Email Campaign Archive

Nine Keys to Solid Middle Blocker Play

-By Tom Houser


A Question for Coach Houser:

I saw you at our match. What did you think about
our big MB?


Coach Houser's Reply:

Here are the top 9 priorities for your high school
or college MB: 


Priority 1: Create A Shadow

No, the top priority of your MB is not to block or
hit. It is to create a shadow that the opponents
cannot spike into. If your MB doesn’t touch a ball
blocking the entire match, that’s fine. But she
must force the opponents to hit around her and
into the waiting arms of her teammates!


Priority 2: Limit The Number Of Easy Points You Give Up. 

If the opponents are hitting through her, down her
body, and if she’s in the net, then there’s a big,
big problem! We all want our MB’s to be a positive
force at the net, and just like we expect our
hitters to have more kills than errors, we want
our MB’s to have fewer blocking errors (nets and
avoidable tools) than they do stuff blocks.


Priority 3: Stay Out Of The Way.

For young MB’s, this is something that they have
to hear day after day. “Stay out of the way!” If
you haven’t coached young MB’s for a while, then
start teaching them on day 1 how to jump, hit the
floor, then FIND THE BALL! Else, they’ll end up
plowing over their setter too many times! 

Have you noticed? I still haven’t mentioned blocking! 


Priority 4: Hit The Ball.

I want my MB to terminate some rallies. I will
teach her to see the blocker(s) and not get
stuffed, while hitting the ball into the corners,
tipping over the blockers, or slamming the ball to
the floor. 


Priority 5: Be On Time, Thus Helping The Antenna Hitters

If you’re running a quick offense, then your MB
being on time is absolutely critical. I tell all
my MB’s, “If you’re not on time, I don’t correct
the setters. I don’t worry about the
height/location of the set until you learn to be
on time.”

If your MB is on time and hollering and screaming
for the ball, then that will make the opposing MB
late blocking our outside sets. We expect our MB’s
to “scare the grandma.” In other words, she’s
hollering and screaming so loud that the grandma’s
in stands are going, “Oh, my, was that Liz? Oh, my!”


Priority 6: Block.

“Coach Houser, you put blocking here?” Sure do.
Even with all the D1 college matches I see (and
I’m on the road to Coastal Carolina right now),
blocking can only be a higher priority when all
the above issues are taken for granted. And if
that’s the case, it’s not really a higher priority! 

I can count on one hand how many times I’ve heard
any coach say, “We lost because we couldn’t block
anything”. But I need a calculator to count how
many times I’ve heard coaches say, “We couldn’t
get any kills from our middles tonight.”
 

Priority 7: Know What’s Happening On The Other
Side Of The Net .

Some of you may think that this should be higher.
But, again, I think those are the coaches who have
the above issues under control. 

When a MB’s teammate is serving, she must be
staring at the other side of the net, discovering
where the opponent’s setter is and where the set
may go. I have a “Lobster” handout and can send
you. Lobster is an anachronym for the seven things
that front row players should be doing when a
teammate is serving. If a Gold Member wants a
copy, just email me. 


Priority 8: Take Care Of The Overpasses.

Last Sunday at a match at Radford University, a
dad told me, “Putting that ball away should be
automatic.” I told him, “You would think. But it’s
harder than it looks.” Plus, at the high school
level, the girls don’t usually practice it much. 

We tell our MB’s: “Either put the overpass down,
or give it to your setter.” No, we don’t give our
opponents down balls or free balls. You must
expect more of your MB than that. 

Also, we don’t want our OH’s and Rights fighting
over the overpass with our MB’s. If it can be
taken by the MB, then she takes it.


Priority 9: Limit Being Tooled.

Teach your MB all the phrases: Penetrate. Seal.
Stay tight. Hands up, and don’t drop ‘em. Close
the block.  She will need a lot of reps to be as
proficient as possible. 

It’s laughable when coaches say, “Jenny, you must
NOT be tooled.” Come on, you volleyball goof ball.
The person who believes a kid can prevent all
tools is the same person who believes that
determined batters can prevent striking out. No,
they can limit them; but, not totally prevent them. 

Finally:

I’m sure each of you would rearrange my order
somewhat. No problem. I guess I started my list as
if I were coaching a u14’s team. But if your MB is
giving away more points than she’s scoring, if she
resembles Coach Houser trying to walk around on an
icy sidewalk, then she can do more for you! She
must!!


-Tom Houser
Director, STAR Volleyball Camps
Author, “I Can’t Wait” Drill Collection and Ebooks
www.coachhouser.com