It is imperative that young players are inundated with the basic fundamentals of each skill. They should all be attended to. Coaches need to take whole-body approach:
Where should her feet be?
How should they be?
What should she do with her hips?
What should her shoulders do?
What should the arms do?
Don't forget her hands.
Head? Eye?
The players should also gain an understanding of why? Why should her feet be there? What effect does her hand position have on her passing success?
These fundamentals are the fabric of success.
Coaches have to redefine success with these kids. Success can no longer be determined by a scoreboard. At a young age, points scored do not equal success. There needs to be a complete paradigm shift within the coaching ranks.
The number of points a young team puts on a scoreboard during a match has a direct correlation to the number of players who are strong enough to serve the ball over the net – regardless of how they go about accomplishing it.
Often, scoreboard success at a young age leads to frustration and bewilderment down the road. Frustration because the other teams out score you now that they have learned to pass. And bewilderment because the other teams are serving harder and better, while you can’t seem to pass their serves.
As coaches this may take a complete shift in the way we practice, our expectations during both matches and practices, and most importantly our knowledge base. Coaches need a complete understanding of each skill and the process of teaching each of them. They must concentrate and focus on establishing performance habits that lead to skill development not just points.
I preach the processes so much that my players not only perform the skills better, but also can feel, they diagnose, what their progresses. . And more importantly, they can help each other. They are becoming little trainers themselves. Just as small achievements are the building blocks for self-esteem. Theses understanding develop confidence and create pathways to success for these young players.
There needs to be a complete paradigm shift within the coaching ranks.
I just finished several training sessions with a group of 5th graders. Each had her strengths. Each had her weaknesses. All played volleyball at school. (Not necessarily a good thing.) Some had gone to other camps or sessions with other coaches.
I always begin with throwing a tennis ball or whiffle ball. I am flabbergasted at the number of kids who have never been taught to throw a ball properly. There are several similarities between throwing a ball and hitting a volleyball. I will discuss this in a later posting.
One of the fathers questioned my process while talking to a friend of mine who happened to have his kid enrolled. The other father had taken his girl to a few other “camps,” and had never seen a trainer or coach teach the kids to throw. What does that have to with volleyball? In his mind, "another waste of time and money." As he watched and listened, he understood. It was not a waste of time nor money after all.
My guess is the other coaches started by telling the kids to toss the ball up and serve it. Well, those coaches skipped about 5 steps the players need to master before they can toss the ball up and just hit it – let alone serve it successfully and safely.
After 10 sessions, each of the 6 to 8 girls – I limited the number of participants – knew how to strike a ball properly, the foot position required, how to approach for an attack, and the form and footwork used to pass a down ball or serve.
Don’t misunderstand, they didn’t do it perfectly every time. And none could perform more than one skill at a time. Putting them in an up-tempo drill was a total skill disaster. Too many things to focus on, too fast. (Way too much laughing and giggling, too, but that goes with the territory.) Combining the skills is an ability that follows mastering the fundamental skills – mastering them to the point where thinking about it is eliminated.
Here is what is amazing. Without exception, each girl could tell me what she had done incorrectly if she was not successful. I know because I ask.
Even though performing the skills was a struggle, each could feel what she was doing wrong. From watching the other players, the kids were developing the ability to see and understand what each skill should look like.
That is success.
The bad news – I saw some bad habits. Habits that lead to frustration down the road. Habits that could not be broken ... yet. Sure, if they really focused, they could perform the skill properly. But as soon as the speed of the drill picked up, the old habits took over. Keep in mind these kids are in the 5th grade, and they have already formed habits that they struggle to break.
When players are allowed to perform skills improperly because the only goal is a point on the scoreboard, or the coach does not understand the changes needed, they will become a very frustrated player 3 or 4 years down the road. She will struggle when competing at a higher level. This very unhappy player will be passed on to someone else to console. Believe me, that’s not fun.
Create a system you follow.
Teach the intricacies involved with each skill.
Create the means to get them to understand.
Create your own young trainers.
When I was coaching, there was nothing more gratifying than having one of my players who is watching the other team warm up to say, “That girl hooks her arm” or “That girl’s square to the net when she hits.” If they can see these things, they can begin to recognize tendencies of their opponents during play. And this translates into greater success for them and the team.
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