This is an entry in my volleyball coaching log for 2014-15.
A combination of mid-term break and some other factors had the player count down to 10, with one of last year’s players visiting as a guest to make 11 in total. There’s an away match on Wednesday, which means I would have normally tried to do some 6 v 6 in preparation, but that wasn’t really an option for this training given who was on-hand. Instead, I went with a more high-contact volume session.
I had them go right into over the net pepper in two groups of four and one of three, periodically mixing players around. From there I shifted to serving, with some target work. After that, it was 2-sided serving and passing with a target of 30 good passes, -1 for overpasses. From them it was on to the Belly Drill, and finished with Winners 3s.
I was quite pleased with the power I saw from the servers. They definitely challenged the passers. The overall tempo of the serving & passing drill wasn’t great, but the players definitely got into the Belly Drill and enjoyed it.
Wednesday’s away match will be a tough one based on the scouting report I heard from another coach. It won’t be helped by the team missing two prospective starters and being left without a clear libero choice.
I have decided not to make the trip (which will involve about 6 hours of driving) as I’m feeling considerable pressure to focus on my PhD work right now. There’s a bit of guilt over that, but the team played their weekend regional club league matches without me and did well by all accounts. They got their first match win of the season despite not having any of the returning players from last year’s team.
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