Tag: Volleyball

Coach, Have you Thought about Teaching Piano?

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The coach yelled at the girls, “How many times have I told you to get low when you dig a volleyball? Why don’t you listen to me when I tell you to get your feet positioned properly and your toss in the right spot when you serve? And when you hit a spike, you are supposed to move your feet left-right-left and reach for the ball. Why don’t you girls get it? If you want to win you have to do the things I tell you. Since you are so slow on the take, you can run five sets of wind sprints. Maybe in the future you will learn to pay attention to what your coaches are saying.”

A timid girl in the back of the huddle walked over to the bench where the coach’s clipboard was sitting. She calmly took the outline for the practice out of the clipboard, ripped it in half, wadded it in a ball, dropped in on the floor and stepped on it. She then picked it up and laid it on top of the clipboard.Have you thought about teaching piano?

The stunned coach didn’t know what to do. Her response was a reflex action, “What do you think you are doing? That is my practice outline. Now I can’t read it. You’re going to be running sprints for the rest of practice!”

The girl bravely said, “When you give us unclear instructions and become impatient because we don’t get it right – you tear our spirit apart, just like your practice outline is torn in half.”

The girl then picked up the crumpled outline, unfolded it, and asked the coach, “Can you see all the wrinkles in the paper. They are ugly. That is the way we feel when you belittle us and put us down. It is okay to challenge us, but you are destroying us. You are putting wrinkles in our confidence, just like the wrinkles in the paper with your practice outline on it. No matter what you do, you can’t get the wrinkles out. ”

The player continued, “Coach, we are humans just like you are. We are trying to get better and you aren’t helping us. We feel just like that piece of paper that has been torn in half, crumpled up, and stepped on. Every practice we leave as damaged goods rather than athletes inspired to become better volleyball players.”

The girl paused and before the coach could start yelling at her and her teammates again and asked one final question, “Coach, have you thought about teaching piano instead of trying to be a volleyball coach?” With that the girl put her warm-ups on, called her parents on her cell phone to have them pick her up, and never played volleyball again.

Are you a volleyball coach or should you think about teaching piano?

 

Elementary Intramural Volleyball Program – A Rarity

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For the past six weeks the elementary students at the Academy of Charter Schools in Westminster Colorado have had an opportunity to test their skills at bumping, setting, passing, and serving the volleyball in practices and match play. Programs like this don’t exist everywhere, but they should!

Here’s the scoop about the program:
• Teams included boys and girls from the 3rd through 6th grades.
• Light balls were used to make it easier for the players to learn the skills.
• The elementary physical education teacher was the program director. Parents and members of the community coached the teams.
• Since the Academy is a K-12 charter school, players from the junior high and high school teams served as mentors and assistant coaches.
• There were about 60 participants on the teams.
• Practices and matches were held on Saturdays for six weeks. Each team practiced an hour (8:00, 9:00, or 10:00) and matches were played between 11:00 and 2:00.
• Team fees were minimal and the price included a t-shirt.
• The players were allowed to select their team names. Over the years team monikers have included the Highlighters (neon yellow t-shirts), Spicy Cheese Nachos (dark yellow shirts) and the Mean Green Serving Machine (green t-shirts).
•  Each match included two games to 25 and a third game to 15, no matter who won the first two games.
• The 3rd and 4th graders were allowed to serve form a special line closer to the net. In addition, they got two chances the first time they served.
• The better serving teams won most games, yet there was no restriction on the number of consecutive points a team could win (welcome to reality).
• There was ongoing substitution so everyone played.
• For the younger players, the snacks after the game were often the most important part of the activity.

The value of this elementary intramural volleyball program extended beyond the boundaries of the court into the hallways and community.

elementary intramural volleyball program

 

Colorado Volleyball is the Winner in NCAA Tournament

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Colorado volleyball will be the winner on December 5th and 6th as the University of Northern Colorado squares off against the University of Colorado and the University of Denver faces Colorado State University in the first round of play of the 2014 NCAA Division I volleyball championships.

The first round play will be special because twenty of the fifty-eight rostered players on the four teams played high school volleyball in Colorado.

