The VolleyPod presented by The Art of Coaching Volleyball

Our guest this week is Joe Trinsey, a prolific writer who covers volleyball from a variety of perspectives. Today Joe talks with The VolleyPod about the "Goldilocks Method" for teaching passing. This technique inspires players to discover their kinesthetic feel for their game and allows for examination of a variety forms that allow for the same goal. This approach also encourages athletes to think more deeply about some of the key, yet overlooked aspects of passing, and open up a dialogue with the coach about what works for him/her, which can create some more genuine discussions than might be had otherwise. Our scenario this week is one that Davis knows all too well: when your team is losing a lot, what do you do? Joe discusses his ideas for what coaches can do to help their teams in this difficult yet extremely common scenario. The ideas will be helpful for everyone who has ever endured a brutal loss. Our resource of the week is Joe Trinsey's website Smarter Volley, which can be found here: https://smartervolley.substack.com/

Wait! Use code "VOLLEYPOD" for 20% off of almost anything on The Art of Coaching Volleyball's platform INCLUDING memberships, nearly all of the books, printouts, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, be sure to follow The VolleyPod on Instagram at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aoc.thevolleypod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Twitter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/TheVolleyPod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for exclusive content and immediately useful tips and drills! This week's skill is Tod's Deserted Island Drill, Kamikaze. This game is awesome for so many reasons. The game is a 4 v. 4 out of system game with basically one rule: the back row players set. You play with two front row players and two back row players and it really makes the back row and front communicate, be aggressive, and work together in order to protect the whole court. Tod goes into it in detail and explains how coaches can use it with their teams. In our scenario segment, we go over the gear that coaches need for a multi-day tournament. There's nothing new here except for some great tips for which gear to use in the current club tournament setup. We include the links below! We always share one great resource each week, and this week it is from the really great resource for parents, I Love To Watch You Play. This team is helping parents to raise happy, healthy, and successful athletes by offering free information for families about a range of insightful topics such as: From Youth to College Soccer: 5 Takeaways for Sports Parents, or Is Your Athlete Playing To Win or Not To Lose?. This resource is fantastic for coaches who hope to help their athletes lead balanced but successful lives during and after their sporting careers. Our new segment this week "Deserted Island Drills": Kamikaze, a 4 v. 4 out of system game Scenario of the week: All the gear you need for a multi-day tournament The Art of Coaching Volleyball Videos discussed on The VolleyPod This Week focused on Tod's Deserted Island Drill, Kamikaze, a 4 v. 4 out of system game: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/kamikaze-scrimmage-drill/ Beth Launiere from University of Utah demonstrates the game with college-age players : https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/4-on-4-kamikaze-volleyball-drill-with-beth-launiere/ The Resource of the Week, I Love To Watch You Play, can be found here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ilovetowatchyouplay.com/ Links for the Gear from the Scenario segment Pen: https://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-Acroball-Ballpoint-Pen-1.0-mm-Blue/pd/11097 Carhartt Backpack: https://www.carhartt.com/c/accessories-bags?kpid=Ecomm_Search_Brand-Plus_go_cmp-18079202292_adg-143233814787_ad-617131973024_kwd-4194591157_dev-c_ext-_prd-_sig-Cj0KCQjw7aqkBhDPARIsAKGa0oK-TP-gdaZCN-LAfxRKuiQjOu93VPWrCHlWFXsEBDt-0nBUgjTCBfcaAnvMEALw_wcB&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7aqkBhDPARIsAKGa0oK-TP-gdaZCN-LAfxRKuiQjOu93VPWrCHlWFXsEBDt-0nBUgjTCBfcaAnvMEALw_wcB First Aid Kit: https://www.amazon.com/First-Aid-Only-Piece-All-Purpose/dp/B000069EYA/ref=zg_bs_3762881_sccl_1/131-5679508-1594137?psc=1 Tripod: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Lightweight-Camera-Mount-Tripod/dp/B00XI87KV8/ref=sr_1_1_ffob_sspa?keywords=tripod&qid=1686874600&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1 Vuori: https://vuoriclothing.com/collections/best-sellers?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=vuori&utm_campaign=WP_G_SRCH_BRAND_AMT_X_CORE_US_ECPCBID&utm_content=648488011333&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7aqkBhDPARIsAKGa0oIQg2DXSRc_b7Nby5KW_5J0KlYAksmAlWhBnVVeN6YbP-OZctU3yWQaAl-REALw_wcB

