program for members. If a new member joins VTS and drops me an e-mail indicating that a specific VTS member referred them to the site and fostered the membership sign-up, the referring member will receive a $25 discount on the cost of a renewal. This will hold true for every referral, with a cap at the cost of an membership. So, ten referrals will result in a Silver Membership for free for the referring member. This program will begin immediately.

Youth National Team Tryouts

We had 25 players in Colorado Springs two weekends ago for a YNT tryout. Our goal was to select 12 players, plus alternates, to attend the World Championships in Turkey this summer. One of the interesting by products of the tryout was the sentiment of the players that they enjoyed the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in this age group in the country. As coaches, we saw players visibly improve in just a weekend, primarily due to the fact that they were forced to improve by the competition. One can hope that a program can be established that this type of competitive environment can take place more often than once a year. There is no question that the players would be the beneficiaries of such a development program.

On a different note, the USA is in a pool with Serbia, China and Puerto Rico. The Serbs took a silver medal two years ago at the World Championships. The teams from China and Puerto Rico are always good, so there will be definite challenges. For more information, go to: http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/competitions/Youth/Women/2011/index.asp

Volleyball Training Solutions Newsletter- May 2011

2011-05-08T14:27:00.004-04:00

Volleyball Training Solutions on Dartfish Webinar

On Tuesday, May 17 at 12:00 EST, I will be part of the Dartfish TV webinar to show how the VTS site was develop and our plans for the future. Dartfish software, along with Dartfish TV, are setting the bar very high for the skill development and communication tools available for coaches. With VTS there are so many exciting things that are designed to make the lives of coaches more productive. Along with the coaching education component, VTS is expanding into personal consulting for high school and collegiate coaches. Also, a program for club directors to assist the coaching education process within a club.

To register for the webinar, go to: http://www.dartfish.com/en/media-gallery/events/jim-stone-of-volleyball-training-solutions-presents-his-use-of-dartfish-17-05-2011.htm

The Role of Video in the Learning Process

In my last few years of coaching at Ohio State, the OSU diving coach, Vince Panzano, exposed my to Dartfish skill analysis software. I was so impressed with how a coach could use the analysis options to assist with the skill acquisition process. After going through my own learning curve with the software, I began to use the software with my volleyball athletes. On a daily basis, I was seeing "the light bulb" go on with the players. I had been using verbal instruction as the primary feedback. However, the with so many players, the "wires weren't connecting". All of a sudden, when they began to view their skills on the same screen with "model" athletes, they could see and compare. Skills began to change when the "saw" rather than "heard" the instructional keys. I became sold on the role of video analysis and feedback when teaching skills and systems. All of this came to mind when I was at the University of Oregon last week and saw the setup that is available to athletes relative to video feedback. Attached is a video with Jim explaining his setup. Very impressive. However, you don't have to do the exact same thing, but the use of video for skill modification is vital and I'd encourage coaches to prioritize this aspect of the coaching process.

Referral Program

Beginning this summer, VTS will initiate a referral program where current members that are the motivator for another coach to enroll will receive a cash rebate. We want to grow the site and if we can reward VTS members for assisting in that goal, it is all good. I will get more on this program out in June.

Training Video

I am a great believer of providing variety to the training process. One can make significant accomplishments in the physical development of players with a variety of activities. I think sports such as badminton and tennis, which involve hand-eye coordination and throwing mechanics are extremely beneficial and break the strictly volleyball routine. Attached is a tennis training video with Ana Ivanovic that contains activities that you might incorporate into your daily activities.

Coaching on a Bad Day

Haven't we all felt like this on during practice?? Rest in peace Sam Kinison.

Volleyball Training Solutions Update

2011-04-25T17:01:00.006-04:00

Closing in on 100,000 Views on VTS

I am so pleased that VTS is closing in on 100,000 views for the site. Those aren't quite Google numbers, but I'm happy that we are filling a niche in the world of volleyball education. Take a moment to do two things: First, a note of thanks to the contributors to the site. All have donated their time to provide a resource for coaches. Second, spread the word about the site. Chat rooms, clinics, conversations, etc. To continue to provide the service, we need to continue to grow.

For more information go to: www.volleyballsolutions.com

Notifications of Updates and Special Events

All notifications of updates will now be communicated via Twitter or Facebook. I'm happy that there is significant interest in what VTS is doing, but it is making e-mail notification problematic.

To be a Facebook fan, go to: Link: VTS Facebook

VTS can be found on Twitter by going to: VTS_Jim

VTS Hits the Road

John Shondell-Purdue

In an effort to get some video from top collegiate programs before they shut it down for the academic year, VTS was in Minneapolis to visit the new staff at the University of Minnesota, then Ball State to visit AVCA Hall of Fame coach, Steve Shondell, then on to Columbus to catch Pete Hanson and the Ohio State Buckeyes as they prepare for the NCAA tournament. Also on the tour was Penn State where Dennis Hohenshelt did a blocking demonstration and Purdue University where both Dave and John Shondell gave some great insights on passing and setting. Mixed in with these top collegiate programs was a top club coach in Brian Begor from the Renaissance club in Pittsburgh.

Why are Programs Successful

In the travels of VTS, we have came across many coaching styles and philosphies. One of the basic tenents of VTS is there is no singular method of teaching the game to athletes. A coach needs to develop their style based upon their experiences, the level of athletes, the best scientific information available, the time and facilities you may have at your disposal, etc.

In the recent travels to top collegiate programs in the midwest there was a commonality that present in all the practice sessions. All staffs exhibited a very significant eye for detail. This focus on detail was present in the planning of practice, the level of effort expected of the athletes, how the skills were performed and how the drills were conducted. The "laid back" coach was not in attendance. The staffs were focused, intense, demanding and supportive. There was a signifcant emphasis on both quantity and quality repetitions.

For the more inexperienced coach, one can certainly learn from these top staffs the importance of planning a good flow in practice that produces lots of contacts in a limited time.

Teaching Proper Attacking Mechanics

Land from attack balanced,
on two feet, with flexion in
knees and ankles.

Given the amount of time coaches spend on attacking mechanics, it is amazing how many athletes will land with all their weight on one foot. It is small wonder the number of athletes that have stress fractures, shin splints and other lower extremity injuries. Basic calculations would indicate that an 150 lb. athlete that jumps 30" when attacking will land with approximately 3-4 times body weight of force on one leg. So, for the athlete mentioned, this would equate to approximately 500-600 pounds of force on one leg. How many times might an athlete jump in a five set match or a 3 day qualifier. This situation becomes more critical with the athletes jumping on concrete as they do in many convention center events.

Coaches must pay more attention to how athletes land when they attack. There needs to be more balance, flexion and joint alignment when one lands from an attack. This is applicable to one hitting an outside set or a slide.

Steve Shondell-Ball State University Passing Video

Steve Shondell, head coach of Ball State University takes his libero's through a passing sequence. It is posted on YouTube for non-VTS members to view. Go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNvOZHfkkr0 Steve does a wonderful job of moving his players through all the situations that passers will face. Also notice the pace of the drill, lots of contacts in a small period of time.

Volleyball Training Solutions Update

2011-04-06T22:30:00.000-04:00

Check out this video!!

How much time was spent on these skills? Freestyle Soccer Video- NY Times One of the things that has become popular is the myth that one can become skilled and proficient at a skill without putting in the time. To achieve great things, there is little balance to one's life. One needs to be devoted to being real good and there are no shortcuts.

A Recommended Coaching Book

For those interested in a good read that relates to skill acquisition, The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle, is highly recommended. In a nutshell, all the studies and real life experiences indicate the best (and only) way to high level success is to put in the time. Lots of it. To excel translates to putting in 10,000 hours of repetition and practice. So, greatness is made, not born.

