Coaching Volleyball

Looking at Serving Risk and Reward

December 9, 2013 John Forman Volleyball Coaching Strategy No comments

There’s an article published recently which talks about the aggressive approach taken by the University of Wisconsin women’s volleyball team in their serving. In looking at the strengths and weaknesses of his team, the coach decided it was going to be important to not expose his relatively weak block to strong attacks. That would be accomplished by trying to get teams out of system in serve receive attack through tough serving.

Aggressive serving is something that gets talked about a fair bit in volleyball – especially at the higher levels. Offenses have gotten so powerful that siding out can be nearly automatic if the serve is passed well. Thus the desire to force teams to pass less than well, which requires good serving

There’s an obvious trade-off involved in aggressive serving, though. If a serve is missed it’s an automatic point for the other team. We can think of this in a mathematical way. The expected point value of a serve is a function of the probabilities of the various outcomes involved. Those outcomes include service errors, service aces, winning the rally and losing the rally. You can create a formula for the expected value of a serve (EVS) that looks like this:

EVS = PA – PE + (1-PA-PE) x (PRW – PRL)

Where…

PA = % chance of an ace (in decimal form – e.g. 10% = 0.10)
PE = % chance of an error
PRW = % chance of a rally win
PRL = % chance of a rally loss

Let’s put that in an example form. Say a given server gets and ace in 1 out of 20 serves (5%) and misses 2 out of 20 (10%). When the serve is in, the team wins the rally 60% of the time. The above formula would look like this:

EVS=0.05-0.10 + (1-0.05-0.10) x (0.60-0.40)
= 0.05 – 0.10 + 0.85 x 0.20
= -0.05 + 0.17
= 0.12

Thus, each time this particular player serves the team expects to score 0.12 points. If you play around with the numbers in different ways you can see how being more ore less aggressive could potentially impact that EVS value through the impact it has on ace and error percentages and the chances of winning the service rally.

We can translate the desire of the Wisconsin coach into a desire to increase service rally win % – PRW from the formula above. If the team is going to get more aggressive serving it should increase the PRW (and reduce the PRL) to improve the EVS, but it will also likely mean rising PE, which hurts the EVS. The question a coach needs to answer is whether the positive move in PRW more than offsets the rise in PE. If so, then it’s a good idea. If not, then there’s a problem.

In other words, serving tougher only makes sense if the increase in service rally wins at least offsets the rise in service errors.

Tags:
serving

Cutting back on the coaching a bit

December 8, 2013 John Forman Volleyball Coaching News & Info No comments

Yesterday I coached my last match for the Devon Storm Ladies. This is a move that’s been on my mind for a while now. I just simply need to reduce my volleyball commitments. Since we added Division 2 teams to the Exeter University program, my workload has gone up there quite a bit, and that has always been my priority. Even with EUVC, the demands are such that I have to prioritize at times which on which team I focus. Fortunately, I’ve had a fair bit of assistant coaching help this season to be able to have teams covered when there’s a scheduling conflict.

Granted, coaching the Devon team only meant a single training session a week and a handful of matches each month. As any teacher will know, though, there’s a lot more time that goes into it than just turning up and doing a job – especially when it’s not just doing extra sessions for the same group you’re with normally. All the prep work takes time and occupies mental bandwidth, as does the after-action analysis and assessment. Add to that some long days of travel and you get a real time commitment.

If you’ve read my bio you’ll know that I’m in Exeter working on a PhD. That work, however, has fallen markedly behind. My supervisor had already expressed some concerns about volleyball’s influence on my productivity near the start of the current term and I have a meeting with him again in a few days during which it will no doubt come up. If I’m to stay on track and retain my funding (the only thing keeping me in England at this stage) then I need to show considerable progress in the second term.

Even after stepping away from Devon coaching, though, I am still likely to have a very busy period in January and early February. The uni men will have 9-10 matches between the Div 1 and 2 teams, while the Div 1 women will have 3 as well. Both groups also have a pair of SW league dates scheduled, so it’s going to be a packed first month back. Somehow I’m still going to have to keep moving my research along at an acceptable pace.

The Evolving Jump Float Serve Approach

December 7, 2013 John Forman Volleyball Coaching No comments

One of the observations I made back in August when I was making my circuit of US collegiate volleyball team trainings was the way jump float serves have changed in recent years. The main idea of the jump float serve remains the same – striking the ball at a higher contact point to create a more favorable serve trajectory than could be achieved while standing (a standing float requires the ball to first rise to be able to clear the net). What has evolved is the approach used to execute it.

Over the years there have been a number of different types of approaches used in jump float serving. One of the most popular for a while was a slide type of approach where the server jumps off one foot (rather like a lay-up in basketball). This sort of approach was often done parallel to the end line similar to how a slide approach is done parallel to the net. You can still see some players using it today.

What seems to have become the dominant technique these days, though, is what Brian Gimmillaro at Long Beach State referred to as a poor spike approach. It features the standard 3-step footwork of Left-Right-Left (Right-Left-Right for lefties), but in a much subdued fashion. It’s kind of like a step-shuffle, rather than being something explosive. The ball is most commonly tossed with the non-hitting hand, though you will see some players using a 2-hand toss.

