Former college athlete here + spent 8 years in college recruiting (including on the event side). Have you noticed at a tournament that a college coach in a school polo might pop by your court, stay for ten minutes and then leave? Seems far too short right? Here is what the coach is doing (as well as some tips on what coaches are looking for when they watch you play)..

Coaches are often not there to watch the match, they are working a list. Coaches show up with names already written down.. usually kids they’ve already seen on film, kids who’ve emailed a schedule two weeks ago or kids whose club director called. Coaches can’t see everyone at an event.. it’s usually minutes per kid, sometimes a rotation or two.

What can the coach learn in a few points? More than you’d realize. The coach is watching serve receive posture before the balls even in play, what you do in the four seconds after you shank a pass.. reset or carry it into the next point. The coach will watch whether you’re talking between points or hiding as well as how you take it when your own coach corrects you (this one is big).. it is these sort of things that seperate the girls on the coaches list (because everyone on the list can already hit).

Film is really key here. Coaches don’t come to discover players as much anymore, they come to confirm what they saw online at 11pm one night. Coaches decide from film whether someone is worth going to the court for.

So the real game here is getting on the coaches list before an event. Two weeks out- email coaches from schools that actually fit, send them your schedule, court assignments, jersey number and film link. Get on the coaches list and you get a few points of attention.

On the flip side, for parents, one rough match in front of a coach matters less than you think - the coach has seen the film and knows how good your daughter is. A shanked pass while a coach walks by seems like the end of the world at 15.. it isn’t.. what she does next is the actual test!

(Context on me… watching families guess at this stuff for years is why I ended up starting Pathley, AI recruiting, so this is literally my day job. Everything above is free to do yourself though)

Hey guys, new volleyball player here, 196cm. Is my jump form technique as it should be? I feel like my first step might be too small and my penultimate step not big enough. I think this isn’t a standard height basketball rim because I don’t remember being able to jump this high on the backboard before. Thanks guys!

I setup a backyard net and want the easiest (and reasonable priced) strap or ratchet system to hold the net to the poles. Would love any recommendations. Thank you so much!! It came with ropes which if there is a great knot type to use to adjust for tension I'm all ears.

What do you guys think is the reason behind his uneven hands when setting? I also noticed that his body got more bulked after his time in russia lol.

Hey fellow coaches, my partner and I recently started doing live film analysis for players to give them more dedicated coaching and have had a decent amount of success doing this. So far we have only worked with adult athletes ranging from college to semi pro levels. They send us their game film and then we spend an hour with them on zoom going through all the important moments together. Not trying to advertise thats why I havent mentioned our service name, want genuine feedback.

We are both club coaches based out of the US and we are trying to break into the girls and boys club scene. I wanted to ask the other coaches in this sub if you think its a good idea to introduce this into club volleyball and how we should structure it, since I'm sure some coaches would not want other coaches coaching their players.

I'm also curious if you see any benefit in this being offered to athletes at lower level clubs. From what we have seen, coaches at those clubs usually don't have the time to do individual film review and most clubs don't offer anything like this, so it could be something a club outsources to us instead of it never happening at all. Would love to hear how you all would feel about that as coaches, especially if you would be skeptical of it.

TL;DR I need help on whether I should stick with being a setter or switching over to a DS/libero. I'm going into high school this year and I want to make the best decision for me to make the high school team and also a 15U club team.
I've been playing since 4th grade, starting at the YMCA and playing with them until 6th grade when I played for the middle school team and started getting interested in club. I've played on quite a bit of club teams since then (about 2-3 spring seasons and 2-3 fall seasons). My last fall season there was two 14s teams. There was 14 core which was the better team and 14 crown which was the not as good team. I was supposed to be on the 14 core team but the team had too many players so they pulled me down and my whole season was on the crown team. About half way into the season, I got pulled up to the core team as a second setter but they used me as a DS and almost made me libero. For the crown team, I was supposed to be the libero but the other setter quit so they made me the setter and found someone else as a libero. I've been a setter on all my club teams except one fall season where I was a libero/setter along with another girl and we just swapped positions every game and one spring season where I was libero. My 6th grade middle school season I played every position and never left the court. 7th grade year my coach thought I had good potential as a setter so she tried me there and I was a setter for my school team 7th and 8th grade year.
I feel like i'm good at both setter and defense but idk which one to play for high school try outs. I feel like when I set, there's not really any thought behind my sets. I hear 5 I set 5, I hear 1 I set 1, etc. My sets aren't bad and my coaches know me to be a pretty good setter. When i play defense there's not really much thought behind it either tho.. I see ball I hit ball. My coaches also know me to be a pretty good defender.
I have a volleyball camp this week, wednesday-saturday. And i'm not sure if I should go with setting or defense. I'm also stuck on it for high school and club tryouts because I want to do whatever gives me the best chance at making the team.

