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Worn Out on Traditional Volleyball Warm-Ups

Keeping volleyball practices fun and exciting is a challenge that plagues most coaches as the season progresses. Whereas players are full of energy and zeal at the beginning of the year they often run out of steam as the season dwindles on, especially once games begin overtaking practices as your weekly meetings. Follow these few simple coaching tips for volleyball to keep your players involved and having so much fun they barely even notice theyre improving their skills at the same time.

The first of my coaching tips for volleyball involves making warm-ups more engaging. One of the biggest complaints that I always heard from my players following volleyball practice was that warm-ups were dull and boring. While we all know that warming up is a crucial element of exercise, it doesnt mean it has to be all running laps and stretching. So I listened to my players and we brainstormed a list of alternate means of warming up, both before practice and games. As a result we replaced the traditional warm-up with a 10-minute version of some of my teams favorite playground games, freeze tag and dodgeball.

I got you and now youre frozen!

For freeze tag, designate one person as it whose job it is to run around and tag everyone. Once tagged, a player becomes frozen to the spot where they were tagged and they are to stand with their legs wide apart. In order to unfreeze someone, you must dive between their legs. If the player who is it can successfully tag and freeze everyone, then they are declared victorious. Sometime I name two its so that they have a better chance of tagging everyone and neither one gets too exhausted. This game is also great because it gets players working on their dives when unfreezing others.

Dodge This!

Another game that gets the blood flowing is Dodgeball. Start by dividing your team into 2 groups who stand on opposite sides of the playing area. We use a basketball court, with the center line as the dividing line between the teams. Each team is given a ball with the goal of hitting as many members of the opposing team as they can.

The catch is that once you are hit or your throw is caught by the other team, you are sent to the jail which lines the back of the opposite teams playing area. However, you can free yourself from jail by getting a ball and hitting someone on the opponents team. This game is a great way to emphasize accuracy in throwing and teamwork.

Volleyball Goals for the Future

Finally, I offer the notion of goal-setting as the next on my list of coaching tips for volleyball. This can be done in a variety of ways, including both individual and team goals. At the beginning of the season, have each player write down a list of 3 things they want to improve about the way they play and come up with ways to achieve these goals.

Work with each player individually to achieve their goals, and also take 5 minutes at the end of each practice to come up with a team goal, and reinforce how that will happen. By coming up with specific things to work on instead of just a lets win the next game attitude, your team will learn to focus on where they need improvement as well as earn a self-esteem booster every time a goal is achieved.

Larry Reid has been coaching volleyball for well over a decade. You can get instant access to his championship volleyball practice plans by visiting his website:

http://www.volleyballpracticeplans.com/

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I come up against this all the time, coaches saying they dont want their players messing with their shots once the season starts. So whats the truth?

WHY IS BASKETBALL ANY DIFFERENT?

The first question that comes to mind is why should basketball be any different from other sports? The great PGA golfers are working on their swings, short game and putting all the time. They probably dont try to adjust anything right before a round, but afterward they get with their coaches and work on such things as tempo, swing plane, club face at contact, ball flight, this and that. Baseball players have hitting and pitching coaches to work with them throughout the season. Tennis players work with their coaches all the time. If they could talk to them during a round, they surely would. (Its kind of unfair that golfers can have caddies [who can be coaches and teaching professionals] and talk to them throughout a round, but tennis players cant even talk or signal their coaches in the stands during matches.)

Basketball is no different! In fact basketball shooting is a much more forgiving skill than hitting a 90 mile an hour fast ball, or controlling a golf clubhead traveling at 120-140 miles/hour. The basketball rim is about twice the size of a basketball. Free throws are taken only 13 feet nine inches from the center of the rim. Jump and Set Shots are taken from just a few feet away up to 20 feet or more, not huge challenges.

NOT MAJOR CHANGES!

By working on your shot, I dont mean you should make major changes to your shot during a season (usually), because it takes time for the body to adjust to and trust a very different shot action. But minor things can be worked on and tweaked all throughout the season. And if your stroke is really suspect (a nice way of saying poor), what is the risk in a major change? If youre losing playing time or games due to poor shooting, why not address it, both individually and as a team, whatever it takes?

AWARENESS IS HOW TO DO IT

The way to do this most gently is through awareness rather than telling someone (or yourself) how to do things. Awareness is how our marvelous body/brain/nervous systems work (lets call it the body). Awareness gives the body the feedback it needs to know what is happening, and then it can make the, usually, subtle changes it needs to learn and perform better. Patience is important, too, as the body cannot be rushed. If you are always short, for example, yelling at yourself or a player isnt of much help. In fact it would hinder growth. But simple awareness and then observation of how such-and-such feels, and what the results are, will lead to solid, lasting learning.

