It’s that time of year again, when new seasons start, new coaches are looking for advice on coaching.  I typically get a flood of emails in August and hope this blog post will help provide some guidance.

I’ve been coaching for 8 years now.  5 years collegiality and 3 years on the high school and juniors club scene.  There was a two year stint at East Valley Juniors in Arizona while I was at Arizona State, which could be considered coaching, as  I learned a bit from that experience.  I was the head coach of a team there and assisted with Jeff Nelson’s team (now University of New Mexico’s Head Coach) where Jenn Snyder (beach professional) was just a young pup.  Oh how the times have change or maybe they’re all the same.  I would though like to reacquaint myself with the great little players from my East Valley Juniors 14 – 2s Team.  I’d love to know what they are doing, where they are, what they are doing in their lives…etc.  I digress Continue Reading

1.      You stink.
Literally.  If your antiperspirant isn’t getting the job done (maybe you forgot to use some that day) or you splashed on a bit too much aftershave or perfume, your players are more worried about getting away from you than listening to you.

2.      Your breath stinks.
Seriously, if your breath stinks, your players are figuring out the best way to dodge the stench secreted by every word.  They probably are also holding their breath.  If they turn red, it’s likely not from what you are saying, but they can’t breathe.  Chew some gum. Continue Reading

Create a Personal Board of Directors

Mentorship is often touted as one of the primary means of furthering your career. But traditional one-on-one mentoring relationships may be a thing of the past. In today’s quickly changing world, you need a personal board of directors — a group of people you consult regularly to get advice and feedback. Continue Reading

Rotate 123 is a great volleyball rotation coaching tool that allows you to input numerous line-ups in a variety of offenses (5 – 1, 6 – 2).  Instead of writing down all 6 rotations by hand, crossing-out, and manipulating serve receive patterns, just enter your roster into the system and Continue Reading

What is a Volleyball Coach?

By: Yuri Tchesnokov
Russian Gold Medal Men’s Head Coach and Player
Excerpts from the FIVB Coaches Manual

A volleyball coach is a teacher and an educator, especially for a coach who is working with children and junior teams.

A volleyball coach is a person with a great knowledge of life.  Players need advice and support in many different life situations.  This is why one can say that a coach is a senior comrade and a life assistant. Continue Reading