Coaching Story: The stupidest missed serve in volleyball history

Once upon a time I was coaching a men’s volleyball match. Unfortunately, one of my OHs suffered an injury during a rally. Our bench was short – both literally and figuratively – so the only substitution I could make was to put in a 5’6″ DS. This was a college match, so you can imagine how much of an issue this was for our offense and block when he was front row.

Further, the setter for that team was only 5’9″ himself. As a result, there was one rotation which featured two short guys. And we didn’t exactly have a big middle either.

If ever there was a situation where the opposing team should keep their serve in, this was one. So when one of the other team’s players missed his serve while we were in that rotation, I turned to the bench and called it the stupidest missed serve in the history of volleyball.

Hyperbole? Probably. But still a really, really dumb mistake.

What’s the dumbest missed serve you’ve ever seen?

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John Forman

John is currently the Strategic Manager for Talent (oversees the national teams) and Indoor Performance Director for Volleyball England. His 20+ years of volleyball coaching experience includes all three NCAA divisions, plus Junior College, in the US; university and club teams in the UK; professional coaching in Sweden; and both coaching and club management at the Juniors level. He's also been a visiting coach at national team, professional club, and juniors programs in several countries.

Please share your own ideas and opinions.

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