EXAMPLES OF AWARENESS COACHING/LEARNING

Lets say a player shoots everything flat and has a low shooting percentage. The awareness questions to ask are How high are you shooting now? and What might you do to shoot higher? Once the player has some knowledge of the height of her/his shots, then invite him/her to play with the answers to the second question. The player could aim higher with the arm action, one possibility, or the player could jump more strongly to shoot. Also you could notice when in the jumping motion (or down-up for a Free Throw) you are shooting. Is it early, middle of the jump, or at the top? With experimentation, the player will learn that shooting quicker is a simple and powerful way to increase the height of shots. Then play with this instruction -- Shooting quicker -- and the player will LEARN about height and how to get it. The major part of the work on improving height can be done by the player, just noticing things, giving precise feedback, and then getting out of his/her own way. Letting the learning happen!!!

(A note about Letting Go! It means to stop interfering and give your magical body the freedom to perform what it knows to do. You might ask, then, How can I do perform with excellence if I dont yet own the skill, dont know how to do it? One of my mentors put it this way: If you know what to do, then LET IT HAPPEN! If you dont know what to do, LET IT LEARN! The magic is in the LETTING...)

YOUNG KIDS ESPECIALLY

Kids should be coached and encouraged to work on their own on their shots all year long. These are the developmental years, so allow them to try new things throughout the season. Teach them to be responsible (able to respond) for their own learning! Thats whats so powerful about the Swish videos, THEY TEACH KIDS TO COACH THEMSELVES! Its in the practice that theyre going to develop themselves more than in the few and far-between coaching sessions. Coaching can get them started beautifully, but its in the follow up (and repetition with awareness) that theyll learn the most. And, coaches, dont worry about losing games! Skill development for your players is much more important at the younger ages.

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I asked a few coach friends to give me their comments on this subject, and their input is included below.

Like you, Tom, I believe there is no time like the present to work on and improve a player's shot. The old chestnut that you don't want to play around with a player's stroke during season should have gone out with the two-handed set shot!

Golfers continually work and refine their swings; there is no reason why shooters should "wait" until the off-season to maintain and refine form and technique.

The great players always want information and look for ways to get the slightest edge. Coaches need to have the courage to provide this information and not be worried about the chance it might cost a game along the way.

The other poignant point in this discussion/debate is when is it a good time to make change and work on technique? In Australia, the basketball "season" never seems to end, and in the US, the advent of endless AAU tournaments leave little time to wait until there is a spare 3 months period in the coaching calender.

It is a similar argument to not changing a player's shot once they have reached a certain age. This is such an important skill, why would any coach not want to provide players of any age or experience with information and knowledge to improve in this area?

- - Peter Lonergan, NITCP Head Coach, Basketball New South Wales, Australia

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Tom, I believe every year we could benefit from going back and getting brushed up on the raw basic fundamentals of shooting to help keep our shooting in top form and keep accurate and, hopefully, improve. I have found from my own experience in life, that sometimes when I have done something so long, I do tend to neglect certain "small" things that can add up to a big difference. If I stay on top of those "small" things, I can be more successful. I would recommend that sometime during the year, players go back to the elementary basics and start from scratch and work their way back to where they are at to keep from ignoring something that may make a big difference in their shot.

- - Tommy Huneycutt (Tommys Playbook website:

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Just a quick thought here ... I think the age and experience of the players is a big factor. Assuming the player is advanced and needs only refinement, then, yes, you work on the shot, but don't overhaul it, because winning in the short term is too important (like on a college team).

However, taking that mentality to anything under HS varsity does a great disservice to the kids. Can you imagine a high school C team coach, for instance, not wanting to change a player's shooting form just to protect his W/L record? First, the whole point of youth sports is to prepare players for higher level play. The sooner the better for fixing shooting form. If your subject player doesn't change ASAP, he may never be ready for varsity play. If his performance in the C team level hurts his team (by missing a few shots, I guess), then that is a very small price to pay.

Second, the longer you wait to change form, the harder it is to train new habits. Even when you can prove to a high school player that a form change is beneficial, when the pressure is on, he will resort to old habits. Only the exceptional students of the game will willingly change their fundamental habits when they are older.

- Steve Jordan, Coaches Notebook

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My thoughts on how kids are training are very similar to what Bob Bigelow (bobbigelow.com) has been saying (Ed. note: Steve, Bob and I met this fall in Massachusetts; Bob is an expert in Youth Sports and how they could more effectively be coached). So much time is devoted to game preparation and conditioning ... and so little time is being spent on developing players skills. Kids are playing too many games and not enough time is being spent on just shooting a basketball. How many kids today go outside and shoot for an hour everyday?

I recently did a clinic for a youth basketball team, and after I was finished my with my skills segment, the coach had them go right into a game. Just running up and down the court throwing shots from everywhere. Shooting is a skill, an art, and a science which needs to be worked on everyday. There's nothing more satisfying than shooting at the park or in your driveway and swishing shot after shot.

I sympathize with youth coaches today. The youth sports system puts so much emphasis on winning games that it doesn't allow for coaches to spend the needed time on fundamentals such as shooting. Our kids can run 4-5 offensive plays and zone trap, but they can't hit a free throw.

Some suggest blowing up the system ... but that's probably not realistic. I suggest working to improve the system. Traditionally town travel teams practice a couple times a week and play games on the weekend. Parents should consider basketball skill and shooting coaches to supplement their kids practice schedule. Working with a coach will focus them more on developing their skills than on winning basketball games.

