High school state tournaments are in full swing with the top teams knocking each other out for a chance to be crowned champions. Meanwhile, club and college coaches are scouting these tournament matches looking for top players to add to their programs.

The club options in Connecticut are fairly limited, and the same year to year. But in New Jersey there are a few new club options out there (and coach attrition to and from different clubs...but that's a whole different story...)

For those high-school aged players out there with aspirations to play in college, or even just improve your game, the best way to do so is to play more volleyball. And the best way to play more quality volleyball? Join a club team. Seriously. Do it.
(I apologize for being late on this post. Many clubs have already begun try-outs.)

Here are the options (known to me) available in Connecticut:
CT Impact (Boys/Girls) Bethel, CT
CT Juniors (Boys/Girls) Woodbridge, CT
CT Volleyball Academy (Girls) New London, CT
Eastern CT (Girls) Pomfret, CT
Husky Volleyball (Boys/Girls) Tolland, CT
Mizuno East (Boys) Bridgeport, CT

And here are the programs I know of in New Jersey:
Allegro (Girls)
Atlantic Valley (Girls)
CJVA (Girls)
Central Jersey Heat (Girls)
Cutshot (Girls)
DIGS (Girls)
Essex (Girls)
Jersey Shore (Boys/Girls)
Legion (Girls)
North Jersey (Boys/Girls)
Phoenix (Boys/Girls)
TCA (Girls) Contact Rich Pickrell at asics77@optonline.net
Warren SixPak (Boys)
West Windsor - Princeton (Boys/Girls)

Others listed here: http://geva.org/juniors/club-tryouts

I will also be attending the US Men's National intra-squad scrimmage on May 6th at Penn State, and attending the USAV Coaches Clinic on the morning of May 7th. (Clinicians to include Alan Knipe, Karch Kiraly John Kessel and Tom Tait.)

UPDATE 5/6/2011 3:21PM: I have reached Penn State, exploring the area and will be updating here and on Twitter. Follow me @volleynut

UPDATE 5/7/2011 3:00 PM: The USA Men's National Training Team intra-squad scrimmage was last night, I have a few pictures up on my twitter feed so go take a peek. Lots of familiar faces in the gym last night with the Penn State men's team, some alumni, as well as the women's team coming to watch.

USA Blue swept USA Red 4-0 (they played four straight sets guaranteed), taking the first two sets in dominant 25-15, 25-15. The next two sets were closer at 25-20, 26-24.

USA Blue was led by the Shoji brothers, Kawika setting and Erik as the libero. Garrett Muagututia (UCLA) was certainly an offensive standout from both the front and back row, and seemed to have a very good connection with Kawika on the bic set to the pipe.

Overall it was an impressive showing of current NCAA stars playing together in an exhibition match. Played a lot more like an all-star game than a competitive match, so neither team was especially sharp. But you can easily see the vast difference between this squad and the USA Men's National team which will be competing in the World League coming up (With three stops in the USA.)

Looking forward to the NCAA Men's D1 Finals tonight at 7PM. Tune in to the match on ESPN2 to watch Ohio State (3) take on UC Santa Barbara (4)!

Give them a follow and a "Like" on Facebook as well. https://www.facebook.com/thenvl

If taught correctly, a player will transition or slide off the court when preparing to approach and hit. This gives them the ability to approach at an angle, regardless of quality of the set.

So why should you approach at an angle?