The Journey Never Ends

After the Northern Lights Qualifier, we are hitting the road to catch some coaches doing what they do. We are tentatively going to do a repeat visit to Russ Rose at Penn State and talk with Russ and assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt about blocking. Then we will be visiting Purdue University to talk with both Dave and John Shondell about how they are teaching some of the fundamental skills. Multiple JO gold medal coach, Dan Palmer who is now with Union VBC in New Albany will show what he is doing with both 12 year old players as well as his 17's team. Mixed in will be a trip to Ball State University to do some work with both the men's and women's teams. Steve Shondell, who did a wonderful job in his first year with the women, and Joel Walton, the BSU men's coach have allowed us to video their training sessions. Also on the immediate docket will be Tom Hogan, former National Team assistant coach, Terry Liskevych, former USA Olympic coach, Jim Moore at the University of Oregon will all be featured.

If there is anything specific you want posed to any or all of these coaches, let me know.

Individual Club and Team Folders on Dartfish TV

If your club or team is interested in individual folders, contact me to set this up. This is a great way for a club director or head coach to designate videos for his staff to see, as well as attach comments, key points of emphasis for all the coaches and players on your team or club. There are also video upload and download possible where you can upload matches or training sessions, attach comments and e-mail specific clips for staff and players to watch. This option is tied into the new "Consultation" level of membership that will be incorporated next fall. This will allow more interaction between members and VTS staff to address your specific needs. If you think this option will be of interest to your program, contact VTS and we can talk about your goals and how we can assist.

Dartfish Easy Tag

Dartfish now has a free app for your I-Phone, I-Pad or I-Pod. So, now you have a good excuse to buy one of these I-products. Easy Tag allows for real time tagging of a match for statistical or video reference. You can set up the panels to record any skill or event you desire. Easy Tag will monitor the stats while the match unfolds, then can total all events and import them into a spreadsheet for later use. Those with Dartfish Software can then synchronize the tags to a video of the match that will be available immediately to show your team. So, this is as about as easy as you can get. I used this at the recent Big South tournament and Easy Tag worked wonderfully.

Club Coaching? It's Hard Work

It's not that I ever lacked respect for those in the world of club volleyball, however, in my first few weeks of coaching club at the Front Range facility, I definitely gained a huge level of respect for those who have been doing this for many years. In my 30 years as a collegiate coach, I came to depend upon support staff. Facility supervisors, equipment managers, strength coaches, trainers, sports information staff, administrative assistants, etc., all make the life of a collegiate coach somewhat manageable. I have discovered a club coach performs the duties of all of the above. Can you say multi-tasking? On the flip side, a club coach can practice as much as they want without filling out NCAA Compliance paperwork. With more available practice time, the training can go at a slow, methodical and positive pace. Both positions have their challenges and upsides. At the end of the day, coaching is a wonderful profession at any level.

Volleyball Training Solutions - Post Crossroads

2011-03-27T21:45:00.003-04:00

VTS Post Crossroads Update

Another Source for Drills

I guess to prove that with the internet we are all connected, a colleague of mine, Laurent Delecourt, with the French Volleyball Federation, has updated some of his videos with some skill and system footage on YouTube. Those who read and speak French have a distinct advantage here, but you'll see some pretty good things going on. The link for the site is: http://www.youtube.com/user/lodela93 Feel free to drop a thank you to Laurent for his efforts. Hope you find some of the videos interesting and helpful.

VTS Coming to Your Summer Camp

We want to be involved in your camp or summer "open gyms". I would like to work with players this summer, video them performing skills, then provide Dartfish Analysis that will give them the skill feedback they need. It is so much more valuable for a player to see themselves perform a skill, rather than hearing what they should be doing. If interested, contact VTS for more information.

Age Group Volleyball- Are We Doing it Right?

Back in the day, I did my Master's Thesis on teaching volleyball to younger ages. Since being a collegiate coach, I admit, that I haven't watched a ton of young kids play. At the Crossroads tournament, I took the time to watch a playoff match of 13 year old teams. Frankly, I think we can do a better job of teaching players the concepts of the game. While doing my work for my thesis, players would play on courts the size of badminton courts, while playing 3v3 or 4v4. many times we played with a beach ball to make the rallies longer. As I watched the two teams play, I had the following observations: 1. Most of the attacks had an upward trajectory so the ball would clear the net. Since there is an upward trajectory, the players can't hit hard or it will go out of bounds. 2. The players are small, but play on the same size court as Olympians. 3. The ball is too light, making ball control more difficult. 4. The substitution process is laborious.

Without going into detail, I would make the following suggestions: 1, Make the net height be at the average reach of the age group playing. This would allow the ball to be spiked in a downward trajectory and hit hard. This is the fun of the game. It would also bring blocking into the game. 2, Small court with 3 or 4 players, substitute on the fly like hockey. With fewer players on a smaller court there will be more ball contacts by players and more action. This would work well on the convention center layout. Just drop the net and tape a smaller court down. 3, We have gone the wrong direction with the ball. A ball called "volley lite" is often used. I would suggest just the opposite. A larger, softer ball that is a little heavier. This will be easier to control. The "volley lite" is so light it will fly off the forearms of the athletes. Ball control is diminished and rallies are shorter. The ball should be more like a "beach volleyball". This will result in longer rallies since the ball control will improve.

I would suggest at the younger age groups, a team be composed of three smaller teams of 3 or 4 players. The competition would resemble tennis, where you have several matches being played to in order to determine a winner. So, perhaps you have 3 teams of four players, whatever team wins two of the three matches in the winner. This would increase the importance of all the players and avoid one player from dominating the match.

So, these are thoughts and observations put forth in the "Cliff Notes" fashion. However, these are a couple of the items I would recommend for ages 13 and under.

Snap Court

What is the best portable court going right now? By far, the experience I've had with Snap Court is very positive. I dread standing, playing, practicing or looking at Sport Court. This new product by the name of Snap Court is the same concept at the previously mentioned product, but way better. After many hours of training at the Front Range facility which uses Snap Court, I can certainly endorse the product. No dead spots, good rebound for the jumping motion, absorbs body weight well when landing. I won't go into the production details, but if you want a great product for an indoor facility, look in the direction of Snap Court.

Crossroads Set Up

I've been coming to Crossroads for many years in the role of a recruiter. I walked into the facility, see 80+ courts occupied and proceeded to recruit. For the first time in my career, I was able to view Crossroads from a behind the scenes perspective. I was completely blown away by the necessary organization to make this tournament come off successfully. There are so many moving parts that need to fall into place. A tip of the hat to Kay Rogness and staff that have packaged a wonderful product.

New on Dartfish TV

The new Dartfish TV update is absolutely awesome. Coaches can place video of matches on the site, identify key points of a skill or competition, e-mail those to the athlete. A wonderful way to communicate skill and team video to athletes. For more information, go to this link: http://www.dartfish.tv/WebPresenter/Presenter.aspx?CR=p3c4873m266965

Volleyball Training Solutions-Update

2011-03-09T20:50:00.000-05:00

Upcoming Newsletter Notifications via Twitter

In the spirit of joining the new millennium, all VTS newsletter updates and Dartfish TV information will be announced via Twitter or correspondence directly from Dartfish TV. Sometimes Dartfish TV e-mails can get caught in spam filters, so a heads up. You can access the Twitter account by going to Twitter, http://twitter.com/ and searching: VTS_Jim.

Volleyball Training Solutions at Crossroads and Big South

If you are at the Crossroads and/or Big South tournaments this month, feel free to stop by the VTS booth in the exhibitor area and say hello. We definitely want to know the members of the site and/or newsletter readers.

New VTS Tip Available

Leisa Rosen, former All American player at Ohio State, and current Associate Head Coach at the University of Michigan talks about developing a quick attacker armswing.

New Update for Dartfish TV

There are exciting modifications for Dartfish TV that might have great potential for VTS members. There are numerous improvements, the most outstanding is the ability to edit on Dartfish TV. This update allows a coach can watch a video, identify a key point, make a comment, expand the key point to include the entire play, then e-mail the play to one of your athletes. The athlete clicks on the link and is taken directly to the key point the coach has identified. What a great way for a coach to streamline the video process and improve the teaching environment. This might have great impact when VTS begins the consultation level of the site next fall.

New Promo Video

Take a look at our new video to show the highlights of VTS. This will play at the upcoming qualifiers.

