Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under The Physical Game |
This drill improves forward and backward movement, touch, and control. It provides a great workout when done properly.
Divide the group into two teams of equal numbers (if possible); Team A and Team B. Everyone will go three times and follow the pattern outlined in the above diagram above. The star marks the halfway point so if both players are at the star at the exact same time, the race is a tie. The purpose is to determine the fastest team.
Player #1 lies down on his back so that his waist is on the baseline, Player #2 starts near the back fence. When the Instructor (I) yells go, #1 gets up and sprints towards the net and #2 also sprints forward. The one who reaches the net first wins. #3 and #4 go next and #1 and #2 switch places. The Instructor (I) can also have #2 try to tag #1 before he can reach the net, which is both fun and competitive at the same time!
Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under The Physical Game |
2 Touches
#1, #2, #3 start at the end of the ladder and just try to touch both feet inside every square as fast as possible. They must go in one at a time. In order to be good , the feet must not stay on the ground long. One goes after the other and they will watch and improve to keep up with their peers.
Karoke Step
#1, #2, #3 start sideways to the ladder and must do the karoke or crossover step in each hole. There is a distinct rhythm to this and speed should increase as they develop the rhythm and timing.
Two in Two Out
This is very similar to hopscotch. You jump with both feet in Box 1, then both feet must be outside Box 2, and then repeat. This drill works on explosion, and builds legs to increase push off power needed in tennis.
Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under The Physical Game |
These four drills are great for circuit conditioning. You can substitute other drills, but the purpose is to perform a variety of fun conditioning drills that keep the players in great shape for their competitive tennis seasons.
#2 runs forward to the service line, then slides to the alley and back to the other alley. Then #2 moves to the net and back to the baseline.
#5 starts facing the fence with back towards the Instructor. The Instructor throws a ball right or left. #5 must turn when it bounces and try to react and catch it before it bounces again.
#1 starts behind the line and must pick up a ball and return it to the baseline. After all six balls have been brought to the baseline, #1 must return all six balls to their original spots.
#3 and #4 lie down on their backs on the court with their feet toward the center. At the coach’s “go,” they must get up and sprint over the center mark. This race builds explosive muscles and is a fun, competitive drill all players enjoy.
Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under Playing Tips |
1. The Instructor (I) serves the ball while #1 faces away from the I towards the back fence. When #1 hears contact with the ball, #1 must turn quickly and return the serve. This will shorten back swings and emphasize hitting through the returns.
2. Using tape, draw two lines and require #1 to move towards the Instructor (I) in order to hit returns. This will encourage forward momentum and teach timing on returns.
3. When the Instructor (I) tosses the ball, the player is required to spin before hitting the return. Again, this will shorten a player’s backswing and encourage the player to hit through returns.
Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under Playing Tips |
The overload principle generally states that if the body, or mind, is exposed to more stimuli than it is used to, it will adapt to accommodate and be stronger because of the adaptation. Weight lifters apply this principle everyday when they force their muscles to push more weight than they are used to. The muscles soon adapt and the body is stronger. In volleyball, we wish to adapt our body and mind to performance on the court. By adding additional stimuli to a skill we can fine tune the player to perform better.
Physically
Overloading the body physically helps the athlete to become stronger. Weight lifting and plyometric exercises are obvious examples of overload. Some volleyball specific exercises are as varied as the coach’s imagination. An example would be to have the athletes perform a strenuous task, such as 10 push ups or 3 wind sprints, then have them per-form a skill, such as serving to a specific zone twice in a row. Players would not normally have to do this in a match, but adding the physical exhaustion forces the body to compensate and adapt. Other physical overloads could be to raise the net 2 inches when attacking, use a weighted ball for setters, or tie the feet of a middle blocker together with surgical tubing (rubber band material) when the player is performing blocking footwork.
Mentally
Overloading the mind helps athletes to focus on particular cues that are necessary for the skill to be performed. By presenting too much stimuli, the mind figures out what is important and applies its capabilities there. A direct application is performing in front of a large hostile crowd. Players know that the crowd doesn’t matter, yet the noise and seeing the people in the stands tend to distract the average player. Training athletes to focus on pertinent cues is quite simple, yet mentally demanding. An example of a mental overload passing drill is having your players doing a simple free-ball passing drill and having a coach stand to the side of the court flashing hand signals. The coach flashes the signal only after the ball is initiated from the other side. The coach can give numbers, rock-paper-scissors, etc. The players must identify and call out the signal while passing. Make it easy at first by standing in front of the player and giving the signal early, then slowly begin to move up the side line so you are more to the side of the player, and give the signal later and later. Other mental overloads are playing loud music during a drill that requires lots of communication, having setters identify hand signals on the other side of the net while watching a pass come to them, or call out two numbers and have the player multiply the numbers while performing the skill.