1. It's easier to hit a ball coming at you, than one going across you. Try this: Face a friend and have them toss a ball to you so you can hit it back to them. Pretty easy. Now have them stand to the side of you and toss the to you so you can hit it back to them. Not so easy now, is it?
2. Geometry. Approaching at an angle makes it easier for you to hit cross-court. Hitting cross-court gives you a longer distance, and thus a larger margin for error. Draw it out if you need proof. You have more distance going corner to corner, than down the line.
3. It's easier to adjust to sets that aren't optimal. A set that is too far inside, you will need to speed up and chase to get there. If you are approaching direct to the net, chances are you will net-foul. Sets that go too far outside the antenna will require you to jump sideways and out of bounds if you are approaching straight into the net. Transitioning off the court and approaching at an angle gives you a better chance of seeing the ball, and still getting a solid approach (even if you're limited to going only cross-court.)
4. Your last two steps in your approach, which become your jump, are also meant to open up your body to the setter. This is made easier, and more natural, if you are approaching at an angle (and already somewhat facing your setter.) This, in turn, makes it easier to torque when hitting. And torque is what provides much of the power in your hits.
5. Vision. You'll have a better view of the whole court while approaching, giving you a chance to peek a the defense while approaching, and the block through your periphery. (Advanced hitters)

So there you have it. If you have any other ideas on why approaching at an angle is important, shout out in the comments.

There are a few things you should keep in mind when preparing to give feedback:

1. Keep it short. Keep it simple. Information overload is a problem we all face, but as athletes trying to learn a new skill, or correct bad habits, you need to focus your efforts on a single key to simplify your efforts. Short answer? Stop talking so much.
2. Keep it positive. This runs back to my earlier discussion on Polarity of Words. Players like practices where they get a lot of feedback. Especially positive feedback. Positive feedback is highly motivating, and a motivated player is a dedicated player. A dedicated player will put forth the effort and time you expect out of your athletes.
3. Keep it consistent. Your principles should have been set early in the stages of learning/teaching. Try not to change what you are attempting to teach, and try not to flip flop. This will only confuse your players.
4. Keep it constant. By this, I mean you should be giving feedback to your players at all times. During warm-ups, individually, in small-group sessions, in game-like sessions, and even in the middle of matches. If you have established your principles and chosen your "keys", you will be able to convey a lot of information in a few short words to help bring your players on the same page.
5. Work with your players to be self-aware. It is one thing if the coach can see it, but it is totally different if the player him/herself can feel it. The first step to correcting form and technique is identification, the second step is the player being aware of their body's movements. Once they are able to focus in on that movement, they should be able to consciously work on it.

One of the biggest mistakes coaches make is neglecting to provide feedback during warm-ups. This is one of the few times you will be able to tutor your players on a 1-on-1 or 1-on-2 manner. There is limited time during a practice session where you really get to dedicate individualized time with your players. Roam the floor as your players are warming up. Work with each one of them for a few minutes at a time to focus in on one or two keys. If your team is doing Functional Warm-ups, you will have lots of opportunities to give feedback on your key principles.

During the "early development" phase of coaching beginning volleyball players, this drill is extremely useful in progressing from a static toss and pass, toss and set, toss and hit "blocked practice" drill into more random practice - where your players need to learn to read and react to touches on the ball that might not be perfect.

The butterfly is a fairly simple concept. You can also substitute the coach tossing the ball for players tossing, so that the coach can roam and give feedback as the drill is running.

The coach will stand on one side of the court, with a line of players ready to feed the coach balls.

Another line will form on the opposite side of the net, in the left back position ready to pass the ball.

One more player must stand at the net in the passer's target area.

The coach will initiate the drill by tossing a ball over the net to the player waiting to pass. The passer will use correct footwork and passing form to pass the ball to the target.

The player acting as the target will catch the ball and move to the end of the tossing line (players feeding the coach the balls).

The player who had just passed the ball will then become the new target.

After a player hands the coach the ball, they can proceed to the end of the passing line.

As you can see, this drill can run for a long time. If you do not have an assistant coach who can toss balls for you, you may allow the players to toss the balls for themselves. This will allow you, as a coach, the freedom to focus on your players and give proper feedback. The feedback loop during drills is the most important part of teaching the skills.

As players become more adept, you can modify this drill to be initiated by a serve.

