
The VolleyPod presented by The Art of Coaching Volleyball
The VolleyPod is all about coaching kids volleyball!
Each episode we cover 3 segments that are each designed to help you become a better volleyball coach.
First, we focus on a specific volleyball skill, talk about how to teach it, and provide drills and video links for further help with that skill.
Then, we present a common coaching scenario and discuss tips for how to (and how not to) handle it.
In the third segment we share a resource that has helped us to become a better coach, with the hopes that it can help you too!
See you on The VolleyPod!
Latest episodes

Jan 13, 2023 • 29min
Episode 38: My team makes too many errors, my team isn't mentally tough and Max Out Mindset
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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!
Does your team make too many errors? Everyone knows that errors are the kiss of death for a volleyball team, right? Well, sort of. Davis goes into how to perceive errors in a way that will help your teams to win more matches.
Is your team "not mentally tough"? Being "weak mentally" is why they lose all of those close games, right? Kind of. Tod dissects this common refrain from coaches and discusses ideas for how to help your teams handle this challenge differently than many coaches.
Scenarios of the week: When your team makes too many errors & when your team isn't "mentally tough"
Resource of the week: Max Out Mindset can be found here: https://www.maxoutmindset.com/
AOC Volleyball drills mentioned in this episode:
- Don Patterson's blog about how a 9 second clip of Samantha Bricio can help your hitters be better: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/9-second-video-of-samantha-bricio/
- Mike Sealy's video about two different methods for setters to deliver the ball: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/setting-touch-on-the-ball/
- Jamie Morrison's video about coaching while considering the limits of a person's working memory: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/working-memory/

Jan 10, 2023 • 28min
Episode 37: Movement and rules of the road for beginners
Experienced coaches discuss creating movement and efficiency in volleyball for younger teams, emphasizing the importance of teaching movement and rules of the road. They explore concepts of angles, flow, and opening up in the game, and provide drills to practice these skills. The chapter also covers postures, hand positions, and reviews previous topics.

Dec 30, 2022 • 59min
Episode 36: From the floor of the AVCA Convention, with interviews with legend Terry Liskevych, up-and-comer Tina Kinkead, and Hall of Famer Toby Manzanares
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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!
From the floor of the AVCA Convention, Tod Mattox and Davis Ransom share some of the most interesting ideas that they found over the course of the annual coaches meeting, as well as interviews with some of the tops coaches in the game:
Tina Kinkead, from La Jolla Country Day School and Coast Volleyball Club
Toby Manzanares, Hall of Fame coach from St. Pius X in New Mexico
Terry Liskevych, the ambassador for The Art of Coaching Volleyball, former National Team Head Coach, and one of the greatest influences in modern volleyball history
This episode is so good that we had to make it one hour!
Each coach shares some of what makes him/her great and you can sense the excitement on the floor of the Convention Center!
Bonus Instagram video showing the Fake Attack Then Set tactic: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CfMlfj-De99/?igshid=ZmMyNmFmZTc=

Dec 16, 2022 • 36min
Episode 35: Making practice great for the players, the What, Why, and How of stats, and Terry Pettit: Talent and the Secret Life of Teams
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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!
How can we, as coaches, make our practices more enjoyable, engaging, and joyful for our athletes? We know that athletes will be more likely to keep playing and be more engaged if they have fun while they are playing. This episode goes into how we can create space for joy in practice!
On this episode of The VolleyPod Tod and Davis cover some really valuable topics. First, they discuss how to make practice more joyful and therefore more effective, for players. Little things can make all the difference. Next, they go over statistics, from the ground up. They cover all of the fundamental stats, how and why to take them, and how to make them actually benefit your team. Finally, they share a incredible resource from legendary coach Terry Pettit: his book about championship teams, Talent and the Secret Life of Teams.
Skill of the week: Making practice more joyful and fun for players
Scenario of the week: The why, what, and how of Statistics
Resource of the week: Terry Pettit's book Talent and the Secret Life of Teams can be found here: https://terrypettit.com/shop/talent-and-the-secret-life-of-teams/
AOC Volleyball resources related to this episode:
The value of rewards: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/motivating-ice-cream/
Terry Liskevych's fascinating article about Norway's unique method of putting fun first: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/norways-winning-formula/
Deborah Newkirk's great video about subtle ways to add some more fun to practice: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/how-to-add-subtle-fun-to-practice/
Debbie Brown's video discussion about how to figure out which drills are both fun and effective for your team: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/identifying-what-makes-drills-fun-for-your-team/