Consultation Service for VTS Members

VTS will be adding a new level of membership for the upcoming fall season. We will offer a consultation service for member coaches. This service can take many forms, depending upon the needs and desires of the coach. We will offer individual services relating to match preparation, Dartfish skill analysis of players, practice execution, skill development, match coaching, etc. We will use Dartfish TV, one on one video chat, phone and e-mail correspondence, etc. Price point is flexible, depending on the needs of the coach. More information on this level of membership will be available this spring.

Volleyball Training Solutions Update

2011-02-25T10:34:00.001-05:00

VTS Sport Psychology Videos

In an effort to broaden the offerings by Volleyball Training Solutions, we are incorporating the expertise of Tim Engels. For Tim's resume, click on Tim Engels

We are pleased that Tim will be helping the volleyball community with his thoughts about coach and athlete development and practice construction. In this regard, upon request by members, we will be adding to the physical training library this spring, as well.

Dartfish TV Video

Dartfish TV Upgrade

For those who don't sleep, the VTS site will be down for about 90 minutes on March 1 from 3:00-4:30 in the morning. This is for a site upgrade. I am so impressed with Dartfish and Dartfish TV in their effort to provide cutting edge video coaching software.

Views from Omaha

I endured my first multi day tournament as a club coach last weekend in Omaha. Beside being exhausted at the end, i came away with the opinion that tournament directors need to consider providing more room around the court for the older age groups (17's and 18's for sure, 16's probably). These are tall and athletic players that need more room to play the game the way it is supposed to be played. How is the game supposed to be played? Start with the servers having more room to stand away from the end line and serve with velocity, or more room to execute an effective jump serve with heat. How else, be able to run down balls going off the court. Or, how about an attack approach where the hitter can get outside the court and generate speed and hit the ball with heat.

The younger ages don't bother me as much. They are fine with the current setup. The older players need more room. I could really go off on a draconian tangent and recommend the courts for older players need additional padding underneath to lessen the impact upon legs as they jump a thousand times over the course of a weekend.

I get the economics, of more courts equals more teams, more opportunity, pay the expenses. But the game is being compromised and that is a concern to me. Just a thought from a club volleyball rookie.

VTS joins the Twitter Age

Yes, we are joining the new millennium. Join the VTS Twitter account- VTS_Jim

We will be using the Twitter account to give members a heads up about video additions to the site, newsletter updates, coaches that are providing video to VTS, exciting things we see, etc.

Video Recommendations for Club Coaches

Although I'm up to speed on the collegiate coaches that are or will be involved in the video library, I am a rookie relative to the club world. If you know of a club coach that impresses you, let me know. Especially if they coach the young ones (14's, 12's).

Spring Schedule

VTS will be hitting the road soon to broaden the library. Colleges are getting back into the swing of things and club is going full speed. Will stay in touch from the road.

That's all for now. As always, feel free to comment, call, or drop a a note if we can help. ~Jim

Volleyball Training Solutions Newsletter

2011-02-08T15:25:00.000-05:00

Volleyball Training Solutions Update

Give Me Numbers!!

Channel Views: Jim Stone's Volleyball Training Solutions 78,712
(source-Dartfish TV)

When the VTS site was initiated, the goal was to make quality volleyball coaching information available to coaches of all levels. In the past 18 months, we have had over 78,000 views on the site. I am not sure if that is good, bad, or in the middle someplace. VTS did not have a goal of seeing how many members we could enroll or compete with Google for the number of site views in a year. However, I feel good that a lot of coaches are taking the time to take advantage of the video being supplied by the best coaches in the country. Hopefully, we can continue to grow the video library and the number of coaches that are members. One of the other goals is to promote the interaction and exchange information with the coaching community. So, there is always an open invitation to write, call or make site suggestions.

New Offering??

We are considering offering consultation for member coaches. We would view training sessions or a particular player performing a skill (attack, set, etc.) via Skype and provide feedback, suggestions, do a Dartfish skill analysis. Again, with our primary goal being interaction and exchange of information, this would fall within those parameters. Initial thoughts are to have a staff of coaches that can respond to questions, or make suggestions to a coach, player or team. Interested? Let us know.

Interaction is a Good Thing

Feel free at anytime to comment on what we are doing with VTS. This can be done on this page via comments, or drop a personal note via the VTS website, or thru the various chat rooms "out there". One of our goals is to foster the exchange of ideas within the coaching community. If you have a specific question for one of our VTS staff coaches, pass it on and I'll pursue an answer.

Volleyball Training Solutions in Atlanta and Denver for Qualifiers

We will have a booth at both the Big South Qualifier in Atlanta and both weekends of the Crossroads Qualifier in Denver. Please stop by and say hello.

Drill of the Week

We are posting a Drill or Tip of the Week on the VTS website: http://www.volleyballsolutions.com/ This is open to anyone, so feel free to pass on the link to anyone in the coaching community.

Kevin Hambly-Illinois

Support VTS Coaches

All the coaches on the VTS staff are donating their time and expertise for the growth of our sport. When opportunities avail, please support them by telling them you are appreciative of their efforts, perhaps inviting them to speak at state or local clinics, or sending your players to matches or camps.

Instructional Video for Coaches of Players 10-14

We want to expand the library of video for those coaches of the younger age groups. I have no doubt there are coaches way more qualified than myself to take on this important task. If you can recommend outstanding coaches for that age group, please drop a note to VTS.

That's all for now. Continued Success to all. Stay in touch. ~Jim Stone

Drill of the Week

2011-02-01T14:46:00.000-05:00

When passing, to often players will lose their posture, not move their feet, and be forced to use their hands, or pass in an erect posture, with neither being good options. This is a drill that encourages players to move the feet, let the ball drop to below the waist and pass with proper posture. Coaches should encourage players to use the time the ball is in the air going from server to passer to move the feet and let the ball drop down to them. Receiving serve with the hands should be discouraged at the younger levels.

Volleyball Training Solutions Newsletter - February 2011

2011-01-28T16:14:00.000-05:00

Serving Notes from USAV High Performance Clinic

Float Serve

Myself and Dr. Herb Summers did a presentation at the recent HP Clinic in Colorado Springs. Herb, who has a PH.D in Physics analyzed the components of effective serving and made some recommendations as to the direction servers might go with the skill.

I will try to summarize the key points of the presentation:

A server can control the following: where they stand, where they serve, the velocity of serve and the trajectory.
It would seem you want to passer to have as little time possible to react to the serve.
A low trajectory jump float serve landing on the end line will take about 1.3 seconds and can be served at 34 mph. A server can stand 10' from the end line and the trajectory will be the same.
If a server stands back from the end line, they can serve harder (approximately 1mph per foot back from end line).
A jump serve must travel at a high m.p.h. to be effective. For the national team, this is 55 m.p.h.
Coaches should measure the speed and movement of a float serve. This is valuable feedback to the server.
If one looks at the numbers relative to velocity, trajectory and time the ball is in the air, club players should be developing the jump float serve from the end line, or, stand back from the end line and hit a hard, flat serve.

Volleyball Training Solutions Notes

Dartfish TV recognizes the user by e-mail address. If needed to access an account, I use the e-mail address used when registering. If your e-mail changes, please advise me, and also, change your membership information on Dartfish TV. This can be done by going to "Admin" link, scroll down and click on "Edit My Profile".
Now that holidays are over and the clubs and collegiate programs are in full swing, we will be contacting top coaches to continue to provide quality training video to the VTS library.

Some members have commented they have issues locating key position tags. Hopefully, this picture will help. To see "Key Positions", click on the small white arrows below the video, or the tags on the right side of the screen. The Key Position will be where specific verbal comments or drawing analysis tools will be used.
Download videos for Mac computers: Those members that have download clearance, can download selected videos to their computers. This allows the coach to take video into the gym with them to show players. Those with PC's can download via Dartfish Player. Those with Mac computers, can download via WMV, but will miss some of the Dartfish tools of analysis.
Volleyball Training Solutions will have a booth at Crossroads definite and the Big South tournaments (tentative). Stop by to say hello.
You can assist in growing VTS by spreading the word. If you like what we are doing, pass along the info via chat rooms, Facebook and other social media. This will assist us in continuing to develop the library while keeping the costs reasonable.
If there is anything we can do to help your team and club let us know. We want to be as much assistance as possible to coaches in the country.
Beginning next week, we will post a drill or tip of the week. These will be short videos to address specific items relative to coaching, training, drills or physical training. We will notify people via Twitter. Go to Twitter and search "Front Range VB". When a new information is posted, you will get a notice.

