Email Campaign Archive

The Perfect Blend

-By Dave Cross

A Question for Dave:

A coach I respect a lot teaches that lots of data
supports the idea that Side-Out Percentage is the
best predictor of success (at least in NCAA D1.)
Additionally, small changes in SO% make huge
differences in the probability of winning.

It seems like a no-brainer, but after thinking
about the implications, I reviewed my plans and am
considering some striking changes in my
priorities, personnel, schemes, etc.

I would like to run some of the implications past
this group - but want to start with thoughts about
this being the key to drive volleyball decisions.
(I still think the mental game - attitude, hustle,
leadership, team work, competitiveness,
discipline, knowledge of the game, anticipation,
etc. are the most important overall factors.)

Dave's Reply:

Even though I feel that the mental game is
incredibly important to a team's overall success,
there are other factors that are just as
important. The key point to realize here is that
the mental game will help any team perform more
closely to their full potential on a more
consistent basis 

In the words of the legendary basketball coach Jim
Valvano, "The three keys to winning are: Talent,
talent and talent.". A coach has to have a
certain amount of athletic ability and volleyball
skill on the court to be successful. And, the
coach that takes this ability and skill and trains
them in the mental aspects of the game as well, is
going to get his team to stay more positive,
remain more focused and perform better in the
clutch and thus, be more successful in the long
run.

I feel that this is where a lot of coaches "miss
the boat" when it comes to understanding the
importance of the mental side of the game. They
think mental game proponents like myself and the
rest of our staff here at "Yes, I Can!" only
stress the mental side of the game-or at least
that we focus on it more than anything else.
Unfortunately for them and their teams, they are
sadly mistaken-just as mistaken as those that feel
mental game coaches are all "nicey-nicey" and
put a flowery frame around everything they do with
their teams.

Ok, now that I've said that, let's address your
question. Please understand my comments here are
not meant as criticism of your comments-but as a
general critique of the state of volleyball
coaching as whole. Side-Out Percentage is a huge
factor in winning a volleyball match-the more
times you can limit the opposition to two or fewer
points per service the more likely you are to come
out on top. I would always base my lineup on the
following factors:

-Having my best passers facing the other teams
best servers (most coaches tend to put their best
servers toward the front of the serving rotation)

-Having my best hitter in at least two of the
first three rotations, if not all three.

-The same holds true for my best RS blocker.

-The same holds true for my best defensive players
being in the back.

Why? The vast majority of coaches load the front
half of their rotations with their best lineups.
This is a very wise thing to do because over the
course of a game, and a match, they will get more
opportunities in those positions. So, I would
always do the same-match my best against their
best-and hope my second line could at least match
theirs.

We would also always run our teams through their
side-out plays repeatedly. I'd put our serve
receivers and our two best attack options on the
floor vs. a few servers and run them through all
their options a few times for each rotation. While
this was being done, my assistant would be running
the rest of the squad through drills specific to
their positions on the other court. When we would
rotate and a lineup change would be in order, the
girls involved would simply switch courts.

And the key to getting the best performance out of
them consistently? While stressing proper
technique and strategical execution, use all the
mental aspect concepts you mentioned in your
question to lead then toward executing correctly
as often as can be expected of a high school team.
The same would hold true at any level of college
ball, the bar would simply be raised in terms of
the expectations of their level of execution and
consistency.

The bottom line is this: Technique, strategy and
the mental game must be consistently intertwined
to get the "best" out of any team the "most
consistently". This is what every coach strives
to do-get the best out of his squad as
consistently as possible. But, sadly, many don't
understand the importance of the mental side of
the game in making this happen. However, any coach
that stresses the mental game and doesn't focus
on the technical and strategical side of the game
is coming up short in terms of leading their team
to being the best the can be just as much. The most
consistently successful coaches are the ones who
seek the "Perfect Blend" of the these approaches.

-Dave Cross
National Director
Yes I Can Volleyball