The primary week’s coaching ought to provide you with a a lot clearer image of your group. You’ve seen the gamers collectively, launched the essential programs, watched them carry out all the talents, and seen how they reply when play turns into much less predictable. Now it’s time to resolve what to do with that info.
For a lot of groups, the primary week is all the true prep time you get earlier than college begins and/or matches, start. Others have a extra prolonged preseason. Both manner, you need to take what you realized from the primary week and use that to set priorities for what comes subsequent.
Naturally, the primary few practices are likely to reveal extra issues than you may tackle without delay. Serve obtain could also be inconsistent. Transition might be disorganized. Gamers might not perceive their defensive tasks. Your setters and hitters won’t but join nicely. Communication might disappear as quickly because the rally turns into troublesome.
The temptation is to make a listing of all the pieces that wants enchancment and begin working by means of it. That often isn’t one of the best ways to go about issues.
The essential query isn’t: What does this group want to enhance?
It’s: What’s at present limiting this group essentially the most?
That query helps flip first-week observations into helpful coaching priorities – and from there right into a roadmap for progress.
Begin with what’s disrupting play
The most important limitation isn’t at all times the weakest particular person talent.
A group might have a number of gamers with inconsistent attacking approach, for instance, however that doesn’t essentially make attacking the primary precedence. If the group can not management sufficient first contacts to create assault alternatives, serve obtain would be the extra essential drawback.
Likewise, a group may have higher serving, however serving follow alone won’t resolve a defensive system that repeatedly leaves massive areas of the court docket uncovered.
Look first for the issues that repeatedly disrupt the group’s means to play. Or from one other perspective, the place are they shedding factors and/or failing to attain them?
Some widespread examples embrace:
- Serve obtain breaks down, so the group can’t arrange an assault.
- The setter has few choices as a result of gamers transition too slowly.
- Defenders don’t perceive seam tasks or who has quick balls.
- Gamers execute nicely in managed actions, however wrestle to throughout reside play.
- First contact is nice, however that doesn’t convert into factors.
- Communication drops off when the rally turns into unpredictable.
- One mistake repeatedly turns into a number of ones as a result of the group doesn’t reset successfully.
These aren’t remoted errors. They’re patterns that have an effect on what occurs all through the rally. Your prime precedence must be to deal with these patterns.
Distinguish signs from underlying issues
Bear in mind that what you first discover might not be the precise drawback. It’d simply be a symptom of one thing else.
Suppose your outdoors hitters are often attacking from poor positions. It could be straightforward to conclude they want extra hitting work. However why are they in poor positions?
Maybe the move is repeatedly too tight to the web. Perhaps the setter is delivering inconsistent areas. The hitters could also be late getting off the web in transition. They may not perceive when to stay obtainable for an out-of-system ball.
The unsuccessful assault is the seen consequence, however the coaching precedence sits earlier within the sequence.
Earlier than choosing a precedence, ask:
- What occurred?
- What occurred instantly earlier than it?
- Is that this primarily a technical, tactical, organizational, or decision-making drawback?
- Does the identical sample seem in several conditions?
- What change would have the best impact on the remainder of the group’s play?
This helps forestall you from spending beneficial time treating signs relatively than the illness.
Determine one or two main constraints
You’ll most likely determine a number of legit wants. That doesn’t imply they need to all obtain equal consideration. You’ll need to concentrate on simply the highest one or two constraints to your group’s efficiency.
To be clear, a constraint is one thing that considerably limits what the group can at present do. It could be:
- The power to regulate serve obtain
- The power to create a hittable second contact
- The group of transition offense
- The connection between the block and back-court protection
- The power to handle out-of-system play
- The power to serve with helpful strain
- The power to maintain organized play after the primary change
The precise priorities rely upon the group. A younger group struggling to keep up rallies may have completely different wants from an skilled group getting ready for stronger competitors.
The secret is to be selective. If all the pieces’s a precedence, nothing actually is.
Account for the competitors schedule
As soon as matches start, coaching priorities can’t be separated fully from schedule calls for.
You might have recognized an essential long-term subject, however a right away opponent may expose a distinct weak spot. You may additionally have much less coaching time due to college schedules, journey, restoration wants, and/or match preparation.
That doesn’t imply permitting the following opponent to dictate all the pieces you do, although. It means balancing three issues:
- The group’s most essential present constraints
- The calls for of the following competitors
- The quantity of coaching time really obtainable
A helpful precedence ought to assist the group now with out turning into so opponent-specific that it provides little longer-term worth. For instance, enhancing out-of-system group might assist in opposition to the following opponent, nevertheless it additionally addresses a broader weak spot that can matter all through the season. Spending most of a follow rehearsing a extremely particular tactical response might have much less lasting worth.
Think about each significance and trainability
Crucial long-term drawback isn’t at all times one of the best coaching focus proper now. Some stuff can enhance comparatively shortly by means of higher group and readability. Others require an extended interval of technical improvement.
