T E A C H I N G T H E G A M E 27 the volleyball court. — Don Patterson 1.
Outside hitters: Focus on the first contact before thinking about the third contact. The most important thing for outside hitters is to make sure you take care of that first contact – the pass – and then worry about what you’re going to hit and where you’re going to hit it. A lot of outside hitters are so worried about their attack that they really lose sight of their primary responsibility – tak- ing care of the pass.
– Hugh McCutcheon, head coach, University of Minnesota, 2008 U.S. Olympic Men’s Team gold-medal head coach and 2012 U.S. Olympic Women’s Team silver-medal head coach
3.
Be disciplined with your block and avoid reaching out for the ball or drifting. You have to fight your instincts on this one because it reaching out and drifting causes two problems: 1. By reaching out instead of penetrating, you create an easy target for an attacker to use or tool; 2. It also creates a split in the block, making it tougher for the defense to read and play behind and easier for an attacker to bury the ball in the middle of the court. Instead, focus on a disciplined block that presses over and toward the center of the court. This type of block funnels the ball to the defenders and will be much more effective in actually blocking the ball.
– Christy Johnson-Lynch, head coach, Iowa State University women’s team
42 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag
keys to success on the volleyball court
With input from top coaches and players nationwide, we present a complete index of good habits that can lead to great results
BEFORE WE JUMP IN TO THE PARTICULARS, LET US TAKE YOU BEHIND the scenes for a minute. This article started off as “27 mistakes you should never make on the volleyball court,” but U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly and U.S. captain Christa Dietzen both made it clear that, in the national team gym, guidance is never framed in don’ts – as in “Don’t do this!’ USA players and coaches much prefer to verbalize teaching points in a positive way, and members of USA Volleyball’s coaching education staff share the same philosophy. “There’s an old adage that says, ‘Don’t ever tell a kid not to put beans up his
nose because the first thing the kid will do is put beans up his nose,’” Kiraly says. “Chris Marlowe (a teammate of Karch’s on the 1984 Olympic gold-medal team) used to say that all the time. So if I’m a coach, and I’m about to send in a serving sub, the last thing I want to say is, ‘Whatever you do, don’t miss.’ What’s going to stick in her mind? The words ‘miss’ and ‘don’t.’” And I’m going to stress her out. “I know there are coaches who have told players not to miss before going in to
serve, but I’ve never had a player tell me, ‘You know what, that was a huge help. That made me a lot better server.’” Point taken. With that settled, let’s move forward to 27 things you should do on
2.
Mistakes can be a positive tool, as long as you learn something from them. Volleyball is such a cool sport that is constantly evolving, always giving athletes the opportunity to learn and grow. With any sport, there are times that fear creeps in; serving at 25-25 in a champion- ship match, taking an aggressive swing when the game is on the line, stressing over a setter/hitter connection, even trying something new in terms of technique in practice. Embrace those moments, be fearless, because either you’ll triumph, or you’ll make a mistake from which you can learn, and you’ll become better for the next moment that comes along. It’s a win-win!
– Alisha Glass, starting setter on the U.S. Women’s National Team, former Penn State AVCA All-American
PHOTO: DON LIEBIG
PHOTO: PETER BROUILLET
PHOTO: IOWA STATE
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