September Update

FIVB Youth World Championships

Molly McCage-USA

Just returned from Ankara, Turkey and the Youth World Championships.  Some general observations:

• Wonderful organization.  Travel, logistics, hotel, playing facilities were excellent.  You can tell the Turkish fans love volleyball.  They have a women's professional league that is one of the best in the world.  Signs promoting the event were all over the city.  


• Level of play was excellent.  Different styles of play from the various countries.  The Serbs were very tall and played a very simple game.  Serve was tough, big block, very strong attackers.  China a lot quicker, but still very strong attack.  Turkey combined all the above. All the countries had excellent libero play.


• The top teams have all placed a major emphasis on results.  Turkey, the gold medal winner, identified players four years ago to compete for a championship.  The players trained together in the same club and competed in many international events.  Poland has their players together year around as they play on the same club and attend the same high school.  China had trained together since April.  Success doesn't happen in a vacuum.  All the top teams have a very organized development program at the

• The final was a wonderful environment.  About 8,000 fans, lots of flags, noisemakers, enthusiasm.  


• Our team was composed of wonderful players and people.  The players worked hard, learned a lot and were a lot of fun to be around.  They are capable of competing at this level, just a little more international experience is needed.  Our block, pass and defense were very strong.  Serve and attack were a notch below the top teams.  We had the "pool of death" with both Serbia and China in our first pool.  Although we competed well, to play those teams so early in the tournament proved to be a bit much.  We finished with five consecutive 3-0 victories to finish 9th.


• What was learned by the players?  The speed of the game with the better teams takes some adjustment.  The velocity put on the ball when serving and attacking was something that the players just don't see in this country.  The other thing not normally seen is how high above the net the game is played.  Both Serbia and China hit over the top of our block quite often.  Not that our block was small, just these teams had a very high contact point.

On a side note, I've never seen traffic or driving like I saw in Ankara.  The traffic lane markings were just a suggestion which everyone ignored.  The amazing thing it works for them.  No accidents, but you better bring your "A" game.  Driving a car is a very aggressive sport in Turkey.

VTS Fall Video

I'll be leaving soon for fall video updates within the VTS site.  I have a good idea on the college programs I want to visit.  However, if there are suggestions for good high school coaches that we can feature please let me know.  I'll do my best to make it happen.

Video as a Learning Tool

Of course, since I operate a website dedicated to bringing video to the instructional process, I have a fairly strong opinion as to the importance of providing a visual model to expedite the learning process.  This is one of the items that I wish I had used more during my own collegiate career.  In the attached video, Jim Moore, successful coach at the University of Oregon, shows the importance he places on having video involved in all his training sessions.  Of course, the setup that Jim has in his practice gym is not possible in a lot of facilities or programs.  However, the fact that he will have each training session available for coach and player review demonstrates the importance he places on video instruction.

Skill Analysis

Members of Volleyball Training Solutions can send some video of their players to have their skills reviewed and analyzed by Dartfish software.  This can be an excellent tool for the players to improve their skills.  We want VTS to be a tool that can impact the teaching of the sport in this country.

A Book Recommendation 

I read an interesting book that has some potential to impact how you might train your players physically. The book is: "The Last Nine Innings" by Charles Euchner.  Amazon Link: Amazon Link

This book is an analysis of baseball in a very interesting writing style.  One of the parts I particularly enjoyed is the explanation as to how Steve Findley, center fielder for the Diamondbacks goes about his physical training program.  The focus on core strength, flexibility and quickness over lifting weights.  Something to consider for volleyball.  The last I knew core strength, flexibility and quickness were ok attributes for our sport.

I hope all the coaches "out there" have very successful seasons.  Feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance in any way. 

Volleyball Training Solutions July Update

Rachel Holloway Freemyer Talks Setting

It was a joy to do some video work with Rachel Holloway Freemyer, former All American setter from the University of Nebraska.  Rachel was at the Front Range club to begin her preparations for her first professional season this fall in Holland.  On the VTS site, Rachel and Jim Miret demonstrate some advanced setting moves and some drills to work on these moves.  Also, Rachel talks about her setting decisions and technique in live situations.  This is something we haven't done before and it came out great. A brief clip of the interview with Rachel and Jim Miret can be found below.