Luis Cuatok is a top youth coach in Southern California. His teams have consistently performed well at junior nationals and they have won several medals. At that level, not only do the athletes need to be composed, they also don’t have that many experiences in that situation, so they are learning as they go. On this episode of The VolleyPod Coach Cuatok joins the guys to discuss a newer interpretation of mental toughness, mental adaptability, and it’s role in helping young athletes to be their best. Wait! Use code "VOLLEYPOD" for 20% off of almost anything on The Art of Coaching Volleyball's platform INCLUDING memberships, nearly all of the books, printouts, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, be sure to follow The VolleyPod on Instagram at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aoc.thevolleypod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Twitter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/TheVolleyPod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for exclusive content and immediately useful tips and drills!

Wait! Use code "VOLLEYPOD" for 20% off of almost anything on The Art of Coaching Volleyball's platform INCLUDING memberships, nearly all of the books, printouts, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, be sure to follow The VolleyPod on Instagram at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aoc.thevolleypod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Twitter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/TheVolleyPod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for exclusive content and immediately useful tips and drills! This week's skill is a relatively advanced skill: working against the block. On this episode we provide a bunch of ideas that you can train with your team that can help your hitters to deal more effectively with a big or disciplined block and score more points. There are ideas are points that coaches can implement right now with their hitters as opposed to saying "we will wait until she gets stronger and jumps higher". Mastering the ideas in today's episode will definitely help your team win more games. In our scenario segment, we discuss how to handle the question: "is my offensive system a good use of my team's personnel?". The coaches with The VolleyPod discuss how to look at this question through a lens of the uniqueness of your team, and which strengths that you can maximize to get the most out of your team from an offensive standpoint. This is one of our most fun things to do in coaching; find the unique factors that make your team great! We always share one great resource each week, and this week it is from the super-optimistic mindset teacher Jon Gordon. His podcast, Positive University, focuses on people who have become masters of their mindset. It includes people like Kerri Walsh-Jennings, Damian Lillard, and Drew Brees. There is a broad plan of helping people who listen to make a greater impact and overcome challenges, but there are many different topics discussed within those broader goals. This podcast is a great listen for anyone trying to make the most out their situation in life. Skill of the week: Attacking against a big or disciplined block Scenario of the week: Is our offensive system a good use of our personnel? The Art of Coaching Volleyball Videos discussed on The VolleyPod This Week focused on working against the block: Mark Barnard's drill for tooling the block: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/hitting-scoring-off-the-block-drill/ Jim Stone teaches three of the most useful options for dealing with the block, score, recycle, or tool: ⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/5-hitting-options-kill-recycle-tip-use-block-in-play/ Jim Stone has athletes demonstrate another highly useful game for working against the block: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/competitive-5-point-blocking-and-hitting-drill/ The Resource of the Week, Jon Gordon's Positive University, can be found here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://positiveuniversity.com/

Wait! Use code "VOLLEYPOD" for 20% off of almost anything on The Art of Coaching Volleyball's platform INCLUDING memberships, nearly all of the books, printouts, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, be sure to follow The VolleyPod on Instagram at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aoc.thevolleypod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Twitter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/TheVolleyPod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for exclusive content and immediately useful tips and drills! This week's skill is a coaching skill -- adding two contact games into your practices. This is an underutilized, easy to implement method which can speed up learning as well as provide a ton of additional benefits for the athletes. Speeding up the ways our athletes read is important to every team, and two contact games can be a simple but effective way of enhancing this ability. Plus, using two contacts stresses ball control and can help athletes to build decision-making abilities quicker than waiting for these situations to present themselves in games. In our scenario segment, we discuss a scenario that certainly applies to many teams at the high school or club levels, only having two primary passers on your team. Davis and Tod discuss both the long view of not having enough passers, and the shorter-term view of having to win now without enough passers. We always share one great resource each week, and this week it is a very cool resource on Instagram called BounceBeach. BounceBeach is essentially a highlight video collection from the world of beach volleyball, but it is curated in a way that allows for study of the best athletes that beach volleyball has to offer as well as the innovative tactics that they are using to raise their level of play and get more wins. Skill of the week: Coaching skill -- adding two contact games to your practice Scenario of the week: When your team only has two primary passers The Art of Coaching Volleyball Videos discussed on The VolleyPod This Week focused on two contact games: Tod's competitive two contact game: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/one-on-one-competitive-two-contact-drill/ Kirsten Bernthal Booth from Creighton Univ. demonstrates a two contact in the queen of the court style: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/small-group-drill-two-contacts/ The Resource of the Week, BounceBeach on Instagram, can be found here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bouncebeach/?hl=en