Other variations:

1. Two sided butterfly - Run this drills on both sides of the court.
2. Add a permanent setter, then place a player at setting target to catch the ball.
3. Add a hitting line - Have players transition off the net using correct footwork as the ball comes across the net. Then approach and hit with proper footwork and technique.
4. Have the passers slide out, and hit for themselves.
5. Add a blocking line to block the hitters.
6. Have the players doing the tossing/serving come onto the court and dig the hitters.
7. Have two passers.
8. And so on, and so on.

For this post, I am going to discuss (as simply as possible) the basics of form, technique, and positioning for "heads-up" blocking, where you are already positioned to jump straight up. "Heads-up" blocking implies 1-on-1 blocking, attacking the ball.

Step 1: Setting up at the net - It is important as a blocker to keep proper spacing from the net. In order to do so, there are two schools of thought.
1) Forearm distance - When setting up at the net, put your arms down so that your upper arms are parallel with your body. Then bend your arms at the elbow so that your arms are at a 90 degree angle, and your fingertips barely graze the net.
2) Elbow distance - When setting up at the net, raise your arms up so that your upper arms are at a 90 degree angle from your body, and your elbows are an inch or two from the net.

Whichever way you decide to go about it, the spacing is about equal and will allow for you to keep out of the net while moving, even if you have to pivot and turn to swing block.

Step 2: Ready position, Hands up - Your ready position should have your body in an athletic stance, balanced and ready to move in either direction (left/right). Your hands should be up, facing the net, at about the height of your shoulders or face. This will allow you to be ready to reach up and over the net quickly.

Step 3: Jump and penetrate - Once you have identified that it is your responsibility to block the hitter, jump straight up and press your arms into your opponent's side of the court. Do not step forward into the net to block, and do not swing your arms downwards in the action of penetrating.

Step 4: Hands and arms, pike - While in the act of penetrating, your fingers should be spread out and hands should be strong. You want your arms locked straight and close enough together so that there is not enough space for the ball to sneak in between your arms. At the peak of your jump, while you are penetrating, tighten your core. An easy way to "pike" is to point your toes up at the ceiling in the action of your block. Being in a "pike" position will strengthen your block.

Step 5: Turn in - This concept focuses on the idea of turning your outside hand, on contact with the ball, back into the middle of the court. This will help prevent the situation where you make a solid block, but block the ball out of bounds.

Keys to remember:

1. Jump straight up.
2. Penetrate.
3. Turn the ball in.

Now that you have the basic technique and form for blocking, you will need to learn how to read the setter and hitters, and move side to side to react. These topics will be covered in future posts.

But that is at the professional level, where the athletes would have already developed the necessary skills and knowledge to perform at the highest level. At that level, physical traits can differentiate between a good player, and a great player.

How is this relevant to the high-school juniors level of volleyball?

Simply put -- It isn't relevant at all.

I am constantly baffled by the insistence of high-school coaches, especially long-tenured coaches who supposedly know what they are doing, on having their players tested for physical performances such as the mile, shuttle runs, vertical touch, etc. It is one thing to test for these metrics, it is another to base your decisions at tryouts on them. When you focus on these types of benchmarks and metrics, you lose sight of what is truly important to the game of volleyball at the high school level -- performance of volleyball-specific skills.

I am going to break down the three examples I listed above, followed by a breakdown of some metrics that I believe are actually relevant to fielding the best possible high school team.

Mile Run time -- I'm sorry, what? First of all, if you are a volleyball coach and you make your players run a mile...you are an epic fail from the get-go. Running a mile has absolutely zero relevance to the sport of volleyball. There will not be a single instance where your players will have to run a mile straight during a match. And please, don't bring up the arguments about endurance. Running a mile is completely different from the type of endurance that a volleyball player needs. Volleyball is a sport of high explosiveness for short bursts of time, and a player needs to be able to ramp up and ramp down their performance in an instant. A player needs to develop the ability to calm the body down between points, then explode to the ball.