Video Schedule for July/August

I'll be pretty busy with the Youth World Championship preparation and tournament from July 20-August 22.  The team will begin preparation in Tucson on July 20, proceed to Lake Placid on July 29th, then off to Ankara, Turkey for the World Championships from August 12-22.  The first pool will be challenging with Serbia, China and Puerto Rico as the competition. 

Upon return, the normal flow of upload will resume.  I will be taking a lap around the country in the fall which I am looking forward to a lot.  Hopefully, I can catch some VTS teams in action.

Recommending Good Coaches 

If there are top flight high school coaches that would make positive video contributions to the site, feel free to recommend them.  I know there are excellent coaches at all levels and I'd like to provide visibility to top coaches of younger players.

Observations from Atlanta and the Junior Olympics

I must be allergic to the ATL.  Once again, Big South in April was the first, I leave with some disease.  Perhaps it's mental?  Anyway, a couple random observations in no particular order of importance:

• Level of play was ok, good athletes for sure, but not great skill, very average defense.  The outside hitters were very good.  Hopefully, these players can be six rotation players in college?
• The court set up makes quality serving impossible.  The courts are waaaay to small.  The athletes, especially in the older age groups need more room behind the courts.
• The format makes consistent play challenging.  Too many matches, players going from scoring responsibilities to playing inside of ten minutes.  Barely enough time for a bathroom break.The fact that players are used to this format doesn't make it right.

VTS Summer Newsletter Update

VTS Schedule in the Upcoming Months

Terry Liskevych-Oregon St.

We will be uploading some final video from a recent trip to Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State and Minnesota in the upcoming days.  Then it will be a fairly hectic summer.  I'll be at the AAU's and JO's with my Front Range 16's.  Feel free to stop by court 9,418 to say hello.  Then I'll be coaching the Youth National Team at the World Championships that will take up five weeks in July/August.  At that point, I'm shooting for a lap around the country, stopping at VTS member schools as well as top collegiate and high school programs to add to our video library.  I'm certainly hoping for the gas prices to drop for at least the month of September. If you are a VTS member and have an interest in having the VTS entourage (me) drop by your campus or school, let me know.  We will try to work in a visit.

Team Folders

We are initiating "Team Folders" for programs this fall.  These folders will allow you to upload video for your team or coaching staff, provide your team and/or staff access with user name and password, and they will be able to view the video in your folder from their homes or dorm rooms.  They will also be able to comment, point out key positions, etc.  We can also provide video that demonstrates systems and skills for your staff.  Since every program has different needs, give the VTS office a call and we can talk about your needs and how we might assist.

Rachel Holloway Freemyer

Rachel Holloway Freemyer Talks Setting

Former All American setter at Nebraska, Rachel Holloway Freemyer, spent a few days at the Front Range facility this week. Fortunately we were able to grab her to do some instructional setting video and do a voice analysis of some of her setting moves.  I hope to get this up on the site in a few days.  Just watching Rachel set was a joy.  Great setting mechanics and athleticism.  One of the things that Rachel spoke about was the amount of time and repetitions that is needed to become an elite setter.  This is where the NCAA rules that restrict the time that players can spend with a coach outside the season really impacts the level of play.  The repetitions that are missed are, indeed, significant.

Nice David Brooks Article

The author and commentator for the New York Times wrote a very interesting article relating to what messages we send young people as they graduate and move on with their lives.

Referral Program

VTS is initiating a referral program for members.  If a new member joins VTS and drops me an e-mail indicating that a specific VTS member referred them to the site and fostered the membership sign-up, the referring member will receive a $25 discount on the cost of a renewal.  This will hold true for every referral, with a cap at the cost of an membership.  So, ten referrals will result in a Silver Membership for free for the referring member.  This program will begin immediately.

Youth National Team Tryouts

We had 25 players in Colorado Springs two weekends ago for a YNT tryout.  Our goal was to select 12 players, plus alternates, to attend the World Championships in Turkey this summer.  One of the interesting by products of the tryout was the sentiment of the players that they enjoyed the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in this age group in the country.  As coaches, we saw players visibly improve in just a weekend, primarily due to the fact that they were forced to improve by the competition.  One can hope that a program can be established that this type of competitive environment can take place more often than once a year.  There is no question that the players would be the beneficiaries of such a development program.

On a different note, the USA is in a pool with Serbia, China and Puerto Rico.  The Serbs took a silver medal two years ago at the World Championships.  The teams from China and Puerto Rico are always good, so there will be definite challenges.