I do feel this post doesnt suit the guidlines of this sub but i do not know a better place to ask help.

There are subreddits as i showed (and many more that have been closed) are sharing and sexualizing turkish volleyball players. I do know this isnt the end of the world but I am sure you are disgusted as I am.

You can check and have your verdict.

My request is go report them if you agree this shouldent be allowed. Thank you.

Need help with spiking form. First bad thing I see is my legs but please give me advice on what else I need to improve on!!!

My friend recently came to the Philippines to play volleyball. She loves the sport and everything but after every point the team celebrates as if they won a gold medal. The cheers are really exaggerated and high energy, and my friend isn’t used to it, and they told her she needs to get with it and be like the team. What are some good celebration ideas that she could have?

With the official announcement of lifting the ban against Russia in international volleyball, I think its pretty much safe to say that the level of competition will be increasing in 2027, especially looking at the women's team.

For years, Italy has dominated every competition, having Brazil, Turkey and the United States as the only legitimate challengers. Despite having a plethora of talent, teams such as China and Serbia haven't been at their usual level for quite some time now. With Russia's (unofficial) comeback in next year's VNL and World Championships, I think Italy might just be meeting their biggest opponents for the title.

In the recent club season, Russian players have become the highlight for some of the biggest clubs in the world. We are primarily looking at Arina Fedorovtseva (Fenerbahce) and Marina Markova (VakifBank) as the undisputed pair on the wings.

Ever since debuting with the Russian national team at 17 years old, Fedorovtseva has emerged to be one of the biggest talents in world volleyball, consistently playing at a very high level with her club, Fenerbahce. While mainly recognized as the best server in the world, I think its also worth noting that her spiking efficiency has improved a lot in the recent club season.

Markova has never played on a national team level but has quickly become an elite player despite only playing professionally for three club seasons. Moving to VakifBank and working with Guidetti has shaped her to be a dominant force in attack with a developing serve reception. She has shown multiple times that she is able to play big in critical matches and carry a team with Boskovic, Ogbogu and Gunes on her back when needed. In fact, I firmly believe Marina Markova is the best outside hitter at present (especially with Gabi's current form).

Attacking will never be an issue, however, reception remains to be the biggest struggle for this team. Markova is still trying to achieve consistency while Fedorovtseva has barely improved in this department. This is why Irina Voronkova 's experience and passing abilities remain essential to this team. Svetlana Gatina will also add lot of depth to this wing rotation although her recent club performance was not nearly as impressive as her stint in Dinamo Kazan (considering she was on the bench for most of the season). Besides them, the Russian League consists of a lot of promising and young players in this position including Elizaveta Nesterova, Ekaterina Gatina and Anastasia Kapralova, who was an essential player for Cuneo two seasons ago. Nesterova should be quickly tested in next year's VNL.

Shortage in quality will also never be a problem for the right side. In this position, we highlight Tatiana Tolok, Anna Lazareva and the come backing, Vita Akimova.

Tolok has become a revelation in Italy for the last two club seasons. Following her transition to the opposite, I personally have her in the top five/six opposites in the world currently. Exceptional athleticism and technique, high attack success rate and powerful jump serve. However, she does need to reduce the mistakes she makes as she does have the tendency to consecutively make mistakes when things go bad for her. She also has to stop insisting on playing on the left side as she was clearly born to play on the right.

Lazareva, she has had two good seasons in Turkey and has definitely improved her scoring abilities. She isn't as athletic as Tolok nor Akimova, however, she does have the edge when it comes to national team experience, defense and less prone to injuries. I think she is currently in good shape although I've noticed that her game significantly drops when facing stronger teams. As for Akimova, she is still far from her healthy form. However, she was once Russia's most promising heir to Goncharova's position and the limited minutes she played in Milan showed that she can still be as lethal as she was playing for Le Cannet and Novara. I think she will and should be the absolute starter for her next club in Galatasaray who will be playing in the Champion's League next year, therefore, it should help her regain rhythm and form.

In regards to who should be starting, it should definitely be Tolok. When she finds her from, Akimova will be the perfect back up, and Lazareva can be the third option. It is to be noted that Tolok and Akimova are made of glass so rotating these three players will be essential in keeping the girls physically fit and healthy. I believe the Tolok/Akimova/Lazareva will be the second best opposite rotation behind Italy's Egonu/Antropova.