Dec 9, 2022 • 28min
Episode 34: Serving for the newest beginners, handling playing time when roles have not been established yet, and MoreThanWinsVB
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!
At the youngest levels, consistent serving can easily overwhelm the opponent's serve receive and help your team to win games. But, serving can be a challenge for many young players. So, how can we as coaches become experts at teaching serving and help our players achieve more, earlier?
This episode goes into coaching serving with a baker's dozen tips on teaching serving to our newest players. This week on The VolleyPod,
Davis and Tod cover how to serve for beginners, and offer key insights that will most certainly help your team serve more consistently, and improve quickly. Next, the coaches discuss how to handle the situation that happens to almost every team in the early part of the season: when roles have not been clearly established yet, and you are going into competition soon. Finally, we share an incredible resource for coaches and players alike, MoreThanWinsVB, an Instagram profile from Scott Mattera, a coach who really knows how to win, but he also creates a culture of fun and inclusion.
Skill of the week: Serving for beginners
Scenario of the week: Playing time when roles are not clearly defined yet
Resource of the week: MoreThanWinsVB on Instagram or they can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/morethanwinsvb/?hl=en
AOC Volleyball resources mentioned in this episode:
- Julianne Faucette-Johnson's (Univ. of Texas Alum) tips for beginning serving: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/developing-a-consistent-and-powerful-serve/
- Everyone's favorite serving game, "Dead Fish", where the servers "fish out", and rescue, the servers that miss their serve: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/dead-fish-serving-drill/
- Gwen Egbert provides a great wall serving series that gives instant feedback to players: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/wall-serving-progression/

Dec 2, 2022 • 32min
Episode 33: We must protect our base (defense), when your team has one player that is less experienced than the rest, and What Drives Winning?
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!
A strong "Base" defense can frustrate the opponent through discipline and defensive grit. How can you be super solid in base and win way more rallies where the ball comes over on 1 or 2 contacts, or they run the quick?
On this episode of The VolleyPod, Davis and Tod go over the importance of, and keys for, a strong "Base" defense. Base defense has been described as one way coaches can tell if they have a disciplined team, and the tips in this episode can definitely help with that. Next, Tod and Davis discuss a situation that happens all the time on younger teams: when one player is less experienced than the rest of your team, and offer some great ideas for how to handle it, that are win-win for the player and the team. Finally, we share What Drives Winning, a Ted-talk style website that features influential figures in sport delivering some of their best advice.
Skill of the week: Protecting your "Base" defense
Scenario of the week: When one player is significantly less experienced than the rest of the team
Resource of the week: What Drives Winning can be found here: https://whatdriveswinning.com/
AOC Volleyball drills mentioned in this episode:
- Tod's win more than 50% game allows for tons of team defense feedback: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/defensive-transition-drill/
- Defense is an attitude and teams should use that competitive edge to score more points: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/digging-to-score-and-train-a-competitive-mindset/
- Nabil Mardini plays 3 vs. 6 in his practices to reinforce good team defense habits: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/wash-to-five-drill-with-nabil-mardini/

Nov 25, 2022 • 31min
Episode 32: Decreasing the opponent's hitting efficiency, starting off the season with an experienced team, and The VolleyNerd Podcast
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!
How can we decrease our opponent's hitting efficiency, making it easier on our team to produce enough points to win the match?
On this episode of The VolleyPod we discuss specifics about how to hinder the opponent's scoring by following several (relatively) controllable principles. The principles found in this episode can help any team to be more competitive immediately.
Then, Tod and Davis go over some ideas for how to start off the season with an experienced team. The ideas that we cover on this topic can help your team get off to a fast start at the beginning of the season.
Finally, we share Davis' first project, The VolleyNerd Podcast, with our listeners. The VolleyNerd Podcast is a deep dive into some of the more interesting and fun topics surrounding coaching.
Skill of the week: Decreasing the opponent's hitting efficiency
Scenario of the week: Starting off the season fast with an experienced team
Resource of the week: The VolleyNerd Podcast can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/show/4yk8DUT53pb98uGTMjuYt9
AOC Volleyball drills mentioned in this episode:
Mark Rosen's video about understanding the opponent's setting tendencies: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/volleyball-strategy-setting-patterns/
Russ Rose's video about defending the left side attack and its important role in decreasing the opponent's hitting efficiency: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/defending-the-left-side-attack-with-russ-rose/
John Dunning's fascinating talk about how to set up your defense in order to compete against different types of teams: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/defensive-scheming-with-john-dunning/

