‘Dragon Tag’ is a warm-up competition, timed and random. I felt utilizing the warm-up time in a gym as visualization and reinforcement of the verbal cues was effective use of these three minutes since Time Magazine tells us a goldfish has a longer attention span than a human now.
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balls over the net to each other, followed by the player calling “Mine” then catching the ball in “dragon form” to score a point. We played court versus court. With the older kids at seven and eight, we ran the grill as four simultaneous competing butterfly drills, having each butterfly group work for the highest number of “dragon” catches in a specific time frame.
The coaches focus their feedback on getting each player to think about where the ball is going to end up and why, and getting there before the ball does. This then easily converts through progression grills by adding swings versus tosses, passes versus catches, while adding more verbal cues and visualization. Examples of added visualization and verbal cues in the next progression drills would be “flamingo” for proper hitting footwork, “alligator” for opening arm and shoulder for preparation to swing, and some of the more traditional “moose horns” and “Superman” for other concepts. Each of these additional features becomes a game of its own.
Example 4 Balloon Mini Volleyball offers coaches
the rare opportunity to slow a grill down to its core movements for players while still playing the sport. We chose, in our gumbo, to utilize the visualization of a kitchen table for the children to help explain platform. Asking them to visualize what would hap- pen if they dropped a ball on their kitchen table straight down, how it would respond. We then ask them if they bounced it off the table to their parent sitting across from them, why it would not act the same. Their answers are fabulous, ranging from the angle to “my mom won’t let me have vol- leyballs at the table,” all correct answers. Utilizing a balloon that is round and shaped like a volleyball, allows the concept of a stable platform angled to a target, to be practiced with success. The natural tendency for a first time volleyballer, age 3, age 13, or age 30, is to swing their arms to create velocity. Like unlearning a back- ward bicycle, I cringe at the future “boom ballers” this might create. Blow up a bal- loon, visualize your kitchen table, and pass it to yourself. You will find your platform naturally freezes prior to contact. The flat
table translates well in pass self, set self, and hit over net progression drill to the other 3-year-old who must react on their dragon to get their table flat under the ball, to get their moose horns around it, to get their flamingo to it, to open their alligator jaws, or to making their Venus Williams grunt while striking the ball back over the 4-foot high obstacle. Each step is added to the progression drill, allowing the coach to teach specific portions of the whole, while keeping the chaos minimized, but present, for better player success. Dragon tag has been a successful and fun warm-up game I’ve utilized for my U12 and U14 athletes. It breaks the monotony of a six-month season, and can often be used to correct bad habits and posture during ready position and improve competition in your practice. Balloon and sitting volleyball is awe- some, just ask the nursing home patients who combine both for their daily physical activity. We have all wished our older child could keep a stable platform angled to their target, or remained weighted on their toes, down low in ready position, attempting to read and beat the ball to where it is going. At my recent CAP clinic, I enjoyed
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participating in a “Flamingo” drill that Tom Shoji, one of our CAP cadre, enlight- ened us with. It was designed to help his NCAA Division III athletes learn to engage an odd third contact over the net to start a rally and learn to keep the third hit aggres- sive and in play. I giggled and remembered my mini athletes were in the middle of do- ing a mini variation of this progression drill with balloons, first touches, and Volleylites 20 minutes down the road while I took Tom’s module. I had so much fun playing in Tom’s drill, as much fun as I imagine these 3-9 year olds would have competing with balloons and First Touch balls in an actual game over a net. And once again, the children taught me how to unlearn the bicycle I may have been riding backwards. I submit that if you are a serious coach
interested in solving your own angst over the older athletes you now coach, you must first be willing to ask, then be willing to listen to their answer, and finally be open to guiding discovery in creative ways to find out, “What color is your dragon?
62 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag
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