Just a quick reminder that the Olympics are this summer. The games actually start about the time that our practices start.
Here is a link to the schedule:
http://www.london2012.com/volleyball/schedule-and-results/
More to come on this one…
Coach Richard
The pool in my neighborhood opened this weekend and I was very excited. For months now I have had to either run or lift weights. As a volleyball player, I have found that swimming is an easy way to stay strong (especially your hitting shoulder) and it saves your knees. That may not be a big deal for you kids now but you just wait!!
What does swimming have to do with goals you might ask? I got into the pool and thought “how many laps am I going to do today?” When I run I usually try to beat a time…if I am feeling particularly good that day, I might say to myself I can take 2 minutes off of the normal distance I run. The point here is that I am always setting a goal for myself. Something to work toward.
We have a couple of weeks before our open gym sessions start but now is as good a time as any to set goals for yourself…in everything you do. In your offseason training, set a goal (like a distance you can run or a number of reps you can do lifting weights). Work toward it and then push yourself beyond it!
When you walk into the open gym sessions, don’t just show up…have a goal for yourself. “Today, I will get every serve in” or “today all my passes will be such that the setter will take no more than 2 steps to get it.” These are very specific goals and by setting specific goals, you make yourself focus on something and that’s what gives results. If you just say “I’m going to do my best today” or “I’m going to work hard today”, it is hard to focus on improving.
This is just as true in volleyball as in everything you do. Finals are coming up…do you want to do well? Set a goal for yourself, figure out what it will take for you to reach that goal and then work toward it.
For this summer and upcoming season, I have set a goal for myself to be a better coach. To me that means to figure out how to communicate what I know to you and to make sure you have fun and love this game as much as I do. How am I going to do it? I’m still working on that part. 
But I have a goal that I am working toward…something to focus on…and that’s what is important!
Don’t be surprised if I ask you what your goal is the next time I see you at an open gym!
See you soon on the court!
Coach Richard
I have written many things about getting your bodies stronger in order to be better players. There is a lot more to be said in this area but before I do, I want to turn our attention to our minds.
It has been said that to make 1 perfect pass in a game, you need to make 100 perfect passes in practice. But who has time to pass that many balls? Well guess what…you can do it in your mind all day long!
You might think I am a little crazy (or you may already think that if you have been on the court with me), but one of the best ways to be a good volleyball player is to visualize yourself doing something right. You know how to pass. You know where your feet should be; your knees; your hips; your arms and shoulders. You know how you should follow the ball into your arms with your eyes and watch it go right to the setter. There is plenty of time during a day to see that happen 100 times.
You can also see yourself making that adjustment for a not-so-perfect set and getting there and still crushing the ball. Or moving early on a bad pass to set the ball. You can see yourself getting there and getting your hips and shoulders pointing toward where you want the ball to go.
You know how to play…now start thinking about it. And think about it a lot!
I am not making this stuff up. Books have been written about improving your play just by getting your brain in shape.
See yourself doing it and suddenly you will start doing it!
I am living proof of this one. When I first started playing, I use to sit on the couch and watch TV with my arms out in front of me, making a platform, just sitting there. I would watch TV for a minute and then imagine the serve coming to me and making a perfect pass to the setter. I would do that over and over. When it came time for practice, more often than not, the passes were right were they needed to be.
I was one of two passers in a 2-person serve-receive on a team that played competitively at the national level (in our division). I am not making this stuff up!
When I say something like imagine yourself making an approach and a hit while walking down the hall to class, I’m not kidding!
Coach Richard