Nov 18, 2022 • 32min
Episode 31: Switching from indoor to beach and beach to indoor, when the ref is inexperienced or below average, and OnForm Video Analysis App
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!
What do our players have to do to switch successfully from indoor to beach and from beach to indoor?
On this episode of The VolleyPod, Davis and Tod go over some of the key differences, that can be trained between indoor and beach. Then, they discuss how to respond when the ref you have for your match is inexperienced or below average. They also share the latest and greatest Video Analysis App, OnForm, which uses video to help athletes learn from watching their (or others') technique in a multitude of different ways. In addition, they share 2 great video resources from The Art of Coaching Volleyball library that coaches can view to consider how the beach game relates to the indoor game. And, they share an episode from The VolleyNerd Podcast that compares and contrasts beach and indoor volleyball even more thoroughly with Coach Justin Marshall from Park University Gilbert.
Skill of the week: Switching from indoor to beach and from beach to indoor
Scenario of the week: When the ref is inexperienced or below average
Resource of the week: OnForm Video Analysis App can be found here: https://www.onform.com/
AOC Volleyball drills mentioned in this episode:
Adam Johnson's beach benefits indoor and indoor benefits beach video: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/adam-johnson-beach-helps-indoor-indoor-helps-beach/
Holly McPeak's video about the specific differences between beach and indoor: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/beach-volleyball-training-the-differences/
Additional Resource for the Week:
The VolleyNerd Podcast Episode (on Spotify) comparing and contrasting beach and indoor volleyball with Justin Marshall from Park University, Gilbert: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7p9KNNJPSSb59JRl7Cndfl

Nov 11, 2022 • 30min
Episode 30: Raising your team's attacking efficiency, playoff do's and don'ts, and APL shoes
Your team's attacking efficiency is arguably one of, if not the, single key statistic, for deciding who wins the match at the high school Varsity level.
Today on The VolleyPod, Tod and Davis discuss how to help your team increase their offensive performance, and win more matches!
Then, they explore some playoff do's and don'ts. There is not only one recipe for success in the postseason, but The VolleyPod hosts give everyone some things to think about that could help you win more late in the season, which is the best time to win!
They also share a unique pair of shoes that has demonstrated an increase in the verticals of athletes that were wearing these shoes by nearly 4 inches.
In addition, they share a blog post and 2 drills from The Art of Coaching Volleyball's tremendous library of resources, that can help coaches fine tune their timeout-taking philosophies
Skill of the week: Team attacking efficiency
Scenario of the week: Playoff Do's and Don'ts
Resource of the week: Athletic Propulsion Labs' Vertical Enhancing Shoes can be found here: https://www.athleticpropulsionlabs.com/collections/concept-x
AOC Volleyball drills mentioned in this episode:
- An excellent blog discussion on typical errors for individual hitting and how to correct them: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/7-common-hitting-approach-errors-and-how-to-fix-them/
- Nabil Mardini's video, 5 shots that every hitter should have: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/hitting-five-shots/
- Luka Slabe's video about expanding athletes' array of "tools" in their "toolbox" to score more or work out of tough situations: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/what-to-do-when-youre-stuck-using-your-toolbox/

Nov 4, 2022 • 29min
Episode 29: Scoring from the pins, utilizing an assistant coach, and RichKern.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!
Increasing your scoring from the pins goes a long way towards helping your team win, so how can your team start putting up a bunch of points from the wings?
On this week's episode of The VolleyPod, Davis and Tod discuss ways to immediately impact your scoring from the pins and some longer-term principles to help you keep your scoring high all season.
Then, they explore some non-standard ways that coaches can utilize their assistant coaches in a meaningful way other than that day's fun chat.
They also share an incredibly "rich" resource, RichKern.com, that is like an encyclopedia of results, players, and schools, and much more.
In addition, they point listeners towards Britney Abercrombie's "Opposite Hitting Series" of videos from The Art of Coaching Volleyball's highly useful library. This series covers technique, tactics, and the mental approach of attacking.
Skill of the week: Scoring from the pins
Scenario of the week: Utilizing an assistant coach in non-standard ways
Resource of the week: Rich Kern's informational website about all things volleyball: www.richkern.com
AOC Volleyball drills mentioned in this episode:
Brittany Abercrombie's Opposite Training Series Intro Video: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/opposite-training-series-intro/
Footwork and Mechanics: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/arm-swing-and-footwork-mechanics/
Hitting Back Sets: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/hitting-back-sets/
Hitting on the Left Side: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/hitting-on-the-left-side/