Clearly this new approach technique is meant be more consistent and controlled in execution. It doesn’t offer the same type of reach potential as the slide type of approach, but also reduces the variability. Basically, it trades height for consistency. The fact that things have worked in this direction suggests that while coaches certainly see the value of aggressive serving, they also understand that at a certain point getting a little more height (and maybe power) may be more than offset by the decrease in accuracy.

Volleyball Coaching Tip: Correcting/developing the spike approach

December 6, 2013 John Forman Volleyball Coaching No comments

Matt at The College Volleyball Coach has some good advice about working to correct incorrect spike approach footwork in an answer to a reader question. In this case it’s a young girl who has her footwork backwards.

Have her take approach jump laps around the gym/court. Left, Right, Left, Jump (not a max jump), again and again and again. She literally needs to be taking 5, 8, 10 laps around the court with correct footwork.

After a number of days with approach jump laps, get her a bag of tennis balls (grab used ones from the school tennis coach, if possible). She stands like she is in hitting warm-up lines facing the net, but instead of hitting a volleyball, she goes Left, Right, Left, Jump and throws the tennis ball over the net with her attacking hand/arm. Then she walks back and does it again, and again and again.

The last step is for her to attack from a setter. The coach, or parent, or mailman, tosses the ball to the setter and your daughter approaches Left, Right, Left, Jumps and attacks. The instant she goes into backwards footwork, immediately put her back into tennis ball throws, and back into approach jump laps.

It is critical to fix now; and the way to do it is to continuously practice the correct footwork, with gym laps and tennis ball throw. When she plays, she will revert at times to incorrect footwork just because this was her first learning pattern, but she can make that the rarity instead of the standard with repetitions.

I would add that these techniques can be used to generally work on proper attack approach footwork. It’s all about creating muscle memory. I would add that making sure her hips are properly open toward the court – as opposed to square to the net – is something important to do in this process as well.

Tags:
footwork
hitting

Coaching Log – Dec 4, 2013

December 5, 2013 John Forman Volleyball Coaching Log No comments

This is an entry in my volleyball coaching log.

For the last proper training session of the term we had 11 players. I had them do rotating pepper as a way for them to mix up working together given that three of those there last night will not be back for the second term (exchange students). After doing a bit of target serving, I then had them do hitting lines working on 2 balls (meter or 2nd tempo sets), with an eye toward adding some complexity to the offense next term. I extended that into Winners 3s with the requirement that the non-digging/passing player run the 2 while the other player was the high ball outlet. It wasn’t pretty, but I didn’t expect it to be right away. From there I moved it along to 6 vs 6, first going with 22 v 22, and then finishing with a standard scrimmage.

I wasn’t pleased with the coverage in the 6s play, particularly from the team’s new setter. She needs to develop the habit of following her sets. There was quite a bit of positional discussion, as well. Part of that was because of the new player who joined on Monday, but some of it wasn’t, which is frustrating.

Monday the team will have a mixed session with the guys squad as their last bit of court time before we get back into training in January.

There are some matches going on with other teams in the league happening this weekend. I’ll post another log entry after those results come out with thoughts on how we’re positioned for our goal of reaching Final 8s – and by extension the new premier league starting next season.

Book Review: Mental Toughness Training for Volleyball

December 4, 2013 John Forman Volleyball Coaching Product Reviews No comments

Mental Toughness Training for Volleyball by Mike Voight is a book which, as the title suggests, looks at how the game is played between the players ears. There are small sections in which physical factors are considered and discussed, but broadly it is a look at things like motivation, intention, concentration, and confidence. For coaches looking to find ways to go beyond technical and tactical training, it could come in quite handy to help surface and address any number of issues.

The book is broken down in to four sections. The first two are mainly focused on defining what we’re talking about when it comes to mental toughness and the sorts of issues which can contribute to performance problems. The third section is where the author gets into addressing mental toughness. For most readers this will probably be viewed as the meat of the book. The last section wraps things up by looking at the responsibilities of players and coaches in the process. The chapters tend toward being short, making for a book which is pretty easy to read.

Throughout the book the author provides a number of questionnaires and other tools which can be used to help assess where players are at in terms of their motivation and mental toughness, as well as to help identify potential issues both with individuals and the team overall. There is also a good-sized reference section at the back of the book for further reading. All together, this makes the book one which could quite easily be a long-term reference for volleyball coaches.

Coaching Log – Dec 2, 2013

December 3, 2013 John Forman Volleyball Coaching Log No comments

This is an entry in my volleyball coaching log.

Had a bit of a surprise in terms of numbers at training last night – 17 total, including a new prospect for the second team group. A couple of players who have been carrying injuries were unexpectedly in the group, along with all but one of the players we will lose at the end of the term when their exchange stays end. That caused some quick thinking about what to do on the day.