The leader is DU. Seven of the fourteen players are from the Centennial State.

  • Nola Basey, Outside Hitter, 6-2, Sophomore, Lyons
  • Erica Denney, Middle Hitter, 6-5, Red-shirt Senior, Aurora
  • Monique Domme, Setter, 5-11, Sophomore, Colorado Springs
  • Bailey Karst, Setter, 5-10, Senior, Aurora
  • Taylor Loyd, Defensive Specialist/Libero, 5-7, Freshman, Centennial
  • Ruth Okoye, Middle Blocker, 6-1, Sophomore, Aurora
  • Sarah Schmid, Middle Blocker, 6-1, Junior, Highlands Ranch

Five of the fifteen Buffs are Coloradans.

  • Kelsey English, Middle Blocker, 6-2, Senior, Colorado Springs
  • Nicole Edelman, Setter, 6-0, Junior, Boulder

    Colorado volleyball - Nicole Edleman and Cierra Simpson
    Setter Nicole Edelman and Cierra Simpson (10) are two of the five in-state Buff players.
  • Cierra Simpson, Defensive Specialist/Libero, 6-0, Sophomore, Colorado Springs
  • Gabby Simpson, Setter ,6-3, Freshman, Colorado Springs
  • Simpson, Outside Hitter, 6-3, Senior, Colorado Springs

Four of the fourteen Rams are from Colorado.

  • Jaime Colaizzi, 5-4, Libero, Junior, Windsor
  • Grace Gordon, 5-7, Defensive Specialist/Setter, Junior, Denver
  • Kelsey Snider, 6-1, Middle Blocker, Red-shirt Senior, Westminster
  • Kaitlind Bestgen, 5-10, Defensive Specialist, Red-shirt Junior, Fort Collins

Four of the fifteen women from UNC call Colorado home.

  • Kim Weissmann, 6-0, Outside Hitter, Freshman, Loveland
  • Meagan Garcia, Defensive Specialist, Junior, 5-4, Platteville
  • Ryleigh Haynes, Setter, Freshman, 5-11, Eaton
  • Kendra Cunningham, OH, Junior, 5-9, Eaton

CU and CSU are favored to win the first round matches and the Rams are likely to come out on top against CU.

No matter the outcome of the matches, Colorado volleyball is the winner!

 

Lady Buffs Volleyball Attendance on the Rise

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The University of Colorado became a member of the PAC-12 Conference in 2010 and began competition in 2011. After tough seasons in their first two years, the Lady Buffs volleyball team won half their matches in 2013 and 2014.

The Lady Buffs won only 1 of 22 conference matches in their first season. On a positive note, they won their only conference match at home. Since the first year, there has been steady improvement on the court and in the stands.

On the court their Pac-12 record has improved over time. The Lady Buffs were:
• 1-21 in 2011.
• 4-16 in 2012.
• 9-11 in 2013.
• 11-9 in 2014.
In 4 years they have had 3 losing seasons and won 25 conference matches and lost 57.

Their home court conference record also got better. The Lady Buffs were:
• 1-10 in 2011.
• 4-6 in 2012.
• 7-3 in 2013.
• 6-4 in 2014.
The Lady Buffs have won 18 home matches and lost 23 in four seasons. On the road they were 7-34.

Finally, their average attendance at conference home games has shown steady gains. Attendance at the Lady Buff home matches was:
• 814 in 2011.
• 1,226 in 2012.
• 1,169 in 2013.
• 1,452 in 2014.

The reported average attendance during the 2014 season was noticeably greater than 2013. With the exception of the first match, more than 1,000 players were in attendance at all home matches.  They have a ways to go to catch up with Washington and other top teams, but at least they are headed in the right direction.

Lady Buffs Volleyball Home Conference Attendance 2014

Date Opponent Score Attendance
25-Sep Utah 3-2 462
3-Oct Arizona State 2-3 1 185
5-Oct Arizona 3-1 1 112
17-Oct Stanford 2-3 2 846
19-Oct California 3-1 2 035
6-Nov UCLA 0-3 1 280
9-Nov USC 0-3 1 672
13-Nov Washington 3-2 1 029
16-Nov Washington State 3-2 1 239
26-Nov Oregon State 3-1 1 655

Best wishes to the Lady Buffs volleyball team for a productive offseason and for continued improvement in 2015.

mary kate marshall Lady Buffs Volleyball
Mary Kate Marshall hits through a double block by the Lady Buffs volleyball team.