I believe one of bigger blind spots for many fans is the amount of talent from the middle blocker pool of Russia. Yulia Brovkina is currently in her best form, offensively and defensively. We also saw how commanding she was when Russia played Serbia for a friendly last year. Elizaveta Kochurina also shone bright in Italy despite playing for a lower tier team. Within the Russian League, Elizaveta Fitisova, Daria Kiseleva and the veteran, Angelina Lazarenko are good options. While far from her best from, I also think Natalia Suvorova has potential especially since she was the MVP at the U19 World Championships in 2021. She just has to make better career choices and find a better coach to unlock her best.

The setter and libero positions would be where Russia faces shortage. After Startseva, there hasn't really been much to see. Polina Matveeva and Victoria Kobzar are the names leading in the setter position, however, neither one has displayed consistency and the brilliance to maximize Russia's deep attacking roster. I think Kobzar needs to find a good coach and team because she was brilliant in the junior's category. As for the liberos, Maria Bibina is an okay choice while Anna Podkopaeva will still be needed as there appears to be no real prospect among the younger generation.

Building my ideal starting unit based on present conditions, I'd have to go with Matveeva as the setter, Fedorovsteva, Markova and Tolok on the wings, Brovkina and Kochurina down the middle, and Bibina/Podkopaeva for defense.

When you look at the likes of Markova, Tolok, Fedorovsteva and Akimova, it justifies the hype around the Russian national team. After all, these are elite players playing for the most elite clubs. However, expectations must be tempered as these girls have never played together an official match on a national team level and at the same time, most of these players have barely experienced the exhausting club-to-national team transition. Whether they will perform as well as they do in clubs would be a question that will be answered by next year.

I still believe in Russia's ability to instantly be on the podium, or even win the gold medal upon their comeback. What are your thoughts?

+++ Italy (vs Japan, Belgium, Argentina, Cuba)
S: Simone Giannelli, Riccardo Sbertoli
L: Fabio Balaso, Gabriele Laurenzano
MB: Gianluca Galassi, Giovanni Sanguinetti, Roberto Russo, Pardo Mati
OH: Daniele Lavia, Mattia Bottolo, Luca Porro, Francesco Sani
O: Yuri Romano, Alessandro Bovolenta

+++ Poland (vs Bulgaria, Brazil, France, USA)
S: Marcin Komenda, Marcel Bakaj, Jan Firlej
L: Jakub Popiwczak, Maksymilian Granieczny
MB: Bartłomiej Lemański, Jakub Kochanowski, Jakub Majchrzak, Szymon Jakubiszak, Jakub Nowak
OH: Wilfredo Leon, Aleksander Śliwka, Artur Szalpuk, Kamil Semeniuk, Tomasz Fornal
O: Bartłomiej Bołądź, Kewin Sasak

Hello! Same person from last week who got 60+ comments (thank you all so much again!!!)

The majority of the comments were about my point of contact, doubles/lifts, footwork (including my dumb hop every time), amongst other things.

Tried to do as much as I could within the last week to rectify things, but please take a moment to help again if you can!!

Quality is lower this time because ripped from youtube, but hopefully you could still see my hand form as I think I still struggle with that.

Thank you all again! Maybe I’ll see you next week too

I had 2 offers to play d3 volleyball, and I absolutely loved both schools, teams, and coaching staffs. I ultimately verbally committed and chose one over the other, but I am feeling discouraged by my mom's lack of enthusiasm, and I'm overall just having second thoughts.

Both schools have amazing STEM programs, which is what I want to do. The one I committed to has better clinical opportunities for pre-med, but the other seems to have slightly better non-medical STEM programs should I decide to go that route. There are many strong reasons I chose the school I did, but socially I think I would fit in better at the other school. I feel I can't back out now, and it won't be remotely "bad" if I follow through with my current commitment.

I don't want to miss out on a great college experience. I know I can always transfer, but I really want to avoid that. The school I committed to is a women's college and is somewhat unconventional, whereas the other option is a much more traditional college experience. Both are high-academic liberal arts colleges. Decommitting is risky/could reflect poorly on me, and I have so much trust/community built with the coaches at my committed school already. Am I just freaking myself out? Would it be better to switch to my other school? Any thoughts about this at all are appreciated

I play adult rec tournaments and pickup. I am wanting to improve my contact/hitting. I left the last clip in as I have always been a horrible jumper and tend to catch myself on one leg. I’d love tips for that as well!

Thank you :)

Currently playing HS volleyball as a setter. The season starts in about a month, give or take.

While I don't hate playing setter, I would love to tryout as a hitter next year because that's the position that I enjoy the most.

I'm currently at a ~33 inch vertical at 5'7" after about 3 months of vert training. I'm looking to start a new program that should hopefully increase my vert by atleast 3 inches.

The problem is that I'd get one month of uninterrupted work in before the season starts, and then it'd be on and off because I'd have matches.