The idea going in was to focus on skill work, but with so many bodies in such a small space, I had to adjust a bit. We did some ball-handling at the start, then some serving. I then split the the court and had one side doing the Continuous Cross-Court Digging drill while the other was working on setting from ball passes, combined with good hitter transition and footwork.

I was involved in the hitting for the digging drill while having an assistant working on the other side, so I don’t really know how the setting stuff went beyond some comments from the team captain based on her short stint over there before coming over to dig. In terms of the digging, it could have been better – especially in the overpass area. My big frustration, though, was poor ball circulation among the players not in the drill and I used that to make a coaching point about the need to always be switched on – which ties back in with the observation I made from Saturday’s play.

The last half hour of training was Winners 4s. I was quite pleased by the hitting from a couple of the players – though frustrated about the lack of seeing those swings two days back! I took the opportunity a couple of times to make broad points – particularly on digging technique – while also being able to pull individuals aside to make specific comments.

At the end during the meeting with the players I told them of my intention to raise the challenge level because their improved play demands it. The reaction seemed positive and at the times during the session when I raised my voice they looked to have accepted it. Getting them fully switched on all the time clearly is going to have to be a major training focal point moving forward, so I’ll need to give some thought to how I can do that effectively.

Volleyball coach seeks help with motivating a beginner

December 2, 2013 John Forman Volleyball Coaching, Volleyball Coaching Q&A One comment

The following question was recently asked by a reader. It relates to motivation of a beginning player. I share a few of my own thoughts below, but would love to hear what others think.

How do I get a shy quiet girl moving. I had a guest coach over teaching and one of my girls walks up to her spike. The coach made her do it again but she went a tiny bit faster. I put this child on my team as per a request of her mom that says she is a couch potato. I try to teach her everything I know but still no happiness in this child or a smile or hustle, nothing. Help, how can I make her a player?

This sounds like a very challenging situation. If the girl is being forced to attend by her mother, there’s a major motivation hurdle to overcome – even more so if she is not naturally a physically active kid. You have to get her to be eager to be active and to want to improve her skills. It’s not an impossible task, but it’s a hard one for sure.

The first thing you need to try to figure out is if this is a case of “don’t wan’t to” or “can’t”. The former is about just not being interested. The latter is about thinking you’re not good enough or talented enough or whatever to be able to do what is asked. Be aware that sometimes “can’t” is masked by “don’t want to” as the individual puts up a protective front.

If it’s a question of “can’t”, then your job as coach is to find out where the perceived issue is and start to build confidence. That could be a question of showing the player someone like her who is successful. It could be about breaking things down a bit more so you can focus on elements where the player has a comfort, then work back up from there.

If the problem is “don’t want to”, then you have a different challenge.

In the case of most beginners, the key factor in whether you can keep them coming back and being interested in getting better – at least to a point – is fun and enjoyment. When it comes to those of the female gender, the social element is a big one. If this girl is not socially connected with the others in the group, I would try to find ways to encourage that. If she does have a social connection, maybe you can use her friend(s) to help you motivate the girl a bit more.

Another way to go is to try to find out what sorts of things this girl is interested in. There might be stuff you can do to link what you’re trying to teach her in volleyball with other things she does or likes. That also might give you the opportunity to do some role-modelling with her by way of pointing out players she can watch with whom she has things in common.

Coaching Log – Nov 30, 2013

December 1, 2013 John Forman Volleyball Coaching Log No comments

This is an entry in my volleyball coaching log.

Generally a pretty good day’s performance. The second team won both their division 2 matches, which likely means they will end 2nd in the table (they only have 4 league matches, but also have a cup competition starting in February). My assistant was with them, so I didn’t actually see them play, but the reports back were positive.

The division 1 team continued their progression. They aren’t where they can be yet, but it’s getting closer. I decided to go with the player I dubbed Setter B in my last log entry. While her stats weren’t much better in the last training, she’s a better defender, handles balls close to the net better, is an effective attacker when she needs to take the third ball, and is generally a more stable court personality – especially in pressure situations.

We beat the league leaders in a tight match to start the day, handled one of the teams from the lower half of the league without a lot of trouble, but lost a tight one against the defending league champs (who we beat a couple weeks back). The results on the day mean the three top teams in the league (including us) are all on 2 losses. We have three matches left with teams in the lower part of the table, while the other two title contenders have to play each other one more time. That means if we win out we can finish no worse than 2nd, with first place maybe coming down to tiebreakers.

The thing the last match of the day highlighted, though, was the need to stay aggressive in the attack. When the tentativeness crept back into our play for spells it cost us. Fortunately, I think the team is recognizing that. There were also some elements of not staying completely switched on all the way through plays, resulting in stupid points being given up. Serving has definitely come along quite well and is putting teams under considerable pressure. The defense also played well and I was pleased to see adapted to the other team’s attack. We do need to get better blocking, however.

There are two more training sessions before we wrap it up for the term. I will use them as an opportunity to work on more technical stuff than I’ve had the opportunity to do in recent weeks. Hitting mechanics will be part of that to keep improving that side of our game. As that comes along it should challenge our blocking to get better, though I may need to find some ways to expose them to better hitters to accelerate the development there.