Last weekend we hosted the UK Volleyball Coaching Symposium in lovely Kettering, England. Jim Stone was our feature presenter for the event. He presented 6 of the 7 on-court sessions we ran over the two days.
Although it wasn’t a specific topic for any of the sessions, one of the clear points of emphasis for Jim was focus of attention. What are the players looking at? What should they be looking at?
It was a constant source of his interaction with the demonstrator players he was working with.
How much attention do you give to your players’ focus of attention?
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2 Responses
Agreed, I like to say mindful reps… One of the first things I emphasize in helping a player improve is awareness. What are they doing that may be inhibiting them, what should be doing? How does it feel when they do it right? From there, what 1 or 2 things can they focus on that will remind them to do it right?
Ken – While that kind of attention is important in its own right, it’s not the sort of attention I’m talking about here. I’ll use a prime example. Jim had the players doing some blocking work. He had them in a read-react situation. He wanted their focus of attention to be locked in on the setter’s hand so they could react to the set.