Wait! Use code "VOLLEYPOD" for 20% off of almost anything on The Art of Coaching Volleyball's platform INCLUDING memberships, nearly all of the books, printouts, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, be sure to follow The VolleyPod on Instagram at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aoc.thevolleypod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Twitter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/TheVolleyPod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for exclusive content and immediately useful tips and drills! This week's skill is critical for every coach: finding a practice planning process that works for you to ensure the most optimal practice for your team. Every coach plans practice differently, but what is most important is discovering a consistent process that brings about really great practices. Without proper planning practices invariably falter or lack the necessary organization to be as effective as they could be. In this episode we go into the process that Davis uses to plan his practices and what listeners can take from how he sets up highly impactful practices. In our scenario segment, we discuss a skill that is underutilized: using evaluations to help yourself and program get better. Often coaches shy away from evaluations because they can be uncomfortable and can expose aspects of our coaching that are not operating at a high level. This is equally why evaluations are important. They can point out our "blind spots" and help us to realize our greater potential. On this episode, Tod discusses how he uses evaluations and how others can learn from their players, other coaches, and parents to help make everyone better. We always share one great resource each week, and this week it is a great resource from Cassidy Lichtman, a highly successful player for Stanford University, an Athletes Unlimited athlete, and a motivational speaker. Her website, P/ath Sports, is a great source of all types of videos related to the "soft skills" of being an elite performer. Topics include building confidence, identity and empowerment, and becoming a great teammate and much more. The videos on the site are not all from volleyball players, in fact, they are mostly from well-known athletes and coaches from outside of volleyball. The videos are powerful and can really help athletes to reach their full potential. Skill of the week: How to utilize a process and routine for creating practice plans that are efficient and effective Scenario of the week: Using coaching evaluations to make everyone better and more effective The Art of Coaching Volleyball Videos discussed on The VolleyPod This Week focused on AOC founders' ideas about practice planning: John Dunning discusses how to divide up coach and player roles during practice for the most impact possible: ⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/roles-during-practice/ Russ Rose teaches coaches how to be better at designing practices in the following video: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/practice-planning-and-design-with-russ-rose/ Terry Liskevych goes into how to use 10 segments of practice for efficient practice planning: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/planning-effective-practices-ten-segments-planning/ The Resource of the Week, P/ath Sports by Cassidy Lichtman, can be found here: ⁠https://www.pathsports.org/

Wait! Use code "VOLLEYPOD" for 20% off of almost anything on The Art of Coaching Volleyball's platform INCLUDING memberships, nearly all of the books, printouts, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, be sure to follow The VolleyPod on Instagram at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aoc.thevolleypod/⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Twitter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/TheVolleyPod ⁠⁠⁠⁠for exclusive content and immediately useful tips and drills! This week's skill is a coaching skill about using a glossary of your own terms to create a unique, individualized team identity, as well as recognizing and naming often overlooked smaller plays. Tod talks about several of his favorite in hopes of other coaches creating their own cool terms. In our scenario segment, we discuss a challenge that occurs almost every season for almost every club coach, navigating the Qualifying Process. Qualifying is such a challenge, and the expectations are high, so how can coaches avoid some of the pitfalls that Davis has fallen into? Find out on this episode. We discuss topics like: setting up goals from the beginning, process and outcome focused goals, and managing expectations. We always share one great resource each week, and this week it is a great resource from Isaac Kneubuhl, a coach who has built a following on Instagram by examining the volleyball armswing, training athletes to hit harder, and being a proponent for the circular armswing. His page, TorqVB, is our resource of the week. Skill of the week: Using a glossary of your own terms to create a unique team identity Scenario of the week: Navigating the Qualifying Process that so many club teams are aiming for The Art of Coaching Volleyball Videos discussed on The VolleyPod This Week focused on Utah coach Beth Launiere: This is an awesome 4 on 4 out of system game: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/4-on-4-kamikaze-volleyball-drill-with-beth-launiere/ This video is the first in a series by Beth Launiere that focuses on improving your athletes' individual ball control skills: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/individual-ball-control-part-1-with-beth-launiere/ The following video is an insightful discussion about how to find and train elite performers: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/elite-performers/ The Resource of the Week: TorqVB on Instagram by Isaac Kneubuhl, can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/torqvb/?hl=en