By forcing your players to mentally and physically adapt to overloaded stimuli, game time environments will not seem overwhelming. The body adapts by becoming stronger and faster so that the pace and physical demands of a match are much easier to deal with. Mentally, the mind will adapt by being able to focus on important cues and disregard others. Soon your players will be performing at a higher level and hopefully become more successful because
of it.
Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under Playing Tips |
Coaches often wonder what type of repetitions to give their players during practice. Should the athletes have a goal number to reach, or should they just be allowed to perform the skill without consequences on the outcome? These are questions that can hopefully be answered by some suggested guidelines called periodization of repititions.
Concept of Periodization
The concept of periodization of repetitions is designed to emphasize different elements of performance at different phases of the season. With the season broken down into learning, performing and perfecting phases, a coach can make the most of his practices and drills.
Performance Phase
During the performance phase the outcome of the repetition is emphasized more. A goal of a number of successful repetitions should be set for the drill to be completed. Depending on the skill level of the players, a successful repetition can be defined either by continuing to emphasize the correct technique, regardless of outcome, by counting only successful outcomes (i.e. perfect pass), or both. This phase reinforces quality repetitions over time. This phase should be moved into when the athletes have a good understanding of what is expected of them in executing the skill. A drill in the performance phase consists of the athletes having to perform the skill a certain number of times without a limit of opportunities.
Learning Phase
The learning phase occurs at the beginning of the season, or when a skill is first introduced. During this phase, the coach should give his athletes a certain number of repetitions, while coaching them on proper technique. The process of learning the skill with a high number of repetitions should be emphasized and not the outcome. For example, when first teaching passing, to young players, proper body posture and good platform positioning should be emphasized while the players are performing the skill a certain number of repetitions (20-30).
Perfection Phase
The perfection phase is characterized by performance with pressure. In this phase successful outcome is further dictated by a reduced number of opportunities. For example, when working on serve receive, the receiving team has 5 opportunities to side out 3 times. If they are successful, they may rotate. If they do not side out 3 times within the 5 opportunities, they must remain in that rotation and try again. This phase should be entered when the athletes are fully competent in the skill and the time of season requires a heightened mental sharpness (generally during conference play or before post season tournaments). Each of these three phases can be applied within a season or even within a practice, depending on the exercise and the skill of the athletes. It is important to remember to always emphasize proper technique and effort through out all the phases and to never waste a touch on the ball.
Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under Playing Tips |
Assuming that the opponent returns the serve, where is the ideal target for your first volley? (This example is for the deuce court. Of course, the opposites are true for the ad court.)
1. Serve wide to the forehand. First volley goes to the opposite side either deep or short angle.
2. Serve deep in the middle. First volley goes to the middle providing no angles for opponent’s passing shot.
3. Serve down the center to the backhand side. First volley goes to the deep forehand corner. The temptation is to volley to the backhand side because there is more open space. However, the opponent’s momentum makes the forehand shot harder.
Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under Playing Tips |
Instructor feeds the ball to the spot marked “X.” #1 must try to run around the backhand and hit a forehand. There should be a set criteria for where player #1 hits this shot based on some type of logic. Here are the rules we use:
Rule 1: If #1 is set up perfectly, then #1 can go for either line.
Rule 2: If #1 is still falling towards the sideline, #1 must aim well inside the sideline marked by the X or go inside out.
Rule 3: Never go up the line if the other player can hit a crosscourt winner.
Variation: Forehand going the other way
Rule 1: If player is set, go for the #2 spot.
Rule 2: If player is still leaning, go for the #3 spot.
Rule 3: If player overruns the ball or is close to it for any reason, go for the #3 spot.
Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under Playing Tips |
The Instructor (I) feeds #1 a backhand that is a little high. #1 slides over and slices a low, short ball into the service box. It is crucial to learn to keep this ball low.
The opponent in this situation will definitely be coming to the net, and this is the goal. If the ball is hit low, the player will more than likely approach down the line. Therefore the Instructor feeds again to #1, this time a running forehand.
#1 will now attempt a short angle passing shot. The opponent will have been pulled over to protect the down the line shot, and will not be able to recover. This works well against two-handed players who do not like to approach on low backhands.
Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under Playing Tips |
To Get a Volley
#1 serves to #2 who is already moving forward. #2 chips the ball down the line where #1 must try to hit a passing shot. The object is not to hit a winner on the chip shot, but to force #1 to miss a passing shot or allow #2 to hit a volley.
To Get a Forehand on the 2nd Ball
#1 hits a second serve to #2 who is moving forward to take the ball early. By doing so, #1 has less time to get ready. #2 hits crosscourt forcing #1 to lunge to the left. The majority of the time, #1 will get a forehand in the middle of the court.
To Force #2 to Pass and Hit Up
#1 serves to #2 who moves forward in an aggressive way, but actually takes pace off the shot, keeping the ball low to the ground with underspin. #2 continues to follow the path of the ball toward the net creating pressure on #1 who is forced to hit a pass from below the level of the net.
