Dean Smith, famed University of North Carolina basketball coach, created the concept of a cauldron.  The cauldron is a system in which a player is graded in practices and matches. Points are awarded for a player’s performances in drills and the number of times his team wins in scrimmages. Anson Dorrance, the great University of North Carolina Women’s Soccer Coach, talks about it in his book Training Soccer Champions.   Many elite USA Volleyball Coaches recommend this book and it is where volleyball grasped the idea of creating a volleyball cauldron. Continue Reading

After settling in to my new abode in Charlotte (my cousin’s house), another stroke of good fortune came my way learning that there is satellite TV here!  Awesome!  So not only did I have the great opportunity to watch Chicago Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano smack a game winning grand slam in the 13th inning last night, but I also watched the USA play the Continue Reading

Marv Dunphy wrote a great article in the January 2009 Coaching Volleyball Magazine on how the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team won the Gold Medal.  Much overall praise goes Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon’s vision and system.

Following are coaching points of interest by Marv Dunphy: Continue Reading

TV Schedule of the USA Volleyball Gold Medal team (not all the same players from that team) in World League competition on ESPN. Continue Reading

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The original purpose of the volleyball libero was to provide a more exciting game overall through better passing and defense. The thought was that tall players have more difficulty with ball control and smaller players are quicker, more agile, and can play better court defense. The irony is that I have overheard coaches say Continue Reading

Last night, at the USAV Open Nationals here in Minneapolis, Team Paul Mitchell defeated Team BC 3 – 0 in the finals to win the Men’s Championship.  This is a three-peat for Team Paul Mitchell.  On the women’s side, the University of Washington defeated USA’s A2 Blue Team, 3 – 0.  Proving that a good team with chemistry, a team system, and a Continue Reading

The FIVB has a great collection of video clips from the 2008 Olympics.

It includes a compilation of team rotations and skills and the best players by skill. The videos do take some time to download, but they are pretty impressive once open. Check them out sometime: Continue Reading