Shuttle runs/sprints -- This too is irrelevant, though to a lesser degree. Yes, you can identify which players may have some pre-developed explosive speed and agility (change of direction). However, making players run sprints and shuttles only identify which players are good sprinters and shuttle runners. It is a completely different situation when the player needs to first identify where the ball is going, react accordingly with proper footwork to get to the ball quickly, and then remain with good form in order to play the ball.

With the two above items, my main point is this -- We want to develop good volleyball players, not good runners. If a player wishes to work on their running times, let them do it outside of practice on their own time. We, as coaches, only have a limited time to work with our players on volleyball-specific skills. We should take advantage of every second of that time and maximize the amount of touches our players get on the ball.

Vertical leap -- Relevant to a degree, as volleyball is a sport of explosiveness and height of reach. However, for most high school programs, and especially at the younger levels such as freshman and JV, you should focus more on the development of volleyball specific skills. Take their vertical touch into account when making decisions, but do not base decisions on it. I will take a player with good hitting technique, a solid platform, and coachability over a player who jumps through the roof but can't pass for their life.

So if we don't pay attention to the above, what should we focus on?

Coachability -- A player's willingness to take direction, and ability to apply direction immediately without push-back.

Attitude -- A player's constant positive attitude towards playing the game. Genuine joy while playing and appreciation for the game.

Passing platform -- A player's ability to pass with a solid platform, and recreate the platform time after time.

Passer rating -- Rating passes on the 0-3 scale, how well does a player perform in serve-receive.

I apologize that this post isn't very in-depth, or more well written. This is really just a rant caused out of frustration.

This saddens me on multiple levels, as the AVP tour has had ups and downs over the last three decades but seemed to always bounce back. Popularity of the beach game soared after Misty, Kerri, Beast and Professor swept the gold medals at the 2008 Olympics for the United States and we were even seeing some prime-time television coverage of the sport.

But now where do we go from here? The majority of the athletes who compete in the AVP tour did so on a part-time basis. Now they will have to return to full-time jobs to support themselves. They may decide to join the EVP tour and play in some USAV open tournaments just to keep their dreams alive, but the AVP Tour was really the top level of volleyball you could reach in the United States.

There is so much talent in this country, the AVP Tour gave us a chance to showcase it, and now most of it will go to waste. The top pros will undoubtedly move overseas to places like Germany or Switzerland to make competing in the FIVB easier and we will never get to see them play.

Unlike in Europe and Asia, there are no professional indoor leagues to speak of in America. Our top athletes play overseas for leagues in Russia, Korea, Germany, Greece, then come together to compete as a national team every couple of years. And again, we rarely get to see them play. Beach volleyball was our sport's exposure to the country, and now it will exist primarily in grassroots efforts.

So who will our high school and college athletes look up to? For the die-hard volleyball players, they will continue to look up to the top college athletes, and the international players that have gotten publicity. But what of the larger population of volleyball players in America? Those who play the sport and enjoy the sport but never get exposed to the highest levels of play. Who will they look up to? Where will their inspiration to improve come from?

In a year where beach volleyball has just been recognized as an official NCAA pilot sport program, for the AVP Tour to shutter operations can only mean the inevitable rejection of beach volleyball as an official NCAA sport in the future.

I have been fortunate enough in the past few years to attend the AVP Tour events in Belmar, NJ and Coney Island, NY. It was always a dream of mine to attend the Manhattan Beach Open as well. But now it will never come to fruition.

Financial hardships for a large organization such as the AVP, which is a publicly held entity (at a share price of $0.02), are hard to overcome. The low profile of volleyball as a sport in this country combined with the economic recession has pushed the AVP beyond the point at which the owners and investors could afford to buoy it anymore. And it is as damn shame. A damn shame.

http://www.avp.com/News-and-Media/2010/08/AVP-Tour-Suspends-Operations.aspx

http://www.avp.com/News-and-Media/2010/08/End-of-Days.aspx

But this wasn't the reason why we rarely ran before or during practices. No, the reasoning was much more logical, and wouldn't be revealed to me until I began to coach under them a few years later.

