The VolleyPod presented by The Art of Coaching Volleyball

Davis Ransom and Tod Mattox
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Aug 4, 2023 • 25min

Episode 67: Decision Making in 6 on 6, How parents can support their athlete during tryouts, and TheTJSanders

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 building up decision making through 6 on 6 play. All too often 6 on 6 time appears to be a time where the coach is not actively coaching to a particular theme or concept. With just a little bit of tweaking, though, that same 6 on 6 play could be a powerful time for developing important decision making processes and habits. Tod explores this idea and offers several ways that coaches can make the most out of their time in 6 on 6. In our scenario segment, Davis and Tod cover some of the important ways that parents can support their athlete through the tryout process, explain some common behaviors that could limit their success in tryouts, and suggest a philosophy for dealing with tryouts as a challenge unto itself, a process that is not entirely up to the athlete, and often a process that has factors that are completely unknown to the families. Parents need to check this scenario and discussion out! We always share one great resource each week, and this week it is TJ Sanders, former Canadian National Team setter, and volleyball content creator. His content is bite-sized chunks of high level setting training. He is a great demonstrator and has a knack for communicating complex ideas in a clear and concise manner. Sanders is a member of the NoEzyBuckets content creation team, which was started by American Libero Dustin Watten. They provide clinics and online content aimed at liberos and setters, as well as college level mens volleyball fans and players. Skill of the Week: Decision making through 6 on 6 play Scenario of the week: How parents can support their athlete through tryouts The Art of Coaching Volleyball Videos discussed on The VolleyPod This Week focused on decision making in 6 on 6 play: Diane Flick Williams' demonstration of a great game that coaches can use to focus on first ball kill offense, and build up their team's decision making in 6 on 6 play: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/6-vs-6-competitive-drill-going-for-first-ball-kills/ Ben Josephson's video about defending the spread offense and how decision making comes into play: ⁠https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/defending-the-spread-offense/ The Resource of the Week, TheTJSanders, can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/sanders_tj/?hl=en
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Jul 28, 2023 • 33min

Episode 66: Defense cues and tips, high school tryout ideas, and Catch Them Being Good

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 defense cues and tips. Davis takes listeners through 15 of his favorite sayings and skill cues that help his teams play awesome defense. He also provides a framework for teaching defense that works without taking a million reps of every skill. In our scenario segment, Tod discusses how to run a highly effective high school tryout. He goes into everything from administration, evaluation, cuts, and communicating your program's values throughout tryouts, as well as shares the games and drills he does at tryouts. You are sure to pick something up from Tod's 40 years in the game! We always share one great resource each week, and this week it is Catch Them Being Good, by Tony Dicicco, Colleen Hacker, and Charles Salzberg. This book focuses on how to connect with girl-athletes specifically and how to use this knowledge to build more effective teams. With questions and activities for parents and coaches, this book points out some key differences between training boys and girls, and how treating each team uniquely, coaches can get the most out of their teams, and help create a more positive overall experience for their athletes. Skill of the Week: Defense cues and tips Scenario of the week: High school tryout ideas The Art of Coaching Volleyball Videos discussed on The VolleyPod This Week focused on floor defense and reading: Mike Sealy (UCLA) talks about connecting defense to vision: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/defense-drill-for-training-vision/ Jim Stone and Morgan Hentz demonstrate how vision affects defense: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/vision-impacting-defense/ Kimi Olsen from Michigan State has a cool look at how to "capture space" to play better defense: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/individual-defense-capture-space-and-have-more-range/ The Resource of the Week, Catch Them Being Good, can be found here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/290724/catch-them-being-good-by-tony-dicicco-colleen-hacker-phd-and-charles-salzberg/
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Jul 14, 2023 • 30min

Episode 64: Davis' Club Season In Review: Evaluating Your Own Coaching

This week's episode of The Volley Pod takes listeners through a season review that they can use or change to their liking. The review focuses on your coaching and how you handled training in various areas. To serve as an example of how coaches could use these questions, Tod asks Davis about his club season, which culminated in a Bronze Medal at AAU Nationals in 16 Premier. If you would like a PDF of the list of Season Evaluation questions just message us on Instagram @aoc.thevolleypod
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Jul 7, 2023 • 30min

Episode 63: Passing 2.0, Middle School Summer Camp plans, and Run To The Roar

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 Passing 2.0. Davis covers his fundamentals of serve receive and how he thinks about teaching serve receive to young players. This talk is a more in-depth look at passing, complete with reading, movement, emergency moves, talent evaluation, and much more. In our scenario segment, we go over an awesome plan that coaches can steal or change to make their own, for a middle-school grade summer volleyball camp. Tod and Davis both love running camps and Tod lays out his best plan for what to do with middle schoolers who want to learn to play volleyball. We always share one great resource each week, and this week it is from the great Squash coach Paul Assaiante from Trinity College in Connecticut. His book Run To The Roar is about dealing with fear and consequences with resilience, courage, and humility. The motivational and educational nonfiction memoir points out the human nature of striving for excellence and how failure is just as important as success in the realm of sports. Skill of the Week: Passing 2.0 - more advanced serve receive concepts and skills Scenario of the week: Summer Camp plan for Middle School age athletes The Art of Coaching Volleyball Videos discussed on The VolleyPod This Week focused on Serve Receive: Joe Sagula from North Carolina University and Jen Flynn Oldenburg from Ohio State University cover emergency moves that can help passers out of difficult situations: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/emergency-moves-for-passing-and-defense/ Jim Stone's video about creating angles is super informative and helpful: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/practicing-passing-angles/ John Speraw's foundations of serve receive skill is a must watch for coaches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Vpr1oGXwI&t=19s The Resource of the Week, Run To The Roar by Paul Assaiainte, can be found here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.runtoroar.com/
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Jun 30, 2023 • 31min

Episode 62: Joe Trinsey and The Goldilocks Method (Part 2)

This special episode of The Volley Pod is the second part of our talk with Joe Trinsey, a prominent influencer in the Volleyball community, as he speaks on “the Goldilocks method”. The scenario of the week is what to do when your team is losing a lot. Joe presents a lot of options for how coaches can handle this all too common situation. Also, Tod presents an incredible resource, SmarterVolley by Joe Trinsey, a rich source of fascinating information for the coach who really wants to go deep into the nuts and bolts (and the whys and why nots) of competitive volleyball.
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Jun 23, 2023 • 38min

Episode 61: Joe Trinsey and the Goldilocks Method, when your team is losing, and SmarterVolley (Part 1)

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/
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Jun 16, 2023 • 28min

Episode 60: Tod’s Deserted Island Drill, all the gear you need for a multi-day tournament, & ILTWYP

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
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Jun 9, 2023 • 39min

Episode 59: Luis Cuatok on mental adaptability

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!
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Jun 2, 2023 • 29min

Episode 58: Working against the block, is my offensive system a good use of our personnel, and Positive University

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/
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May 26, 2023 • 31min

Episode 57: Coaching Skill -- Adding two contact games to your practice, When you only have two primary passers, and BounceBeach

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

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