I came across video of a strange drill on social media one day. It reminded me that volleyball coaches really do some strange stuff sometimes.

This is an update of what I've been doing in my role as Indoor Performance Director for the English national volleyball teams.

There are real issues with using physical or conditioning consequences. Good coaching means seeking out better strategies.

Is there momentum in volleyball? One coach argues that it depends on the level of the mental skills of the players involved.

I sometimes see coaches having players passing from their knee or knees. This is something I just don't get.

Volleyball has "rate limiters" at just about every contact. We can manipulate them to encourage players to develop in our desired direction.

We want failure of skill or tactical execution by our players as part of their development. But what about failure of the drills we use?

In any season we're likely to face a period of time where focus and motivation in practice become a challenge. What can we do?

A research paper provides a framework for us to apply the levers of specificity and challenge based on our session or activity focus.

As coaches we need to operate in the overlapping area of knowledge of our context, knowledge of the research, and our own expertise.