Age Group Skill Development

I have posted on the blog site an interesting article as to the relationship of age group tennis champions and future success on the open circuit. Makes one ponder if there is a better way to organize our own tournament organization or team membership. Perhaps less emphasis on winning age group tournaments and more emphasis on placing players whose skills and physical development allow into competitions against older teams.

Australian Open: The Problem With Junior Tennis - WSJ.com

2011-01-26T19:19:00.000-05:00

Australian Open: The Problem With Junior Tennis - WSJ.com

This is an interesting article focusing on age group tennis and the relative lack of success that players that dominate on the junior tennis tour are having on the senior tour. It was thought provoking to consider that some tennis folks believe that players will get more out of playing against older players than against their own age group. This thought is very similiar to how European volleyball is constructed for younger players. The ability to play with and against older players is part of their normal training and development. In this country, the opportunity for a 17 or 18 year old player to play against older competition is next to impossible. Might this inhibit their development as a player?

A friend recently researched the "Fab 50" lists from several years and made a comparison with the AVCA All American list four years later. It was staggering how few names were on both lists. Could it be possible that the trend for top junior volleyball players might mirrror that of top junior tennis players relative to success at the older age levels?

Volleyball Training Solutions Newsletter - January

2011-01-18T10:47:00.000-05:00

Volleyball Training Solutions Newsletter-- New Format

The Volleyball Training Solutions newsletter is open to all interested volleyball coaches and participants. It is meant to provide general information about the sport, specific information to VTS members and general stuff you might find somewhat interesting. Comments are welcome at the bottom. Suggestions for content are also welcome.

For those not familiar with the VTS coaches site, you can get a free look at the following link:

Link to Jim Stone's Volleyball Training Solutions Promo Page

Membership information can be found at the VTS site: http://www.volleyballsolutions.com/

Coming in February- Drill of the Week

VTS in conjunction with Front Range Volleyball Club, will launch a "Drill of the Week" beginning in February. You can get notice of the drill posting via Twitter. Go to Twitter, join Front Range VB, and when a new drill is available, you will get a note via Twitter. We hope to continue this throughout the club season and continuing in the high school season. This is available to anyone, so feel free to pass the link on to your coaching colleagues.

Duel in Denver

Terry Pettit

It was a deja vu when the Front Range 16's played NorCo 17's last Sunday in Denver. Terry Pettit, former Nebraska coach was across the net from Jim Stone, former Ohio State coach. We both had a "what are we doing here" look on our faces in advance of the match. Terry's daughter, setter for the NorCo is a nice player that has a good collegiate future. It is always good to see Terry. I consider his insights and coaching suggestions very thought provoking and fun to entertain.

Dartfish TV-- Making Comments For Your Players and Staff-

An Option to Consider

I want the VTS site on Dartfish TV to be a vehicle to share thoughts, comments, ask questions, etc. The goal of the site is to share information, both via video or written comments. Just a friendly heads up that when you make a comment, it is seen by everyone that is a member of the Premier Collection. Any questions that are made thru the comment option will get a response from VTS. If you want a folder just for your staff and/or team, let me know. It is certainly possible. This would allow you to make comments to a specific player or your coaching staff that only members of your folder would be able to see. Your staff could also share comments, thoughts and suggestions with one another. This is a great tool for club directors who want to use VTS and Dartfish TV as a tool for providing their coaching staff with keys for practice organization along with drills that can make a training session productive for the players.

Serving- Some Ideas Worthy of Consideration

I worked with Dr. Herb Summers to put together notes for a presentation at the upcoming USA Volleyball HP Clinic. Our topic was "New Considerations for Serving". Herb, a PH.D in Physics, analyzed trajectory, speed, impact of spin and gravity when serving. Without going into huge detail in a newsletter, I want to throw a couple items that we would consider recommendations:

Considering the importance of the serve to winning and losing matches, we don't practice the skill sufficiently
Coaches should implement a radar gun when players practice their serve. The speed of a serve is important and should be part of the teaching process.
The trajectory of a jump float serve and a serve from 10' behind the end line are the same. The jump float is a serve worthy of pursuing. The high contact point producing a flat trajectory, the reduced distance from server to passer are positive items.
Younger players (ages 12-15) should not focus on a float serving, but just back away from the end line and focus on velocity.
Radar gun numbers for the USA Women's National Team (just for information and food for thought)

Jump servers are effective at 55 mph with no focus on on accuracy
Jump servers that serve at 50-55 need to be accurate (serve to weaker passer) because the speed itself is not challenging to a good passer.
Jump float servers target 38-42 mph. Faster than this reduces the movement of the ball on a float serve

Passing- Maintain the Triangle

Former Ohio State All American, Stacey Gordon, shows how good passers maintain their platform when playing balls outside the body line. As you can see, Stacey keeps her hips facing the oncoming ball, maintains the solid platform by not breaking her elbows or curling the wrists, and dips her shoulders to angle the platform to the target area. Notice how the passing triangle does not change. This is an important concept that all good passers demonstrate.

Questionnaire

I appreciate the response to the last VTS questionnaire. I'm pleased with both the number of responses and the quality. I will add the site ratings and responses to the VTS Homepage.

Contact Information:

Questions regarding Volleyball Training Solutions? Contact Jim Stone at 303-770-9435

The Effectiveness of the Tight or Wide Slide

2011-01-02T10:09:00.011-05:00

This is a brief video of how the middle attacker going behind the setter places a lot of stress on the block. This type of attack is commonly called the slide. The slide can be run tight to the setter, or, wide to the antennae. You can see in this clip how the attacker working with the front row setter makes life difficult for the middle blocker and the outside blocker. The choices for the middle blocker are to either stay with the front row setter in case of the setter attack, or, stay with the quick hitter as she goes behind the setter. Not to be ignored is the fact there is a left front attacker that is always in play.Since the quick attacker establishes the point of attack may come at the antennae or next to the setter, the left front block also has decisions. Should the block stay tight to defend the attack tight slide or should they release to the antennae to block the wide slide.

To make all of this effective, the slide hitter must have solid technique. The slide is most effective when the attack is run horizontal to the setter. The slide hitter should broad jump to the point of attack. By broad jumping to the point of attack, the block has a tendency to reach sideways. This creates an advantage for the attacker. You will notice the slide attacker starts the approach in front of the setter to present the threat of attacking in front of the setter. The attacker then runs to the point of attack, drift horizontally to attack the seam in the block.

So in all these clips, you will see the block having a lot of challenges placing a well formed block in front of the attacker. There is a lot of reaching sideways, guessing as to the point of attack and the middle blocker jumping with the setter when the ball is set to the slide hitter.

In Volleyball Training Solutions we detail the technique of running the slide with key teaching points. It is a very effective offensive weapon and is very challenging to defend.

Sand Volleyball Parameters (reprint of NCAA News Article)

2010-12-25T20:31:00.000-05:00

Division I to consider parameters for sand volleyball

By Michelle Brutlag Hosick

NCAA.org

The Division I membership will have the opportunity in January to shape the look of sand volleyball when the Legislative Council takes its first votes on measures to mold the sport.Proposals, some modified by a working group designed to address concerns about the sport, would regulate the personnel and recruiting, financial aid, playing and practice seasons, and membership requirements for sport sponsorship.

Division II, which also adopted sand volleyball as an emerging sport, already adopted its framework for the sport.

The Sand Volleyball Working Group, created after the final adoption of the sport as an emerging sport for women and the postponement of the effective date for its addition from August 1, 2010, to August 1, 2011, included Legislative Council members and representatives of the Collegiate Commissioners Association Compliance Administrators to develop a legislative framework for the sport. The working group examined legislation already proposed by various cabinets and conferences and either supported the proposals or suggested modifications.