 

Mazza – Too Beautiful to Write for Huffington Post?

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Is Ed Mazza too beautiful to write for the Huffington Post?

July 27th was  a slow day in the news room for Mr. Mazza. At 11:23 pm EDT he posted an online article titled “Sabina Altynbekova Is Too Beautiful To Play Volleyball, Critics Say”. Readers waited on pins and needles for additional details and at 2:59 pm EDT Mazza updated the original article.

For a moment, July 27th felt like nirvana. Worries about Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine disappeared, it was irrelevant whether Israel was going to blow the Gaza Strip to Kingdom Come, and it just didn’t matter how bad the CU Buffs were going to embarrass the state of Colorado this upcoming football season.

At 11:23 on July 27th, the world was a happy place. People everywhere were focused on whether Sabina Altynbekova was really too beautiful to play volleyball on Kazakhstan’s national team. When Mazza’s update rolled in at 2:59 the world stopped long enough for enemies to set aside their guns, nerve gas, and bombs and take a few minutes to Google Sabina Altynbekova.

The results of their Google searches were provided in an online poll:

  • 48.3% of the respondents would have to stand on a stepstool to see eye-to-eye with Ms. Altynbekova.
  • 34.7% thought Kazakhstan was a suburb of Detroit.
  • 41.7% thought a float serve was what happened when the waiter delivered a root beer float at a Sonic Drive-In.
  • 97.3% thought Ms. Altynbekova was beautiful and 2.7% indicated they were scheduled to visit their ophthalmologists to get new glasses the following day.
  • 69.0% indicated they had never played volleyball before, but planned to enroll in a beginner’s class the following day.

Thank you Ed Mazza for writing an article that had absolutely no value what so ever. It was a pleasant change of pace, even if it made a few people grimace. You made a lot of people smile  and making people smile is a good thing! It is kind of like being too beautiful to play volleyball or write for the Huffington Post?

Learn from the Legends – Online Anytime

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The Art of Coaching Volleyball (ACV) Tour, “Learn from the Legends – Online Anytime” hit Regis College in Denver on May 17th and 18th. The 2014 ACV “Legends” tour has made stops at Chapel Hill and Denver, and will visit Toronto, Portland, and Austin later this summer.LEARN FROM THE LEGENDS - ONLINE ANYTIME - The Art of Coaching Volleyball

An unscientific tally of attendees showed they enjoyed the Denver event. One participant said, “While the bleacher seats were hard and uncomfortable, it was worth it because of the quality of the presentations. I’ve been to a number of coach’s workshops that were well done, but this was exceptional.”

It stands to reason the event was successful given the quality of the speakers:

  • Russ Rose – Penn State University – 6 NCAA National Championships.
  • John Dunning – Stanford University – 4 NCAA National Championships.
  • Terry Liskevych – Oregon State University – Former USA National Team Coach, 1985 – 1996.
  • Frank Lavrisha – Head Coach Regis University – 11 Conference Titles.
  • Beth Launiere – Head Coach University of Utah – 3 Conference Titles.

ACV is a new kid on the block for coaching education. In addition to their clinics they offer an excellent selection of instructional videos on their website free of charge. For a nominal fee, subscribers receive access to additional videos and resources.

So what’s the big deal about ACV?

Simply put, it will play a major role in raising the standards for coaching volleyball in the following ways:
• USAV and AVCA have excellent certification programs. Unfortunately, they only reach a small percentage of  coaches. By providing credible material “online anytime” coaches will have an opportunity to learn more about coaching all aspects of the sport (technique, tactics, nutrition, injury prevention). This is important because only a handful of coaches work in the profession on a full-time basis. Most coaches are eager to learn, but they have to do it on their own time.
• By making videos available to the masses, parents and players will be more knowledgeable about the sport. As a result, they will have greater expectations of their coaches, which will motivate coaches to strengthen their skills.
• The sport is in a growth mode that will continue because of greater interest in boys’ programs and increased popularity of beach volleyball. The demand for ACV will remain high  because there currently are not enough qualified instructors. That situation will only get worse in the near-term.

