Coaching can be a very time-consuming endeavor, especially if you care about the development of your players. You can invest every moment of your spare time preparing for your practices and games, and still feel you haven't done enough.
We at Spike Frog feel the same way about our volunteer coaches! How can we set them up for success? What is the best way to invest our time helping them? That is why we put together this page of Coaching Tools, which includes:
- The rules for every division
- Sample practice plans
- Video instruction on some of our favorite drills, run by our very own Director, Dave Taylor
- Links to our USA Volleyball Coaching Resources for those who really want to dig in
League Rules
Junior Frog Rules (Updated 9/2023)
Spike Frog Rules
Spike Frog Pro Rules
Boss Frog Pro (High School division, same rules)
Rotation Rules
Rotation Rules and FAQs
BFP and HS divisions follow USAV club rules
Creating Your Practice Plans
In the following Sections, we have put together a set of practice plans for each week of each division that you are welcome to use, with or without modification. If you want to create your own practice plans, here are a few drills and pointers you might find helpful:
1. Warming Up. You will find that 1 hour of practice passes quickly and is almost never enough time to make as much progress with your team as you would like. This is one of the reasons we like to have our teams warm up playing volleyball! You have probably seen a lot of teams jogging around the court or stretching for the first 5-10 minutes of practice, but we prefer the following warm-up drills that get our players touches on the ball right away.
Warm up drills and example videos:
2. Skill Introduction or Refreshers. We recommend introducing the basic skills to your players at the beginning of each season, whether it is their first time learning it or you are simply giving them a refresher. Most players pick up some bad habits over time and need to re-visit the basics. Learning (or teaching) a skill for the first time can be challenging because every volleyball skill is highly technical with a lot of “parts.” Explanations run long and kids’ minds wander. Even if they do pay attention, all the “parts” can be difficult to remember, comprehend and perform all at the same time. That’s why we like to break it down into simple 1-3 word keys that are memorable and easy to digest.
KEYS:
3. Game-like Drills. The best way to learn volleyball is to play volleyball. Because the sport is so dynamic, learning individual skills in isolation often does not translate well to court play. For instance, no one will toss a ball to you in a game and ask you to pass it back. After serving in a game, a player doesn’t get to stand at the serving line just watching the ball hit the ground on the other side; rather, the player has to serve and then run onto the court to play. Sometimes the other team may pass the ball right back and that same server will then have to pass the ball just moments after serving. In a game, there is usually more than one play to be made, so we like to create drills that require players to make more than one play. Here are some videos of game-like drills we use.
In this drill, we take traditional pepper (which is not game-like) and have our players pass and set to themselves before the down-ball to their partner. This increases their level of ball control that is needed in the game. To increase the challenge of this drill further, you can put player partners on opposite sides of the net and have them down-ball over the net to their partner similar to “targeting an empty spot on the court” in a game.
This drill requires partners to immediately perform another task after their pass. While “rolling a ball” is not exactly game-like, it does simulate getting into the ready position immediately following a pass and it trains the brain to transition to the next play and stay engaged mentally.
In this video, the players are targeting and moving the ball cart from zone to zone. This is a good example of team cooperation and moving into the court after a serve (the girl who hits the cart runs to moves the cart). We like to add passers to our serving drills so we can get more “serve receive” touches in. One way to do this is to have partners who serve to each other in a specific zone. The partner standing in the target zone will pass the ball to self and then go serve. If the server hits the zone/partner, the server gets to target the next zone on their next serve.
Ace to Replace
This is another serving drill that incorporates the additional skills of passing and setting. If the server’s ball is passed then the server goes to the back of the line and serves again. Passers practice a pass to the setter (if they miss, they are replaced) and setters practice setting to an outside target.
4. Games to End Practice. We believe "the game teaches the game," so we always end our practices with a heavy dose of 6 v 4 or 5 v 5. Click here for some sample games.
Spike Frog Coaching Sample Practice Plans:
Junior Frog Sample Practice Plan
Spike Frog Sample Practice Plan
Boss Frog Sample Practice Plan
USA Volleyball Coaching Resources:
USA Volleyball
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball
USA Volleyball Coaching Programs
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Education/Coaching-Education-Programs
Play Positive: Positive Coaching Tips from Liberty Mutual:
https://play-positive.libertymutual.com/coaching
USAV Coaching Videos
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Education/Coaching-Education-Programs/Resources/Coaching-Education-Videos
Drills
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Education/Coaching-Education-Programs/Resources/Drill-Archives