The Council will consider three proposals regulating personnel and recruiting:

•2009-19-A, sponsored by the Recruiting and Athletics Personnel Cabinet, which would limit institutions that sponsor only sand volleyball to two coaches (including two who may contact or evaluate prospects off campus at any one time). The legislation would limit institutions that sponsor both the sand and floor game to four total coaches but still limit the number of off-campus recruiters to two at any one time.

•2009-19-B, sponsored by the Legislative Council, which would limit the number of coaches in sand volleyball to two, with the number of off-campus recruiters at any one time also limited to two. In this proposal, the coaching limits are not tied to whether an institution sponsors sand or women’s volleyball or both.

•2009-39, sponsored by the Recruiting and Athletics Personnel Cabinet (which modified its original proposal to accept changes suggested by the working group), which would limit institutions that sponsor only sand volleyball to 80 evaluation days annually and institutions that sponsor both sand and women’s volleyball to 80 days for the women’s game and an additional 20 days specific to sand volleyball competition. If an institution sponsors both sports, any volleyball contact a coach has through a local sports club shall count toward the limit. The legislation would also subject sand volleyball coaches to the women’s volleyball recruiting calendar.

The working group supports 2009-19-B over 2009-19-A because it addresses concerns with cost. Under 2009-19-B, institutions would not need to hire an additional coach to sponsor sand volleyball, and no advantage would be gained by institutions that sponsored both sports.

Sarah Wilhelmi, a working group member and assistant commissioner of the West Coast Conference, said cost concerns and competitive equity were a major focus of the group’s discussions.

“We wanted to offer an option that wouldn’t require a lot of resources right off the bat,” Wilhelmi said. “A lot of the discussion came from the feasibility of actually launching a program on campus in the current financial climate.”

The group also supported 2009-39 as modified, believing that an additional, different volleyball recruiting calendar isn’t necessary yet, and that the additional days for institutions that sponsor both sports will not be a recruiting advantage and may assist in the growth of sand volleyball by spurring the creation of additional sand events to correspond with the 20 additional sand-specific evaluation days.

The Council will also consider 2009-70-A and 2009-70-B to establish the financial aid structure for sand volleyball. Both proposals would create the following phased-in approach for financial aid equivalencies and counters for schools that sponsor both the women’s indoor and women’s sand games:

•In 2011-12, three equivalencies and 14 counters,

•In 2012-13, four equivalencies and 14 counters,

•In 2013-14, five equivalencies and 14 counters, and

•In 2014-15 and thereafter, six equivalencies and 14 counters.

Schools that sponsor only sand volleyball would be limited to eight equivalencies and 14 counters. Where the two proposals differ is an added provision in 2009-70-A, which would require sand volleyball student-athletes who participate only in the sand game during their freshman year but who later participate in women’s volleyball during their second year of enrollment to be retroactive counters in women’s volleyball during the freshman year.

The modification was recommended by the working group as a way to keep coaches of elite programs from stockpiling talent. T.J. Meagher, an associate athletics director at Houston and a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association board, served on the working group as well. Meagher said the provision was modeled after a National Letter of Intent regulation that prevents schools from securing an early commitment from football players by signing them to the track team.

“It started out as an idea to protect the indoor game,” Meagher said. “We couldn’t do it in the same way as the NLI, so we figured out a way to protect the indoor game and prevent schools from creating a sand team that’s really a training program for their indoor program.”
Wilhelmi said the provision would prevent a dilution of the sport.

“If you’re going to put resources into launching a sand program, you need to be sure the student-athletes are dedicated to that sport,” she said.

The Council will also consider 2009-83, sponsored by the Sun Belt Conference, which requires schools that sponsor sand volleyball to play at least eight contests and limits the number of total dates of competition to 16. No more than two dates of competition can be in the nonchampionship segment. The proposal also limits the championship season to eight weeks plus the following weekend, beginning on the first Thursday in March.

The original proposal allowed 18 dates of competition, and the working group recommended a reduction to minimize missed class time and provide flexibility in scheduling between the nonchampionship and championship segments.

Wilhelmi said the reduction in contests was the result of a “good compromise.”

“We wanted to make sure it wasn’t too aggressive,” she said. “We were trying to have consideration for the coaches and student-athletes that might be multi-sport. We wanted to sustain a season for these programs but add some flexibility in how it’s structured.”

Division II adopted a structure that allows a maximum of 16 dates of competition in the championship segment and four during the nonchampionship segment.

Both Wilhelmi and Meagher supported the working group effort and praised the concept of bringing together various stakeholders to focus on the issue.
“It was a very intelligent approach to solving a diversified and complex problem,” Meagher said.

The Legislative Council will cast its first votes on all of the proposals at the 2011 NCAA Convention in January. The Council will have the opportunity to adopt or defeat the measures, or send them for membership comment. If the legislative framework for the sport is not finalized in January, the Council meets again to cast final votes in April.

Read moreabout how sand volleyball became

Volleyball Training Solutions Newsletter - December 2010

2010-12-21T11:50:00.002-05:00

VTS Staff Enjoy Great Fall Season

Russ Rose

This was a great season for the VTS contributing coaches. Russ Rose led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a fourth consecutive NCAA Div. 1 National Championship. Penn State swept through the tournament without losing a set in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Also qualifying for the NCAA tournament was VTS staffers Reed Sunahara-Cincinnati, Kelly Sheffield-Dayton, Matt Peck-Middle Tennessee, Mark Rosen-Michigan, Mike Hebert-Minnesota, Kevin Hambly-Illinois and Geoff Carlston-Ohio State. These coaches have made significant contributions to VTS and for that that we are grateful

When Spiking, "Pull the Chain"

Former Michigan State Head Coach Chuck Erbe used the term "pull the chain" when he taught spiking. Chuck was referencing what an attacker should do with the non-hitting arm during the spiking action. As you can see with the picture on the left the attacker has pulled the non-hitting arm to the body midline. This is extremely important to proper spiking mechanics. Too many young attackers tend to let the left arm pull away from the midline causing the shoulder to drop and lower the contact point with the ball. When the left arm goes up during the jumping motion and is above the head, have your spikers "pull the chain" and bring the left or non-attacking arm to the body midline. This will allow upper body rotation into the attack and result in a more powerful attack.

Volleyball Training Solutions Joins with Front Range Volleyball

In an exciting collaboration, Volleyball Training Solutions has joined with the Front Range Volleyball Club of Denver. Front Range has been a very successful club for many years winning multiple national championships in various age groups. Head coach Jim Miret is a former assistant coach with the USA National Team and also a former Youth National Team coach. Volleyball Training Solutions in combination with Front Range will be posting video from daily training sessions to the VTS website. Of course, VTS will continue to visit the training sessions of top collegiate and club coaches to keep the level of volleyball information at the highest possible level. It can be guaranteed the amount of video will be at the highest level ever for the VTS site.

VTS Coach Paula Weishoff joins the USA National Team Staff

Paula Weishoff

Paula Weishoff a great contributor to Volleyball Training Solutions has been named as an assistant coach for the USA Women's National Team. Paula who will maintain her position as head coach at UC-Irvine will serve as the assistant through the 2012 Olympic Games. Paula has also been the USA Junior National Team Head Coach and a member of 3 Olympic teams as a player.

Dartfish TV Tips

Key Positions

To use Dartfish TV to the max, you should become familiar with the "key position" tool. This will allow a frame by frame analysis of skills with written and verbal coaching. These key positions can be printed and posted on the walls of the gym for your players. Example is below:

Volleyball Training Solutions 2011 and Beyond

VTS is definitely looking forward to an exciting 2011. The collaboration with Front Range Volleyball Club will allow our video library to grow and embrace a wide variety of age groups, both boys and girls. Dartfish TV is a wonderful platform and is making continued improvements to provide the type of quality information for coaches. As always, we want to serve the coaching community. If you have thoughts, comments, let us know. Have a great holiday season and looking forward to working with you in the New Year.