If you haven’t done so, check out the “Legends” when they come to a town near you. And if you can’t do that, remember, “Online Anytime.”

 

Colorado Junior Volleyball on Tenuous Path for Growth

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What is the state of Colorado junior volleyball?  The quick and dirty answer is, “It’s gaining in popularity.” The challenge will be – can Colorado junior volleyball continue to grow at its current rate?

The quick and dirty methodology was to look at the number of teams that played in the 12U and 18U divisions of the USAV Rocky Mountain Region (RMR) Junior Regionals for the period 2009 to 2013. This data was taken from the RMR website.

The data shows there was strong growth in the number of teams in the 12U division.
• 2009 – 18 teams.
• 2010 – 12 teams.
• 2011 – 16 teams.
• 2012 – 27 teams.
• 2013 – 31 teams.

Colorado junior volleyball is growing - too fast!
Colorado junior volleyball is growing – too fast!

The data shows there were wide fluctuations in the team participation for the 18U division, however, growth occurred.
• 2009 – 28 teams.
• 2010 – 32 teams.
• 2011 – 36 teams.
• 2012 – 25 teams.
• 2013 – 35 teams.

A more reliable case for growth could be made by looking at additional data; however, increased information would likely produce similar results. It is exciting that more girls are choosing to play the sport, however, there are several reasons for concern about how long this growth can be sustained:
• Currently, there is a lack of quality entry-level coaches in parts of the metro area. There are many well-intended coaches who lack the skills and knowledge to provide their teams with efficient practices.
• Because volleyball and basketball fall at the same time of the year, court-time during winter months has become a precious commodity.
• There appears to be increased interest for boys’ programs.
• On a similar note, there is increased interest in beach volleyball.

If participation in the sport continues on an upward path, these factors could put a damper on the growth of the sport. What is RMR doing to address these issues?

The Volleyball Player’s Food Table – Redefining Sports Nutrition

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Sports nutritionists advocate that volleyball players at all-day tournaments graze on foods containing protein and carbohydrates. As well, the athletes are reminded to stay hydrated, i.e. drink plenty of water, stay off their feet, and rest if possible.

A player’s diet before and on the day of a tournament may determine their success on the court. With that in mind, club directors and parents came up with the player’s food table to as a means of providing nourishment for their daughters on game day.

Somewhere along the way, the focus of the food table was shifted from the players to the father’s beer bellies, the mother’s muffin tops, and the sibling’s sweet tooth. Parents used their daughter’s volleyball tournament as an opportunity to display their culinary skills with their favorite recipes for chili, fried chicken, and death-by-sugar cupcakes.

Too often the community food tables look like the picture on the right. This photo was snapped at a tournament where the host facility did not allow food inside the gymnasium, hence all food tables were located outside the front entrance to the building.

food table
A typical volleyball food table – cupcakes, chips and other goodies that do not enhance performance.

The menu for this tournament is provided below:

  • In the background is a cooler with bottled Gatorade on top. The sliced turkey, beef, and bologna are stored inside. The bread and condiments for the sandwiches are located on the table – a reasonable start.
  • On the table there is also mayonnaise and potato salad. It is best to store both inside the ice chest, especially when tables are outdoors on a warm day.
  • And the best part of the menu is the bag of Jolly Rancher candy (500 pieces), muffins, and 3 dozen cupcakes. These are an important part of a diet that provides the fans and players with an afternoon sugar rush and crash.
  • Underneath the table is a wide selection of chips – Yummy, but not what the athletes need.
  • And in the foreground is the unopened bag of apples and oranges on top of the cooler. Because the bag of fruit was never opened, it was presumably placed on the ice chest to keep the lid from blowing away and as a deterrent for those wanting to get a soda or other sugar-based drink.

And parents wonder why their daughters are playing in the lower divisions.

 

 

 

Meaningful Touches in a Volleyball Practice Matter!