The fact of the matter is, especially at the high school/juniors level of competition, that running provides very little benefit. You can even consider it a complete waste of time. If I haven't already blown your mind or completely offended you, please hear me out...

During a high school season, you have a very limited amount of time to work with your players. You have pre-season, a 10 week regular season, and any post-season play. This isn't a lot of time to work with your players on the fundamentals of the game, on improving their technique, understanding of theory and teamwork/chemistry. And as a coach you have to remember that your players are student-athletes. Emphasis on the student part, as it comes first and foremost in the development of these young individuals and their futures, so you can't just keep them in the gym 5 hours a day.

So how do you better utilize your limited time with your players?

Simple -- Cut out the fat. Eliminate the unnecessary activities that could better be utilized working on a volleyball specific skill.

This is where the concept of "Functional Warm-ups" comes into play.

Regardless of the sport program an athlete joins, it is inevitable that they encounter a coach that emphasizes taking time out of practice to run laps around the gym or track, with no explanation as to why this benefits the players' development in the sport. Okay yes, I will admit that running has cardiovascular benefits. But different sports have different needs and paces of play. (For more info on this concept, please see my post on the 10 Rules of Training.

Now to the fun part: How to modify your practice warm-ups to better suit volleyball.

That's easy...spend your warm-up time doing movements that emphasis the use of volleyball-related skills. Rather than spending time jogging, running, stretching, doing suicides, spend your time giving your players more touches with a volleyball. If practice makes perfect, then you want your players getting more practice playing volleyball. Functional volleyball skills. Thus "Functional Warm-ups".

1. Run 6 lines (just to get the blood flowing, 6 lines = jogging from sideline to sideline 6 times.)
2. 10 pushups, 10 situps (just to get the blood flowing)
3. 10 transitions & approaches (gets the blood flowing while making your players practice proper footwork)
4. 5 blocking trips (starting at MB position, swing block one direction, once. Reverse direction twice, then finish blocking original direction again completing at MB position again.)
5. Triangle passing 50x (groups of three, passing in a triangle. Start with forearm passing around one direction 50 touches total for group. Emphasize proper form/technique. Progress into overhead passing/setting only 50x, then alternate on each touch 50x.)
6. Passing weave (groups of 3 or 4, pass and follow the ball. Begin forearm passing only for X repetitions, progress to overhead only, then to pass/set/hit.)
7. Short-Short-Long (groups of 2. For either overhead or forearm passing. One player at baseline, other at 10ft line. Player 1 tosses to Player 2. 2 passes ball only 5 feet in front of him/herself, player 1 reacts to short ball and plays ball up high and straight. Player 1 retreats to original position awaiting long pass, then passes to 2 short. Repeat cycle for X repetitions.)
8. Two or three-person pepper (2 players = dig to self. 3 players = dig to setter)
9. Four person pepper (Pass/set/hit, three players who are not hitter will shift into defensive alignment in the direction of hitter's target.)
10. And more...

By warming up their bodies with volleyball activities rather than miscellaneous activities, they will be better prepared for the practice ahead which will focus more on specific skills, team theory, individual positional theory, etc. They will be more focused, and will perform better for the duration of practice.

Again, this is an advantage due to the fact that your players are getting more practice playing volleyball rather than running or stretching. If your players want to run and stretch, they may do so before practice begins or after it ends.

If you want to make the argument that they need to run to be conditioned for volleyball, then I will wholeheartedly disagree with you. Please refer back to the 10 Rules of Training, section 2. In addition, the best training and conditioning you can do for volleyball is to play more volleyball more intensely.

i.e. The more a player jumps, the higher they will jump. Remember that for yourself as a player, and as a coach.