Episode 52: Coaching lessons from Japan, coaching in the deciding set, and EpicSportsWait! Use code "VOLLEYPOD" for 20% off of almost anything on The Art of Coaching Volleyball's platform INCLUDING memberships, nearly all of the books, printouts, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, be sure to follow The VolleyPod on Instagram at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aoc.thevolleypod/⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Twitter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/TheVolleyPod ⁠⁠⁠⁠for exclusive content and immediately useful tips and drills! This week's skill is a coaching skill all about what Tod learned from his trip to Japan with Coast Volleyball club's top teams, where they played against several of the country's top high school team and a highly competitive university team. He shares his insights about how they do things better, in some ways, than we do in the U.S., and what we can learn from them. In our scenario segment, we discuss a super fun scenario: winning late in a deciding set (game 3 or 5), and how to approach that situation to win more of those situations, more often. We always share one great resource each week, and this week it is EpicSports.com's volleyball page where you can find almost anything you need in terms of gear. From nets and balls to clothing for coaches and athletes, EpicSports is the one page you should Bookmark for finding gear. Skill of the week: What Tod learned from his recent volleyball trip to help compete against some of Japan's best high school and university teams Scenario of the week: Winning a close deciding set, tips and tactics The Art of Coaching Volleyball Videos discussed on The VolleyPod This Week: Jen Oldenburg from Ohio State University explains and demonstrates emergency passing and defense moves with former North Carolina Head Coach Joe Sagula: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/emergency-moves-for-passing-and-defense/ Tod's famous sock slide drill that helps teach diving: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/sock-slide-drill/⁠ Dani Busboom Kelly from Louisville has her players demonstrate several sprawling variations: ⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/dig-and-sprawl-drill-variations/ The Resource of the Week: EpicSports for any type of volleyball gear can be found here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://volleyball.epicsports.com/

On this episode, The VolleyPod covers Karch Kiraly's newest book, Chasing Greatness. The coaches take an important takeaway from each chapter and discuss why/how it is relevant to coaches, and how it can help them be better. "This is the closest thing you can get to being in the gym with Karch" said Davis on this week's episode. There are so many great points in the book and Tod and Davis go over some really interesting ideas. You can find Karch's book here: https://store.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/shop/karch-book/

Episode 50: Getting my team to play with heart, Mental training remedies for playing better in practice than in the games, and VolleyMovement by Daniel Maciel Wait! Use code "VOLLEYPOD" for 20% off of almost anything on The Art of Coaching Volleyball's platform INCLUDING memberships, nearly all of the books, printouts, and more! ⁠⁠⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/⁠⁠⁠ Also, be sure to follow The VolleyPod on Instagram at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aoc.thevolleypod/⁠⁠⁠ and Twitter at ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/TheVolleyPod ⁠⁠⁠for exclusive content and immediately useful tips and drills! This week's skill is a coaching skill about how to get your team to "play with heart". But what is "heart"? Tod and Davis discuss what it is, how to train it, and how to get your team to want to play in that way. In our scenario segment, we discuss the common refrain from coaches, "My team plays way better in practice than in the matches", and we think about it in terms of mental training techniques for how to make that situation better, and switch that idea to "I perform better in matches". We always share one great resource each week, and this week it is a unique resource from someone who has gone through recovery and rehab and continued to play at a very high level, Daniel Maciel and his Instagram page about strength and conditioning with a focus on longevity and safety. Skill of the week: Getting my team to play with heart Scenario of the week: Mental training remedies for playing better in practice than in games The Art of Coaching Volleyball Videos discussed on The VolleyPod This Week: Russ Rose's video about emergency defense moves: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/individual-defense-emergency-moves/ Luca Yanez from Benedictine University and his 4-step progression: ⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/digging-while-moving-forward-4-step-progression/ John Dunning and standout Libero Morgan Hentz have a discussion about training excellent defenders: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/training-defenders/ The Resource of the Week: VolleyMovement on Instagram by Daniel Maciel, can be found here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/volleymovement/?hl=en