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Meaningful touches make a difference in the rate at which players and teams improve.

The number of touches may be determined by the time spent on non-volleyball activities (setup, warm-up, discussions, dealing with injured players, cool-downs). As well, teams may spend time in strategy talks, working on mental toughness, or reviewing videos of match play. All of these activities can play an important role in the learning process even if no meaningful touches are associated with them.

In addition, the number of touches may vary as a result of the skill level of the athletes, number of courts, equipment and training aids, amount of practice time, coaching philosophy, and the drills selected.

While the number of touches matters, coaches should optimize, rather than maximize, the number of touches based on the needs of the team.

Consider the following two scenarios:

  1. A player on a team that averages 1.0 meaningful touch every minute, or 120 touches every practice. This player will get 8,640 touches during the season.
  2. On the other hand a player that averages 2.0 meaningful touches every minute, or 240 touches every practice, will get 17,280 touches during the season.

Both scenarios are highlighted in the table below.

Meaningful touches make a difference in the rate at which players and teams improve.
Meaningful touches make a difference in the rate at which players and teams improve.

The difference between these two scenarios is 8,640 touches over the course of the season.

17,280 touches (scenario 2) minus 8,640 touches (scenario 1) = 8,640 touches.

That number of touches is equivalent to 36 practice sessions. In other words, the team with 2.0 meaningful player touches per minute is theoretically half a season ahead of the team that gets 1.0 meaningful player touches per minute by the end of the season.

Meaningful touches matter! It is essential for coaches to optimize the number of touches in their practices.

 

 

NCAA Volleyball Quarterfinalists Represent 24 States and 5 Countries

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The Big 12 and the PAC 12 conferences dominated the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championships. Teams from their conferences filled 7 of the 8 quarterfinal slots. Texas was the only school from another conference.

This brief analysis identifies the home states of the most active players from the teams in the quarterfinals. Information was gathered from the rosters and stats pages of the school’s athletic department websites. Only players were included in this analysis that played more than half the sets during the season.

 Team  Number of Players Playing Playing More Than Half of the Sets in 2013  Number of Players Playing Sets in 2013 Season
Nebraska  9 15
Penn State  10 18
Purdue  11 13
Stanford  8 15
Texas 10 13
USC 11 15
Washington  9 12
Wisconsin  9 13
  Total  77  114

 

The following two tables identify the home countries and states for the quarterfinalists. The first table looks at the location by country and the second table identifies the home state for the U.S. players.

There were only 5 foreign players at four schools. Four of the quarterfinalists had all players from the U.S.

NU

PSU

Purdue

Stanford

Texas

USC

U of W

Wisconsin

Total
Italy

1

1
Mexico

1

1
PuertoRico

1

1

2
Sweden

1

1
U.S.

8

9

11

8

10

9

8

9

72
 Total

9

10

11

8

10

11

9

9

77

 

The rosters of most teams included players from within their regions. For example Purdue has 6 players from Indiana and USC had five players from California.

Of the 72 players from the U.S., 15 were from California, 11 from Texas, 9 from Illinois and 7 from Indiana.

Five of the 8 schools have players from California, 6 schools have players from Texas, and 4 schools have players from Illinois.

Although about 60% of the players are from 4 states, the key players from the quarterfinalists were from 24 states.

 

NU

PSU

Purdue

Stanford

Texas

USC

U of W

Wisconsin

Total
 AL    

1

          

1
 AR

1

1
CA

1

1

4

5

4

15
 CO

1

1
 FL

1

1
 HI

2

2
 IA

1

1
 IL

2

2

1

4

9
 IN

6

1

7
 KY

1

1
 LA

1

1
 MD

1

1
 MI

1

1
 MN

2

2
 MO

1

1
 NB

2

2
 NC

1

1

1

3
 NJ

1

1
 NY

1

1
 OH

2

1

3
 OK

1

1

2
 OR

2

2
 TX

1

1

1

5

2

1

11
 WA        

1

1

  

2
 TOTAL

8

9

11

8

10

9

8

9

72

 

The data illustrates that quality programs are developing high performance players in most parts of the country.