BOOK REVIEW: VOLLEYBALL DRILLS FOR CHAMPIONS

By Kinda S. Lenberg

"Drills are like recipes. With the right ingredients and directions, anyone can cook, but it takes a master chef - or a master coach - to mix and vary ingredients to suit the needs of different individuals."

So says Mary Wise, head women's volleyball coach at the University of Florida and editor of Volleyball Drills for Champions. And she should know a thing or two about successful teams, as she as taken her women to the NCAA championship tournament five times and has won 11 SEC conference championships. Wise has put her volleyball skills to the test as an NCAA Division I head women's volleyball coach for 18 years after earning four letters while a player at Purdue University.

And she is not alone in this particular endeavor. Wise is joined by six incredibly successful volleyball coaches, who also provide their own unique insight into the intricacies of the six main skills of volleyball: serving, passing, setting, attacking, blocking and digging. Volleyball Drills For Champions is truly an all-around look at the skills necessary to be successful in this game - and provides the readers with the crucial drills to help them reach the top.

"Every coach loves drills, especially new drills that come from other successful coaches," says Doug Beal, current head coach of the U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team and coach of the gold-medal winning 1984 U.S. Olympic team. "Each coach develops the drill ideas for one particular part of the game, which makes this a very unique book and a must-read for any serious coach."

Volleyball Drills for Champions is jam-packed with 73 practice activities sure to bring excitement and fun to your next practice. According to Wise, successful drills boast four key factors - a purpose, a goal, competition and feedback. The drills in this collection certainly live up to that description. Each drill is replete with a purpose, procedure, key points to remember, variations, equipment needed and an easy-to-understand diagram. In addition, there are coaching cues for each skill included in the introduction to each drill. Finally, a handy drill finder grid is placed at the very beginning of the book, so if a coach is looking for a specific type of drill or particular drill for a certain skill, it is found easily in the publication.

"Not a week goes by that we aren't asked the question, 'Do you have a good drill that will help my team's _______?' explains Wise in her chapter, "Drill Design - Changing Behavior in the Gym. "The blank can range from individual skills to social interaction and everything in between. This is not an easy question, as every player and team has special needs. A drill that works in our gym will not necessarily work in yours, even if the players' abilities are similar. A better question is, 'What is the best way to design a drill to help my team improve.' "

Russ Rose, Lisa Love, John Dunning, Brad Saindon, Greg Giovanazzi and Jim Stone provide some answers in Volleyball Drills for Champions.

"Serving remains one of the most basic skills but continues to give coaches headaches when trying to teach it," explains Russ Rose, head women's volleyball coach at Penn State University and author of Chapter 1: Serving. "You must establish a serving philosophy that will best fit both your personality as a coach and your team's personnel." Rose offers 10 serving drills to help any coach achieve success with his/her layers.

In Chapter 2: Passing, Lisa Love tackles, essentially, the foundation of a team's offense. Love, former head women's volleyball coach at the University of Southern California and current associate athletic director at the institution, understands the intricacies of this particular volleyball skill and passes her knowledge on to the reader.

"Offensive tempo and play execution both revolve around a team's ability to pass accurately," Love explains. Without consistent and accurate passing, your team can't exploit the talents of its attackers and setters."

Love provides 12 drills perfecting the art of passing, each with its own unique challenge and coaching cues.

John Dunning, head women's volleyball coach at the Stanford, is known worldwide for his expertise in teaching setting. In Chapter 3 of Volleyball Drills for Champions, he offers 12 drills that will help any coach mold successful setters.

"A great many people have helped me to learn what I know about setting," Dunning explains, "and many have convinced me that I really don't know much at all. I am now convinced that the joy of learning comes from the players themselves. There is a uniqueness in the way that any player does a skill, and part of the teaching/learning process is paying attention to that uniqueness."

Chapter 4 focuses on the attack. Brad Saindon, former coach of the Australian Women's National Team and current head coach at Arizona State, has spent years helping players perfect this most vibrant of volleyball skills.

"The spike! It is one of the most dramatic and dynamic single moments in all of sport," Saindon muses. "The sheer beauty and athleticism of a well-executed spike can take one's breath away. It is the home run, the slam dunk, the touchdown strike, the slap-shot goal, and the 300-yard drive of volleyball."

Saindon, who came back to the U.S. after the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, brings with him 12 drills that will help players young and old with the skill of spiking.

In Chapter 5, Greg Giovanazzi, former head women's volleyball coach at the University of Michigan, offers up 12 drills of his own concentrating on blocking, the team's first line of defense and, according to Giovanazzi, "…with the least amount of training can yield the greatest dividends for just about any team.

"The philosophy of the block varies from team to team and is dependent on your personnel as well as the opposition's ability to attack. Fundamentally, the block takes two forms in the concept of team defense. First, the block is a part of the whole. It takes an area of the court away from the opposing offense while the diggers take another. A second philosophy is that the block takes everything it can, going for as many stuffs as possible."

Finally, in Chapter 6: Digging, The Ohio State University Head Women's Volleyball Coach Jim Stone concentrates on this, the team's second line of defense.

"Good team defense quite often reflects a team's desire to win a match," Stone says. "A good defender has mastered the skill of playing the ball in a variety of body postures and can accurately play the ball to an area that allows smooth transition to offense. To master these skills takes a tremendous amount of time, energy, and repetition."

And Stone provides 13 drills to ensure that repetition is taking place in practice.

"A good defensive team will be able to wear down and frustrate the opponent, forcing attack errors. Generally, the better defensive team will win close matches."

In the final chapter on drill design, Wise sums up the intent of the book quite nicely when she says, "In trying to improve skills, coaches are trying to change behavior."

Volleyball Drills for Champions can help coaches - and players - do just that. Practicing like a champion translates into winning matches like a champion, and these seven consummate coaches can help you every step of the way.

Volleyball Drills for Champions is available on the USA Volleyball website, click "Merchandise" for $14.94.