And for the kids who might have been cut from an AAU or travel team, they can now gain an advantage by working with a coach who helps them develop their skills.

- - Steve Smith (basketball coach at Forekicks, a Golf and Indoor Sports Complex in Norfolk, Massachusetts)

Tom Nordland is a shooting expert and coach from California via Minnesota. His videos, coaching and writings are inspiring a Renaissance (a rebirth, a revival) in shooting around the world as players and coaches are taught the things that really matter in shooting. A great shooter as a youth, Tom was given a gift of seeing shooting like few have ever seen it. He sees the essence of great shooting and how to get there. The good news is that its very simple. The few great shooters of today and yesterday mastered simple things, not complicated motions. Improved shooting is now possible for everybody in the game, and mastery is available to those who sincerely dedicate themselves to it. Visit Toms website (http://www.swish22.com/) to read of his background and his articles and newsletters, and to view the remarkable endorsements and amazing testimonials for this approach to shooting.

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Sculpture has been used for centuries to enhance a garden's natural beauty. Every garden would have a little spot which could be better highlighted using an unusual sculpture, a bird bath or water feature rather than just another plant.

Careful positioning of these sorts of things has traditionally been used in garden feng shui to bring all the elements into the garden. Any size garden can be enhanced with sculpture as it draws the eye to a focal point as you walk around the garden.

Metal sculpture is often chosen due to its durability to withstand the variances of weather and the uniqueness that the artist can create. It is often heavier and more stable with the ability to be pegged to the ground which is important in strong winds. With the correct coating outdoor sculpture should last for years in the garden.

One sculptor who is creating uniquely Australian garden sculpture is Peter Kozina of Brisbane's bayside. Peter's works are made completely from recycled steel hence he goes by the business name "Recycled Treasures". He is often inspired in his work by what he sees in a discarded piece of scrap metal whether it be a piece from an old plough, a brush hook or railway spike from days gone by. He immediately sees an emu, eagle or perhaps a person's stance in a shape he discovers buried in the scrap heaps of Queensland.

Recycling has long been a passion of Peter's and he likes nothing better than making something worthwhile out of supposed "junk". He was featured in a segment on Channel Nine's Brisbane Extra last year which highlighted the benefits of recycling in the Brisbane area.

Peter also makes a series of garden ornaments which feature terracotta pots which can be planted up as an added feature in the home garden. Old pushbike wheels have been transformed into penny farthings which look really colourful when the 3 pots are planted with your favourite annuals.

He turns a rusty wheelbarrow into a real talking point complete with a huge central terracotta bowl and 4 smaller pots surrounding it enhanced with scrollwork. Another popular item is his unique birdbaths. No two are the same as he builds the stand out of an old car or truck spring which leads up to the bath encased in a discarded basketball hoop with 2 feeders on either side.

Water features are popular in modern garden design. Peter makes his uniquely Australian by using farm posts with an old brass tap attached. It flows into a bucket so for the water saving folk it uses only a small amount of water to get that soothing sound of running water.

Peter is aware of the difficulty metal features have in being able to withstand the weather. All his garden ornaments have been coated with a high quality etch primer followed by an enamel exterior paint. His individual sculptures have been specially treated with a formula he has created to allow the natural look of rusted metal to be maintained without rusting any further.

All the purchaser has to do is spray it occasionally with clear lacquer if it is in direct sunlight and the sculpture once again has that wonderful lustre. Peter's motto has always been: "Bringing the past to life in sculpture".

Peter Kozina specialises in Brisbanegarden ornaments and is a Brisbanesteel and metal sculptor.

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There are several ways to increase vertical jump. At your training you will have to look for two things, to strengthen your legs and strengthen their fast-twitch muscle fibers which are essential for vertical jump and that will add few centimeters to your vertical jump. Increasing vertical leap will help you at sports like basketball (for better rebounding), volleyball (at hitting and blocking), soccer (being able to score with your head), handball, American football, rugby and others.

Power is one of the most important thing when jumping high. Physics say that power equals A/t, A being the work and t time but in sports power is better described as strength multiplied by speed and that is why training fast-twitch muscle is very important.

Every workout should be started with warming up and extensive leg stretches which is very important when building muscle fibers and will prevent injuries. The best way to continue is with jump rope which will higher your pulse which will help you with the final results. As I said before speed is important that is why you should go out and make few sprints and than continue with stairs. I recommend you the local stadion which usually has a lot of stars. Important thing is to run the stars with your toes than walk down and repeat the exercise on every second stair. The thing you should do next are the jumps. Start with jumping from the box and immediately back on to the box. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions. Continue with jumps where your legs are bent (3/4) and try to jump as high as possible land and repeat... Do 3 sets of ten repetitions and continue with jumping fast and not as high as before. Jump as soon as your toes hit the ground. The best thing is to find a target backboard or rim on the basketball court is a great target try to touch it 10times in a row and repeat it 3 times.

After you are done run for a mile and than stretch again. Complete the program every 3rd day and results will be seen in weeks.

For more info on vertical leap exercises visit Improve Vertical

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