Join us on Jim Stone's Volleyball Training Solutions on Facebook: Facebook Link We will have video updates and sample videos for you to review. Comments welcome!
To join or renew memberships for Volleyball Training Solutions go to: www.volleyballsolutions.com We have memberships for single coaching staffs and club coaching staffs
Drop a note anytime to with comments or suggestions to: volleyballsolutions@mac.com

The Impact of NCAA Practice Rules

2010-03-09T13:46:00.007-05:00

One of the best things about doing the VTS website is walking into the training sessions of some of the best coaches in the country and watching them do their thing. It is easy to see the reason for the success of their respective programs. Their methods of teaching the skills and concepts of the game are grounded in science, philosophy and sound teaching methodology. There is a clear picture in their mind how they want skills executed and the game played. The communication skills are excellent and the players understand what is expected of them, even though they may fall short in execution.

It is also interesting that these excellent coaches do not teach the skills the same. They approach the game in a variety of ways, have different ways of organizing their training time and different ways of interacting with their athletes.

I am annoyed at the idea of there is one correct way to play, one system that is proper, one way to teach a particular skill or team concept. There is no question there are basic concepts that will allow skills to be executed in the most efficient manner. However, there are many ways to teach the concepts. All these successful coaches are teaching the game differently. They phrase their teaching cues differently, they organize their training sessions differently, some are stern, some have a loose personality. At the end of the day, their players work hard, the coaches provide an atmosphere that promotes success and accomplishment.

What is disappointing is the NCAA rules have gradually whittled away at the time the coaches can spend working with their players. Collegiate volleyball has gone from no restrictions on practice time to very strict rules where every minute is recorded. No matter how good a coach is, the key to skill development is repetition. There is no shortcut to putting in the "reps", it takes time. The NCAA has taken away the time under the guise of "student athlete welfare". Although this philosophy is grounded with positive intentions, it robs the motivated athlete from achieving the level of play that is desired. This is very unfair to the athlete.

There is no question there are good athletes and wonderful coaches in our country. Unfortunately, in collegiate volleyball, they don't see each other very much.

Knee Injuries with the Female Athlete

2010-02-04T08:57:00.004-05:00

It is common knowledge the incidence of ACL injuries for the female athlete is signficantly higher than male athletes. There have been many studies attempting to explain this statistical difference. Theories abound and certainly more studies are merited. I did run across an article recently that put another perspective on this trend (article on Facebook- Jim Stone's Volleyball Training Solutions)

The theme of this article is the relationship between lack of strength, specifically core strength, in the female athlete and ACL injuries. The ability to control trunk sway during athletic movements directly impacts the stress placed on the knee capsule. In addition, in the sport of volleyball, so much emphasis is placed on jumping high. Much less emphasis is placed on the skill of landing and the stresses associated with this skill. This mandates significant time be placed in teaching the athlete to land with proper balance and on both feet. So many injuries to the knee occur when the athlete is landing off balance and on one foot.

Also, in many aspects of the game, there are significant elements of rotation involved in the skills. Attacking, blocking, defensive floor movements all entail the upper body rotation. If these skills are executed incorrectly, there are significant stresses on the lower extremities, specifically the knee, that could result in injury.

This underscores the importance of focused physical development of our nations youth. It is discouraging that so many schools are reducing or eliminating the physical education programs within the school system. This places more importance on the time the young athletes spend with youth volleyball coaches. Coaches should place a major focus on movement activities, balance and general strength development in younger age athletes.

This type of physical training and educating the athlete on proper movement mechanics is very important. Many coaches focus on skill development in the athlete while ignoring the physical development. Both areas merit equal focus. It will be a major agenda on my part to put instructional video on the VTS website to assist coaches in this area.

Observations from Youth National Team Tryout

2010-01-03T13:49:00.005-05:00

This will be a record short post, but I did want to relay two observations from the recent Youth National Team tryout. Coming from a skill acquisition perspective, there are two items that I would like to see coaches of young players focus upon in their training.

First, as coaches, we need to assist our athletes in developing the postures necessary for proper skill performance. There are three general postures that players should be comfortable. First, a high posture (serve, block, perhaps attack approach); second, a medium posture (movement, pass, overhead pass, jumping) and last, a low posture (defense, emergency and situational skills). My observation is players are only comfortable in a high posture and attempt to perform all skills in that posture. The players need to understand and execute the various postures the volleyball skills demand. As much as coaches can develop strength and comfort in all three postures, the skills will improve accordingly.

The other observation is that coaches need to work with younger players to develop throwing mechanics. If a player has poor throwing mechanics, they will have difficulty with two important volleyball skills, serve and attack. Throwing is not sport specific. A volleyball spike is fundamentally quite similar to the tennis serve, badminton clear shot, a softball player throwing to first base. Players need to understand how the arm works, as well as rotational mechanics with the upper body. The relaxed shoulder and torse is critical. Boys grow up playing sports (baseball) that incorporate throwing. This is not always the case with female athletes. The coach of younger volleyball players can develop their volleyball skills by teaching them to correctly throw a softball or serve a tennis ball. It is especially difficult to change poor throwing mechanics when the poor mechanics become the ingrained motor pattern in the player.

I found a number of players at the tryouts that would be well served to develop in these specific areas. Both can be addressed in club training, but we coaches need to address these areas, not hope the player develops these important skills by accident.

A Coaching Job to be Celebrated

2009-12-20T21:17:00.003-05:00

I was fortunate to watch the NCAA National final match last night with Texas and Penn State facing off. Both teams represented the best of USA collegiate volleyball. The players were athletic, competed hard, possess good skills and provided a well played and entertaining final match.

Coach Jerritt Elliott of Texas has put together a well coached and athletic team and is developing a quality program that will return the the championship match again. However, the job that coach Russ Rose and his staff has done over recent years is something that is Woodenesque (don't look up that term in a dictionary). John Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach that won seven consecutive NCAA men's basketball championships. Simply put, we are watching something unfold in women's collegiate volleyball that will be talked about for years to come. Developing a good team takes hard work, some luck and it happens to various squads on a given season. However, developing a program takes a lot of work. Luck is out of the picture, just work. You work hard to develop a culture within your program, you work hard to bring players into your program that will flourish, you successfully deal with the road bumps that are out there for everybody. Russ Rose and the Penn State administration have developed a program that has set a bar so high, it will not be matched. Very Woodenesque (that word again). What other basketball program has come close to seven championships in a row?

Will Penn State lose next fall. Perhaps. Everyone seems to think so. But, I would not count on it.

Can The Recruiting Process be Changed?

2009-11-17T09:35:00.002-05:00

Annually, at this time of year, high school volleyball athletes sign their National Letter of Intent which binds them, for at least a year, to a university and their volleyball program. There is so much about the entire recruiting process which in concerning to me. The concept of making a verbal commitment to a school when you are a freshman or sophomore in high school I find the most disconcerting. Generally, college coaches are not a fan of the early commitment trend. However, at this point, the genie is out of the bottle, so they have to go along with this early commitment train, or get left behind at the station.

It would be in the best interests of both the young athlete and the college program if this process could be delayed. Without going into too much detail, the logic would say that the older the athlete, the more clear they might be on their goals, both athletically and academically. Certainly the college coach would be able to see another year or two of development of the athlete, both on and off the court. The chances for better choices on both sides would be increased.

Some thoughts on things that might be considered to put the brakes on this recruiting process as it presently exists.

1. Go back to the day where the players "tryout" for the college team. Back in the day, an athlete would attend either a tryout event at a university or would participate in a collegiate practice. This would take place in their junior or senior year. A tryout would allow both the coach and athlete to interact in a practice environment. The athlete would be on the court with the peers and/or their future teammates. Skills, personality and attitude would be better demonstrated. The player would see how the coach runs their practices and how they interact with both staff and potential teammates.

2. Paid campus visits in the junior year of high school. The present system is border line discriminatory based on one's economic status. Since the athlete pays for the early visits to campus where scholarships are currently being offered, an athlete who can't afford to pay their own way to campus, is limited in their options.

3. Players must sit out one year if they transfer between Division 1 programs. It is too easy for an athlete to pick up and move between institutions. This is not good for either the athlete or the school. If the player chooses to transfer, they must sit out for a year. This might encourage the athlete to go through a slower thought process when making their original choice.

4. Permit face to face interaction with college coach and athlete earlier that presently allowable by NCAA rules. This would take the club coach out of the role of being the agent or being in the role of delivering messages from a coach. Might the process be more above board?

