Focus of the five sessions in Week 1:
- Movement skills
- Skill introduction
- Ball control activities
- Attack priority
- Small group game-related activities
Jump to the practice plan for each day:
WEEK 1, DAY 1
Coach Education
Practice Plan
Warmup
- Warmup with Catching – Mark Rosen
- Pass/Switch (A) Set; B) Pass; C) Set/pass) – Mark Rosen
- 3-Touch Pepper – Jim Stone
Defense
- Training Defense (Instructional) – Russ Rose
- Toss/Collapse – Lizzy Stemke
- Parallel Lines – Lizzy Stemke
Serve/Pass
- Float Serve (Instructional) – Terry Liskevych
- Serve/Pass from Different Angles – Mark Barnard
Attack
- Instructional – Kevin Hambly
- Back Row Attack – Jen DeJarld
- Note: I tend to begin the attack phase with back-row attack repetitions. Attack from off the net encourages better arm swing mechanics, forcing the player to reach high to the ball.
Team Play
- 5 vs. 5 Dig with one block – Russ Rose
Practice Review
WEEK 1, DAY 2
Coach Education
- Block Footwork
- Attack Footwork
- Setter Fundamentals
Focus
- Footwork
- Setter training
- Skill development
- Incorporate blocking into defensive drills
- Transition footwork – block to attack
- Serve/pass contacts
Practice Plan
Warmup
- Block Warmup Without Ball
- Attack Arm Swing – Mike Sealy
- Encourage players to hit the ball to partner so the ball is caught by partner. Discourage hitting the ball into the floor.
- Attack Footwork – John Dunning
Ball Control
- Triangle Setting – Lizzy Stemke
- Triangle Pepper – Debbie Brown
- Setter Training - Jill Kramer
Skill Work
- Block Transition 2 Ball – Ben Josephson
- Pass (World Series) – Mike Sealy
- Hitter vs. Blocker (modify, will play from serve, no triple block) – Mark Barnard
Teamwork
- Pass to Attack (work both left-side and right-side attackers) – Russ Rose
- Bingo (focus on serve, attack or defensive items) – Karch Kiraly
Practice Review: Focus on blocking footwork and transition and the Bingo game activities.
WEEK 1, DAY 3
Coach Education
- Dealing with Failure - Diane Flick-Williams
Focus
- Footwork
- Setter training
- Skill development
- Begin middle attack work
- Transition footwork – block to attack
- Serve/Pass Contacts
Practice Plan
Warmup/Movement
- Northwestern 3-step Warmup – Shane Davis
- Defense – Debbie Brown
Skill Work
- Setter (Footwork) – Lauren Carlini
- Setter (Triangles) – Lauren Carlini
- Setter-Middle Connection – Gretchen Hunt
- While setters and middles work together, outsides and back row passers work on serve receive
- Pass and Cover – Mike
Teamwork
- Pass to Attack (focus on outside attack vs. block) – Glenn Hoag
- Middle Hitter Transition – John Dunning
- Competition (5 vs. 5 LF vs. LF) – Jim Stone
- 3 before 5 (from serve) – Christy Johnson-Lynch
Practice Review
WEEK 1, DAY 4
Coach Education
- Passing - John Dunning
Focus
- Serve/pass
- Transition attack
- Build on middle attack
- Side out offense
Practice Plan
Warmup/Ball Control
- Butterfly Pass to Attack – Tom Shoji
- Dig/Cover – Debbie Brown
Skill Work
- Serve – Tod Mattox
- Rapid Passing – Debbie Brown
- Serve/Pass (10 before 4) – Doug Reimer
Teamwork
- Side Out Offense (emphasis on perfect pass) – Tom Hilbert
- Pendulum Drill (focus on consecutive positive contacts) – Moira Long
Practice Review
WEEK 1, DAY 5
Coach Education
- Serve Ritual – Russ Rose
Focus
- Begin to place priority on quality, consecutive contacts
- Skill Work – priority on side out offense
- Lots of 6 vs. 6 – evaluate skills to help plan for next training session
Practice Plan
Warmup
- 1 vs. 1 – Tod Mattox
- Over the Net Pepper – Debbie Brown
Skill Work
- Serve/Pass 5 before 3 – Kelly Sheffield
Teamwork
- First Ball Side Out (FBSO) – Mark Barnard
- End of Game 11-11 – Russ Rose
Practice Review
- Focus: FBSO percentage. This early in the season, a reasonable goal might be over 50%.
- How are Serve/Pass skills?
- Set distribution – Are your middles getting sufficient swings?