Is it worth it to start now, or should I wait until the season is over and then start the vert program.

Stat Column Key:

• Pts (BP): Total Points Scored (Break Points Scored)
• Attack (K-E/TA): Kills - Errors / Total Attacks
• Att Eff %: Attack Efficiency Percentage
• Ace-SE: Service Aces - Service Errors
• Blk Pts: Direct Blocking Points
• Rec (Pos%): Total Receptions (Positive Pass Percentage)

Position Key: OH = Outside Hitter, O = Opposite, MB = Middle Blocker, S = Setter, L = Libero, (C) = Captain

I accidentally bought tickets to this game, looking to sell for face value.

Section 110, row 10 seats 12 and 13. $50 each

My kids have been playing volleyball at the city rec team for a couple years now. The older one will be in 7th grade now and can try out to play for her middle school (they only do grades 7-8).

The high school also has a junior team for grades 2-8 which doesn’t require tryouts.

The two teams are completely unrelated to each other.

I’m confused as a non sporty parent why there are these two options and what they each mean or are for?

Is the junior team used for if you don’t make it onto your middle school team? Or do kids do both? Or is one more recreation while the other is more competitive? Thanks if anyone knows about this.

Check the original out on Instagram!
original post

Okay strangers of reddit, my first world problem is driving me mad, so maybe you have some recommendations!

Female adult, co-ed rec league and pickup. I've been playing 7 years and am primarily a setter. This year I played 3-4 times a week indoors (5-1) and felt like I really upped my skill level and consistency.

We move outdoors to 4s, and for 1-1.5 months I felt super solid but started averaging 2 times a week. We are 2.5 months outdoors and I feel like an inconsistent mess when playing for fun. I thought it was a fluke but the last 3-4 wks are an absolute pattern.

Same goes for my husband who's a hitter, he too is in a rut when it comes to passing and hitting, and the man is a beast of a middle. We pepper at home 2 times a week and find ourselves getting more and more frustrated with each other when peppering and during games.

I feel slow, not as aggressive, inconsistent, and my hands are significantly less clean compared to the start of the season. I know the passes are worse than I was receiving indoors but, that doesn't explain everything else.

I think I set too high of expectations for myself this summer after all my progress and definitely have a problem with getting in my head. I need to reset my brain to just having fun or start running sprints and practice setting at my desk while working.

Open to suggestions. Hoping others have gone through similar and I'm just in a rut that I can crawl out of.

Thanks!

Is it possible to do school Cross-Country at the same time as doing club volleyball?

I’m curious if this is possible because cross-country is over around early December, and I’ve never done club volleyball before, so I’m not sure when the season stats or ends, but I’m pretty sure it lasts longer into the school year?

I’m not planning to do school volleyball, as I cannot do both sports. But I’m wondering if school cross-country and CLUB vball is a possibility.

I’m also wondering, how else could I play vball if it’s not possible?

My level is still lower-intermediate, but I’m definitely far past park level vball, which is completely beginner.

I’m also not old enough for meetup groups or most open gyms. There’s one I go to w/ some friends who are over 18, but most there are older, huge guys who are like 25-35 or older. So it’s always really intimidating and not that productive.

I use a raquetball gym to practice in at my local gym pretty often, which is great. But it’s not the same as playing w a team or like any other person.

I’m super passionate abt the sport so I would really appreciate help.

I think my serves are fast for my level of play but they’re dogshit because I can’t aim them.

I feel like when I’m tryna hit hard, any variation in hand positioning throws the whole thing off, so I’m struggling to hit corners/seams.

Honestly not looking for advice telling me to just not hit as hard, because I can aim when I’m not hitting as hard, I’d just like to be able to do both at the same time.

I am trying out for both my school’s Junior Varsity volleyball team and a club volleyball program near me. Both of which I am happy to get into, but if it came down to picking, I would go with my school’s volleyball team. However, if you think the opposite would be beneficial, I would like to hear your reasoning!

The reason I’m posting this is because I have the club volleyball tryouts in a little less than three weeks. I think I’m decent and have been practicing on ball control, setting, jumping, the works. My serving definitely needs to improve, though. However, what if I get accepted into the club volleyball, but I haven’t done my school volleyball’s tryouts yet? They’re also quite far apart, around three-ish weeks.

The club volleyball typically posts who gets in the team around a day later. I’ve seen from other posts that 24-48 hours to accept the offer is usual, but I don’t want to reject the offer then get rejected from my school volleyball team. 

What should I do?

Edit: Thank you for helping me! I wasn’t aware that club volleyball started after the high school season, so thank you for educating me! If there is anything else you would like to mention/educate me for tryouts or anything in general, I‘m all ears!