These are just a few options that might be considered. Intentionally, I didn't go into a drawn out proposal. Way too many details to be considered. However, the concept is clear. The player should focus on improving their skills and having fun playing the sport when they are in the 9th grade, not performing for a college coach.

Learning From Kirk Ferentz

2009-11-15T19:59:00.002-05:00

Kirk Ferentz, football coach at the University of Iowa is cranking out another very, very good football team. In spite of losing a competitive overtime game to Ohio State yesterday, the Iowa team is nationally ranked, will probably finish 2nd in the Big Ten, going to a nice bowl game, and generally surprising all the "experts" with their success.

All this was being done without the "5 star" recruits. Football recruiting publications rate high school prospects from 1 star (not so good) to 5 stars (all world). In the last five years, Iowa has had exactly one 5 star recruit on their roster. Yet, they beat teams with a roster loaded with can't miss recruits. They certainly had their chances to beat OSU yesterday, a team loaded with 5 star recruits.

You have to figure that Kirk Ferentz is 1) a wonderful football coach 2) has an eye for bringing players into his program that have an upside when it comes to potential 3)understands the type of player that will play hard for him and has a good attitude.

So, this is a volleyball site, who cares about Iowa football. Perhaps we can learn about how to successfully build a collegiate or club volleyball team. One of the items that I wish would go away is the annual "Fab 50" listing of volleyball players. I certainly don't begrudge players recognition. However, any collegiate coach that is being honest will tell you that there is scant correlation between being a "Fab 50" recruit and collegiate success.

What is important to success at the collegiate level is some degree of physical talent, a good attitude and a great work ethic. Kirk Ferentz proves that on an annual basis.

To Play Better Defense, Play Better Offense

2009-10-13T15:30:00.005-04:00

At times, I reflect on those impacting my coaching philosophy during my career at Ohio State University. There are several, but for the purposes of this article, I will focus upon two coaches. The first, Dr. Arie Selinger, former USA National Team coach. Coach Selinger made a comment during a clinic that made sense to me. During a session on defense, he said that if you want your team to react and move faster on defense, you should run a faster offense. The players get used to the quicker tempo of the offensive system and transfer that tempo to their defense. That is something that I put in to place for a lot of years at Ohio State.

The second coach that I will mention is my former assistant coach, Liang Yao. During a practice where I was frustrated with the defense that my team was playing, Yao said we should practice offense instead of practicing defense. Yao was not giving up on defense, he just felt you need to be a good offensive team before you can be a good defensive team. The better your offense, the better your attack, the harder your players hit, the defense is forced to get better. If your offense is not efficient, players don't attack well, there is neither the need or urgency to play better defense on a day to day basis in practice.

What fostered this recall on my part was my recent visit to practice at Middle Tenness State University. In the NCAA tournament in 2006, we played Middle Tennessee State in the second round. They were fresh off an upset of Louisville the night before. I knew this team would be a handfulfor us. We ran a fairly fast offense, but their tempo made us look slow. I was equally impressed with their defense and competitive spirit. We won that match, but I knew there was a lot of excellent coaching taking place on the MTSU sideline. When I retired from Ohio State, one of the places I wanted to visit was MTSU. I wanted to watch how Coach Matt Peck implemented his system.

As I was watching Middle Tennessee State practice last week and observing the tempo they practice, I recalled how both Coach Selinger and Coach Liang Yao impacted my coaching. Matt Peck is doing something very similar. His team plays very agressively offensively with good execution and fast tempo. Perhaps, because of his quick offensive tempo, his team defensive impressed me with the anticipation, movement to the ball and aggressiveness.

This might be a concept that coaches consider implementing into their system. Work very hard on offense to get better at defense. Develop a faster tempo of offense to get your players moving faster on defense. The players can and will adjust to any tempo the coach demands. A slow tempo will induce slow reactions. Get your drills moving faster. I think you'll see positive results.

On a side note, I am impressed with how Coach Peck and his staff, have taken athletes that were not highly recruited, and put them into a system and environment that allows them to compete with any program in the country. His players work hard in practice. The staff makes significant demands of effort and intensity. The success that Middle Tennessee has had over the years is no accident. The staff and players work very hard. It was impressive to observe.

"Outliers" - A Coaching Must Read

2009-05-30T09:29:00.000-04:00

I recently finished reading the most recent book by Malcolm Gladwell titled "Outliers". In this offering, Gladwell attempts to explore the reasons for distinguished success in a particular field. This is not exclusively a sports book, however, since Gladwell wants this book to examine excellence, he does touch on sport specific information. All of us who have coached want to know "how they do it". Translated, how do the top performers get to the top? How do the great players do it. How do some coaches always seem to be on the winning side?

By definition,outlier is "something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body". Perhaps phrased differently for the purposes of this piece, " one whose achievements are outside the norm". Gladwell details how some distinguished people "got so good at what they do". How did the Beatles change the musical world? Perhaps by virtue of playing for seven hours straight on a nightly basis in a Hamburg "strip club"? How did Bill Joy from Sun Microsystems develop his computer chops? While a student at the University of Michigan, he discovered a "bug" in the computer system that allowed him unlimited access to the mainframe computer at the university for free. He would then stay there for 24 hours at a time developing his "game", while other students were limited to one hour.

The bottom line is that although these achievers had a high level of talent, they were not overtly talented.They either created or exploited some advantages that provided them with opportunities not readily available to others. The common thread that connects these high achievers, is the copious amount of time they put into their craft. Gladwell notes that regardless of endeavor, the 10,000 rule seems to apply. Before one can accomplish "great" things, a minimum of 10,000 hours must be invested in developing their "game". Be it music, sports, computer technology, etc., there is a hard work quotient that must be met before greatness is achieved. It seems to take the brain this long to assimilate all it needs to achieve true mastery.

How does all of this relate to volleyball? Simply put, are we putting in the quality time to achieve greatness? An experiment that might be interesting is how many hours do your athletes put in over the course of a season. Adding to that, just because they are in the gym, doesn't mean they are getting better. How much of the time are they actually doing productive things in practice vs. chasing balls, standing in line, taking a break, etc. Have you ever had a manager pick out a player in practice and count the number of times they touch a ball in practice? I think you'd be surprised how small that number would be.

OK, back to the 10,000 hour rule. In Division 1 of the NCAA, the athletes are restricted to 20 hours per week for 26 weeks per year. If you put in the maximum amount of time (nobody does), that would be 520 hours/year or 2080 hours for a career. Throw in another hundred hours for individual sessions, and you are still a looooong way from 10,000 hours.

For most club programs, teams will practice twice per week, and play on Saturdays. Most high school programs practice two times per week, play three times. Long story short, we don't get close to 10,000 hours. We might get close if you include the time hanging around the gym, officiating other matches, driving to and from tournaments, etc. However, these endeavors don't improve your skill. They just waste time.

This is a most interesting read and certainly worthy of your time. So often, we have the perception that the "outliers" are freaks of nature, they are naturals, they have a gift, etc. In reality, these people just work harder than the rest of us and take advantage of their opportunities.

Is the Libero Good or Bad for Youth Volleyball?

2009-04-30T13:47:00.000-04:00

I was speaking with a club coach recently who coaches a team of 14 year old players. I can only guess that to be the coach of 14 year old players, presents a myriad of challenges. I can only guess, because I've never coached at that age level over a club season. Summer camp, yes, for a few hours, but an entire club season?? Yikes!! In the course of conversation, he indicated one of his biggest challenges was finding middle blockers. I made the immediate assumption of the physical challenges of the position, don't get set as much as outsides, working to get to the outside to block, you know, the normal stuff.

No, none of the above. The reason was that on all the other teams this group have been members, the middles always came out for a libero. So, rather than play middle and play three rotations, they opt for being an outside hitter who can play six rotation. Who can call a 14 year old crazy for wanting to play all six rotations? Perhaps, and this might be a stretch, they really like to play. Unfortunately, by default, the libero on most teams will play for the middles. So, the libero gets to play all six rotation, while the middles get saddled with only playing 3 rotations. I admit I was taken aback that the libero is impacting what positions younger players want to play. I think there are some interesting perspectives on this situation.

