Most of us volleyball coaches have pretty limited amounts of time in which to train our players and teams. It may only be once or twice a week (or less in some cases). We may only have 60 or 90 minutes to get in everything we need to accomplish. This means we need to operate at maximum efficiency to get the most out of the time available. Here are some ways you can do that.
1. Skip the dedicated conditioning
Unless you have all the time in the world to run your sessions and train most of the days of the week, you really shouldn't spend any time having your team run sprints, do jump training, etc. That must all be done separately. If you're worried about your team's level of fitness, there are plenty of ways to make your training sessions physically challenging while keeping them focused on individual volleyball skills or team development.
2. Make warm-ups multi-purpose
The way many coaches put their team through warm-ups wastes a lot of time. You need to consider first how much warm-up time is even required, and then find ways to incorporate the stuff you want to work on with the players into that period. Jog-and-stretch gets you nowhere, but light ball-handling can be quite useful.
3. Have a good ball collection/circulation system
Drills will go much more smoothly when you have a good procedure for how the balls get collected and circulated. Even a simple thing like having a player hand you the ball to initiate is better than you having to reach into the basket or pick a ball up off the floor (and it also will save your back). Plus, a systematic ball collection system will help keep the balls out from under the feet of active players, lowering the risk of injury. Think about these things when you set up your drills.
4. Have specific objectives for the session and make sure your drills work toward those objectives
This may seem like common sense, but from what I've seen that isn't necessarily the case. Some coaches seem to just want to patch together a bunch of drills they think are cool with no thought as to what they should be working on and/or whether those drills are of use. Newer coaches tend to be victims of this sort of behavior as they learn new drills and immediately want to try them with their team. If all your drills or games don't work directly toward your objectives for that practice, you're wasting valuable time.
5. Have a back-up plan
Sometimes things don't go how you intended. Players are missing or someone gets hurt. Maybe one of the drills you're trying just isn't working. These things happen. That means when you're developing your practice play you need to make sure to factor in alternatives so you can quickly transition as needed.
These are just five ways a good volleyball coach will reduce inefficiencies to get the most out of her or his time in the gym. I'm sure with a bit of thought you can think of others specific to your own circumstances. The idea is to do everything you can to waste as little time as possible so every bit of focus available is place on actual practice or play and not on things which do not contribute to making your players and your team better.
John Forman is an experienced volleyball coach and program administrator. These days he plies his trade coaching at the university and upper National Volleyball League levels in England while working on his PhD. Previously he coached at the NCAA Division I level and in the Juniors ranks. John published a college volleyball recruiting book in 2011 and regularly shares his thoughts on coaching volleyball via his blog.
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