This is an entry in my volleyball coaching log for 2016-17.
Monday
The day started with weight training.
Our theme for the day was block/defense. Specifically, we wanted the players reading, reacting, and going for the ball.
The morning session started with cooperative cross-court hitting. That progressed to backrow 4s played Speedball fashion. We then had them do some target serving for the first time, after which the passers did a sever & pass session while the MBs and setters worked on their connection. Next was some hitters vs. blockers. We finished with two games. One was an out-of-system game where we had two pin blockers in 2 and 4 on each side, plus back row players in 1 and 5. Sets had to go to the pins, so there was always a firm double block. We finished up with 6 v 6 having each side serve 3 balls before rotating. A team got a bonus point for a first ball sideout.
As has been typical, we did a lot of game play in the second session. We did, however, have one servers vs passers game where we focused the camera on the passers for instant feedback.
The day ended with a team discussion about season goals. They came up with a group of outcome goals (where we ended the season), as well as several process goals (things we will do along the way to get there).
Tuesday
We started the morning session off with a serving warm-up and then some zonal target work. After that, they played a competitive version of the cross-court hitting drill. We did some servers vs. passers games, and also a Neville Pepper like game where the fixed team tried to score via back row attacks. It probably wasn’t the best way we could have done that, all things considered.
We did a pair of 6 v 6 games to finish. The first used a combination of normal rally scoring and points for passes. Teams earned points for winning rallies, as usual. They also earned points for serve reception passes – 2 for a 3 pass, 1 for a 2 pass. He’s the catch. If they were aced, their accumulated pass points went back to zero. The game was played to 25. The final game featured bonus points for digs (or free/down ball passes) to target.
Between sessions we had Picture Day. Yay!
Our afternoon session was a somewhat shortened one. We had the players play Brazilian 2-Ball tennis (something my Svedala team did regularly), then had a Servers vs. Passers game. That was followed by an out-of-system game. We finished up playing an old-school sideout scoring game to 15 to put a bit of onus on siding out.
The day ended with a Fall Sports Kick-off event which combined volleyball with the two soccer teams.
Wednesday
The day started with weight training. We had no morning training as the team did some youth work in the community. In the afternoon we scrimmaged at a local junior college. Not surprisingly, the results were mixed given it was our first external competition and we used a variety of line-ups. The teams split the four sets played, though we held the edge in points.
On the plus side, our serve reception was solid. It wasn’t the 2.3 the team targeted as their goal, but it was a respectable 2.15. And it was consistent. I think only one of our primary passers was below 2.0, and even then just barely. To be fair, the other team didn’t serve all that aggressively, though they were solid in terms of targeting.
In the mixed category was our offense. The sets to the MBs were a bit erratic in height and tempo, though we still high for a high efficiency. Over all we were at about 40% kills, which is good, but were were also at about 20% errors, which is not so great. Some of that was poor decision-making, but some of it was just being aggressive. We’ll take that as this stage. Actually, the fourth set really pulled the hitting numbers up. In Set 1 we hit about .125. It was a little over .200 in Set 2, then dipped back down to about .165 in the third. In the last set we were just shy of .400. Overall, one of our OHs hit .400 for the match, which is great. We also ran an effective back row attack.
In the could be better category was our defense. Mainly, that was about block placement and reading/anticipation. Things, especially in terms of the block, got better as the match progressed. We need to get much better in picking up the cues from the other side of the net and adjusting, though.
Thursday
We started the morning session with a discussion of the Wednesday match. We wanted to see how the players felt they did, not just in terms of their play, but also in terms of the off-court attitude and energy. Of course we also talked about taking what we learned and moving forward.
The session itself had reading and anticipation of the main themes. We used Brazilian 2-ball once more as a first warm-up activity. After that, it was some target serving. Then we split into two groups. I took the setters and middles to work on slide and 1-ball connections, which were an issue in the scrimmage. The rest did serving & passing games. They then played back court 2 v 2 (half court – 8 simultaneous games). After that it was 6 v 6. First, we played a game where one side was only allowed 2 contacts (3 if it was a really scramble) to increase the speed at which balls came back at the 3-touch side and to encourage more anticipation. We finished with a straight 15-point game.
The afternoon session started with work on our pre-match warm-up routine. We did part of it before Wednesday’s scrimmage, but wanted to smooth out the rough spots in especially the full court portion (NCAA women do a 4-4-5-5-1 protocol). After that it was all game play. We repeated the 2-contact game from the morning with a change in it’s structure. I like the effect it seemed to have on getting the team to read better and anticipate more. We’ll probably keep doing it.
We also did a kind of controlled entry initiation game. The idea was to replace coaches on boxes hitting at players to start transition play with live hitters to make things more game-like. It’s something we need to iron out a little bit, but it could be be useful to work on transition play. We ended with a normal game to 25.
Friday
The day started with weight training once more.
The first session was a little slow in the early phases. We had them do some short-court games to start, then shifted to doing a bit of technical work on blocking. The main focus there was wing blocker positioning. Competitive cross-court hitting was next to bring in game play, and that progressed into some offense vs. defense. We finished with a regular game, but with the players getting whistled for not getting to defensive base, leaving too early, and/or failing to cover their hitters.
The final session of pre-season was all about competition. We put the players into two teams and played a series of games (though the three middles shuffled around, as we’ve had them do the whole time).
Saturday
No training. The players had to attend mandatory Life Skills sessions during the evening.
Sunday
Off day.
Observations
I think overall we’ve been pretty pleased with how things have gone up to now. There was a little bit of an internal conflict flare up midweek related to playing time and fitness tests, but it seems to have been smoothed out. The group ended the week full of energy and positivity. Obviously, we’re a long way from where we want to be. There are a lot of rough patches in our play that need to be sanded down, which is to be expected in what is still a pretty young team. We can see the glimpses of what we’re capable of, though, and some of it is really exciting.
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