If I am a national team coach or a Division 1 coach, I want these tall talented players learning how to pass and defend. At the younger age levels, the very players that will help the national team and top college teams as outside hitters are the middle blockers that are being replaced in the backrow with a libero. Hence the scarcity of quality outside attackers that are good passers. So, from this perspective, I want these athletes playing six rotations and provide them the chance to learn how to pass and defend. For all the thousands of youth playing Junior Olympic volleyball, the number of tall players that are comfortable with serve receive is very small.

From the perspective of the age group coach, I can see why they use the libero for the tall middle blocker. All teams want to win and perhaps having a good libero on the court for six rotations will assist in this effort. To have more players receiving playing time also makes the life of a coach a little easier in dealing with both players and parents. It goes without saying that players want to play, not to mention the parents want their kids on the court. Quite a conundrum for the coach who wants to develop a high level player as well as having a winning team and have happy players. So, what to do?

From my personal perspective as a former player and coach, I feel strongly about the following:
1- The game is more fun when you're playing. Playing six rotations is more fun than playing three rotations. If we want to increase the participation and improve the skill level the game, we need to have more players playing six rotations.
2- From my perspective as a former Division 1 coach and an avid fan of international volleyball, given the current rules, we need more players that can compete internationally at the net as well as the backcourt. Developing these skills begin at the youth levels.

So, what to do??? Some would say do nothing. Participation levels are high, why fix something that is not broken? I would counter that, although not broken, our game needs some improvement. We need more players that can pass and defend. There are a couple reasons for this. The game is more fun to play and to watch when there are exciting attacks, great digs and long rallies. We need to grow the sport and make it spectator and television friendly. What creates exciting attacks? How about passing the ball to the setter and running a fast, explosive offense?

So, at risk of thinking way outside the box, perhaps the following might be discussion worthy. I won't go into huge detail, because these are random, thinking outloud thoughts.

Perhaps until age 14, the libero rules are modified. Perhaps only six subs per game and the libero can only replace a player one time thru the backrow during a single game. This would force the coach to plan when they use the libero for a particular player. At the start of a game?? Or save until the crucial point at the end of the game?? Once that player has been replaced, they must stay in during the remainder of the game, or the coach must use one of his six subs. This would avoid automatic front row and back row sub patterns for the same player. Also, make the coaching decisions more challenging.

Or, a little on the edge, from ages 6-13, the players are placed on teams based on height, not age. The net height is raised or lowered accordingly. So, the little ones and the big ones get to play both front and back row against players their own dimensions.

Or maybe from more cynical side, the club dues are based on the number of rotations. So if a coach plays somebody six rotation, they make more money (ok, I'm just kidding on this one).

The point being, we must do something with the sub pattern at the younger levels to expose all players to both front row and back row play. This will impact the game in a positive way. With the passing skills better, there will be more attacks and rallies, which is what everyone, coaches, fans and television producers want to see. The end product will be increased spectator and television interest and a game that is played at a higher level.

Training Your Setter

2009-04-18T17:29:00.000-04:00

There are "setters" and there are "ball distributors". A ball distributor is the ability for a player to overhand pass the ball to a hitter. To be a "ball distributor" takes minimal skill and time investment on the part of either the player or coach. However to be a "setter" is a little more challenging. The ability to accurately place the ball so each individual hitter can be successful, to make a proper choice of sets in a given situation, to be able to multi-task responsibilities (playing defense, serving, blocking, as well as setting), the ability to create an effective offense from a poor pass, to have the ability to communicate effectively with hitters, to inspire confidence in teammates. I could go on, however, I assume you get it.

How do you develop a setter? Do you have the time? Really.....do you have the time? Does your setter have the time??? Because being a setter takes a whole lot of time. Too often the setter only puts in the same amount of time as any other player on the team. The first thing that your setter must accept is the time required to really be good. Several years back, while at Ohio State, we had an exceptional setter by the name of Laura Davis. Two time All American and the National Player of the Year her senior season. Over the course of Laura's senior season, our manager, just out of curiosity, counted the number of setting contacts by Laura. This included team practice, individual setter training and collegiate matches. I want to make clear, this was not my idea. Anyway, the number came to over 25,000 setting contacts for the year. This was Laura's senior year, who knows how many contacts took place combining her club, high school and collegiate careers. Needless to say, Laura was pretty good at what she did. To become a "setter", you need this type of repetition of the setting skill.

If you are training your setter, I would recommend the following:

--I would encourage all coaches to bring their setters in a minimum of 30 minutes before every practice. In those 30 minutes, performing setting reps at the proper tempo, you can easily set a couple hundred balls. This is the start of becoming a good setter. It is just like musicians doing "scales". The repetition is key.
--I would recommend you work very hard with your setter on the proper footwork. Too much emphasis is put on hand contact with the ball with young setters. Proper hand contact on the ball will come later. The focus should be on good footwork to the ball, proper balance, squaring to target. If these items are done well, the hand contact will certainly be easier.
--It is important that when setting, your "hands follow the ball". To many setter allow their hands to follow thru away from their target. This will impact accuracy negatively.
--Encourage your young setter to set balls rather than forearm passing the ball to a hitter. I would prefer a setter making a mistake trying to set a poor pass than just moving slowly to the ball and using their forearms.
--Your setter is touching every second ball. Do you have your most dependable player as your setter? This is more important than physical skills.

Young setters need lots of feedback. This is where the coach needs to be willing to put in just as much time as the player. A good setter is mandatory for team success. The focus placed on setter development will be worthwhile.

Whatever Happened to Serve Receive Skills

2009-04-03T07:58:00.000-04:00

As I have been traveling the country doing both High Performance tryouts and video for the Volleyball Solutions site, I have been sadly disappointed with what has happened to passing skills in our country. This is both at the high school and collegiate levels. Reasons?? Probably several with equal impact. First, the priority being placed upon taller more physical outside hitters and the willingness to compromise in ball handle skills. Second, the current rule interpretations which allow more liberal overhead contacts. Lastly, (keeping this short), it takes a lot of time, discipline and repetition to become a good passer. The collegiate world has reduced their practice time over the years due to NCAA mandate. This has certainly impacted ball handle skills. The club season format has the players competing too much and not practicing enough.

Several years ago, I attended the Volleymasters Tournament in Montreaux, Switzerland. All the top international women's teams were in attendance. Certainly the team I enjoyed watching the most was the women's team from Brazil. Very athletic, very skilled. The thing that most impressed me was the fact that during the entire tournament, they never, I mean never, received serve with their hands. They put a huge priority on moving their feet and getting behind the ball when passing (wow, that's a concept).

So if we are ever to improve our passing skills in this country, coaches must put a greater emphasis on the skill and demand that players use their forarms to receive serve. Part two is to put in more time practicing the skill. So much of receiving serve with the hands is just the fact that it is easier. Why move your feet when you can just stand there and slap at the ball? However, the trade-off is that pasing this way is not as accurate. The other part is that, especially at the younger levels, the referee setting a higher standard for first contacts. I have no problem with being liberal with contact when defending a attack from a hitter, however, the serve receive contact should be held to a higher standard.

Hopefully, we can improve in this area as the game when played with good ball control is a beautiful game. That is not what is see too much at this time.

My Opening Blog

2009-03-02T15:29:00.000-05:00

There are a couple items that will be the focus of this blog site. After coaching women's volleyball full time at the collegiate level for 30 years, there is an obvious passion for the sport of volleyball and coaching in general. In that regard, I've initiated a coaching website www.volleyballsolutions.com to serve as an information resource for volleyball coaches at all levels.

I will be traveling around the country watching practices, matches and doing video with the best volleyball coaches in the country. The video will be posted as resource material for coaches of all levels. I will also be commenting on what I see within the world of volleyball, mostly collegiate but perhaps some club volleyball as well.

So, in this blog, I will be updating my site members as to the new material on my website, my experiences on the road visiting with the top coaches and some random thoughts about our sport and how it is being played and taught.

Would welcome thoughts and opinions about what is presented.