For instance, clarifying serve-receive seam accountability might produce a right away enchancment. Considerably altering a participant’s passing approach is more likely to take for much longer. That doesn’t imply you ignore the technical subject. It merely means you distinguish between:
- What can enhance the group comparatively shortly
- What requires persevering with improvement
- What should be managed by means of the best way the group performs
This distinction helps you construct a sensible coaching plan. Chances are you’ll resolve to make clear the group’s serve-receive construction now, give particular person passers technical suggestions over time, and regulate formations to cut back publicity in sure rotations.
All three actions tackle the identical normal drawback, however they function on completely different timelines.
Flip priorities into observable behaviors
“Enhance protection” is just not a helpful follow precedence. Neither is “talk higher” or “be extra constant.” These statements are too broad to information follow design or suggestions. Translate every precedence into one thing you may observe.
As an alternative of enhance transition offense, you may concentrate on:
- Entrance-row hitters getting off the web instantly after their defensive accountability
- The setter recognizing the scenario and transferring towards the goal space earlier
- Non-setters figuring out who takes the second ball
- Attackers remaining obtainable when the group is out of system
As an alternative of talk higher, you may concentrate on:
- Passers figuring out seam accountability earlier than the serve
- Blockers calling the defensive scheme
- The setter speaking out-of-system accountability
- Gamers giving helpful info relatively than merely making noise
Observable behaviors make it simpler to design actions, present suggestions, and acknowledge progress.
Design practices that repeatedly expose the precedence
As soon as you already know the conduct you need, create follow conditions by which it happens often.
If transition group is the precedence, a serving-and-passing drill that ends after the primary assault won’t present sufficient related repetitions. You want actions that proceed by means of the defensive and transition phases.
If seam accountability is the precedence, gamers have to obtain serves that drive precise seam selections. Predictable serves on to particular person passers received’t reveal or develop the conduct you care about.
You may enhance publicity by means of:
- Fastidiously chosen beginning conditions
- Small-sided video games
- Constraints
- Wash scoring
- Bonus factors for precedence behaviors
- Repeated rotations or matchups
- Quick 6v6 segments with a transparent remark focus
The target is to not create an elaborate drill. It’s to provide sufficient consultant repetitions for gamers to acknowledge, execute, and regulate the specified conduct.
See The Excellent Drill for extra info on how one can create and/or adapt drills to serve your particular function.
Hold the remainder of the sport current
A transparent precedence doesn’t imply eradicating all the pieces else from follow. Volleyball actions are related. Serve obtain leads into setting and attacking. Protection leads into transition. Serving impacts the opponent’s choices and your individual defensive group.
You may emphasize one a part of the sport whereas preserving these relationships.
For instance, a serve obtain precedence is definitely educated by means of a sport that begins with a serve, rewards an outlined high quality of first contact, after which continues by means of the rally. The scoring highlights the precedence, however the gamers nonetheless should play volleyball.
That is typically extra helpful than spending lengthy intervals on an remoted exercise, hoping the advance transfers later.
Use matches as one other supply of proof
As soon as competitors begins, matches provide you with info that follow can not totally reproduce. They present which behaviors maintain up beneath strain, which issues develop into extra vital in opposition to an opponent, and whether or not gamers could make changes with out repeated coach intervention.
The error is to react too strongly to each consequence. One poor match doesn’t essentially imply your complete coaching plan was unsuitable. Equally, an excellent consequence doesn’t imply the underlying issues are gone. Search for repeated patterns throughout follow and competitors.
Ask:
- Did the identical breakdown seem that we’d already recognized?
- Did the issue happen particularly rotations or conditions?
- Did gamers acknowledge and regulate to it?
- Was the difficulty technical, tactical, organizational, or emotional?
- Does it stay crucial constraint?
- Has one other drawback develop into extra vital?
Matches ought to refine your priorities, not exchange them with a brand new listing after each efficiency.
Reassess relatively than merely proceed
A coaching precedence shouldn’t stay in place simply because it was written into the plan. Proceed observing what occurs.
Ask:
- Is the unique drawback showing much less often?
- Are gamers executing the specified conduct extra constantly?
- Does the advance stay current throughout aggressive play?
- Has one other constraint develop into extra essential?
- Are we seeing a technical limitation that requires a distinct method?
- Is the group enhancing, or merely succeeding as a result of the exercise has develop into predictable?
Priorities ought to evolve because the group does. The aim of the primary week was to create path. The aim of this subsequent part is to check and refine that path.
A easy priority-setting course of
After the primary week, I’d work by means of the next questions:
- The place does our play most constantly break down?
- What seems to trigger these breakdowns?
- Which 1-2 constraints most strongly restrict the group?
- What does the upcoming schedule require us to deal with?
- What observable behaviors would enhance these areas?
- What follow conditions will repeatedly expose these behaviors?
- What proof will inform us whether or not the precedence is altering?
That provides you a working plan with out pretending you already know all the pieces concerning the group. Coaching plans ought to get extra particular as you study extra. They shouldn’t develop into extra inflexible.
The aim isn’t to create an entire listing of all the pieces the group has to enhance on. It’s to determine the work that can make the best distinction now, and use what occurs in coaching and competitors to resolve what comes subsequent.
If you happen to’re nonetheless getting ready your opening practices, begin with How one can Plan the First Week of Volleyball Preseason.
For extra practice-design assets, go to the Observe Planning and Heat-ups information.