Bert

The Dutch Volleybal Federation (Nevobo) is seeking for methods/ways tot increase the number of boys in our sport. Since the start of Cool Moves Volley (volleyball for 6-12 years) a lot of kids started with volleybal, but much more girls then boys. I was told that's also a problem in the USA too, largely due to American football, which is your number 1 boys sport and has over a million athletes playing at the school level. I was wondering, what is your experience, what do you do to get boys play volleyball??? Thanks for any reaction, information! Bert Brinkman Teacher Volleyball Academy and member projecteam Mini-Volleyball Nevobo

I don't know what centipede is, but if you, or others, want to play a fun game, play bossaball (www.bossaballo.com) ........

Hello, Ik was wondering. Is there anybodu who have ever heard of the SAQ methode from Alan Pearson? SAQ means: speed, agility en quickness. It is a method primair used in soccer. Next week there is a coach in my club (the coach of our boys selectionteam under 18) who organise a clinic with this subject. I really don't know what it is, I have seen pictures (on the website of my club: www.dros-alterno.nl) but I was wondering, is someone already use it in a volleyball setting? Bert

Hello John and others, Here is the presentation I used for that meeting. It's in dutch, but perhaps you can translate it...... When someone have questions or like to know more please sent me a e-mail. With kind regards, Bert

Hello everybody, I am searching for exercises or skills to learn children to focus on volleyball. I think the fact that some children have problems with there concentration or to focus on a part of the game, for example the serve, is a problem everybody knows about??? Thanks for you're reactions! Bert

Hello John and others, I have had my presentation about 'coaches who never lose'. It turn out in a great discussion. The funiest thing was that some of the coaches from our selectionteams uderstand the ideas behind 'the coach who never lose' very well. Some other coaches doesn't agree in the first place and they say that they think there can be other goals to set and other rules to work with. In the discussion it become clear that they also like the ideas behind this filosophy of coaching youth. I recieved the book 'the double goal coach' last week and I am busy to read it. John would you like the powerpoint presentation? I have also some other, very interesting information, about for example drop-outs in sport and motivation for youth to stop of going on in sport. Bert

Hello John, It's great to read you're reaction! I don't have had the meeting, it will be in the last week of august. I am very courious about the reactions on that meeting too, just because I know some coaches inside our club have different ideas. The 'book' of Smith & Small is translated in dutch, by a sport psychologist, I have ask here to join this meeting. When I have had the meeting I will tell you in this in this forum! bert

Hello again, Here I am again. My name is Bert Brinkman and I am a dutch youth volleyball coach. Besides that I am also one of the editors of Volley Techno, the magazine for volleyball coaches in the Netherlands and Belgium. For my club (Dros Alterno) I am busy to organize a meeting about coaching. The key issue in this meeting will be the book from Frank L. Small and Ronald E. Smith: "Coaches who never lose ..... making sure athletes win, no matter what the score". I think this is a very import 'book'. I was wondering: 1. do you know this way of coaching? 2. is there some one who can help me with a powerpoint presentation about 'coaches who never lose' (so I can use some parts of it in my meeting for our coaches? Thanks for any reaction! Bert p.s. I have post this message also in the volleyball forum, but ....... it maybe also a general topic!

Hello again, Here I am again. My name is Bert Brinkman and I am a dutch youth volleyball coach. Besides that I am also one of the editors of Volley Techno, the magazine for volleyball coaches in the Netherlands and Belgium. For my club (Dros Alterno) I am busy to organize a meeting about coaching. The key issue in this meeting will be the book from Frank L. Small and Ronald E. Smith: "Coaches who never lose ..... making sure athletes win, no matter what the score". I think this is a very import 'book'. I was wondering: 1. do you know this way of coaching? 2. is there some one who can help me with a powerpoint presentation about 'coaches who never lose' (so I can use some parts of it in my meeting for our coaches? Thanks for any reaction! Bert

Hello zanners, I can only tell you about the way I do handle thinks like this. I my opinion volleyball is like to go on vacation. This is also what I told the kids I coach. When I go on vacation the first thing I to is to find a place, a country for example to go to. Then I find out the ways to get there, I can go by car or by plane or maybe by boot. So the first thing I do is setting the goal (where to go) and the I think about the way to get there and also the route we must travel. In volleyball or sport in general there are, in my opinion two kind of goals to set. I can set result-goals, like I want to win the next game or I want to be champion ore something like that. The other type of goal I can set are presentation-goals, like I want to learn the kids to spike on position 2 or I like to learn them to serve with a jump serve or something like that. I only use presentation goals. Every start of the season I make a new education plan (in Exell), where you can find every (presentation) goal I set and the way I want to reach this goals. The different between result-goals and presentation-goals is this: when I use the result-goal 'I like to win the next game' and I didn't win the next game I can hardly say something about the season I didn't win this game, and what I must do to win against the same team the next time we play against them. I can say: "Okay, the ware better", but ........ so what? My team can play the best game ever, but they still can lose the game. When I use presentation-goals I always can give good feedback on the way we did reach the goal or not, for example when some one serve a jump serve into the net, I can say something about the reason he did this. So, I my opinion I never play to win the game, we always play to learn something, a technique. In my opinion the competion is part of the whole learning process. In this way of thinking, I always lett the kids play equally. This doesn't mean everyone in the team play equally every game. They must have play equally after the whole season. If you know what I mean. By the way, the theory above, I use and I think is good, isn't from me. It's comming from a american coach, who wrote a good book, called: "coaches who never lose". Good luck. Bert

Another drill is as follow: On one site of the net there are two players, one in the left part of the court, one in the right part of the court. I serve the ball over the net, to the left of to the right. The player in the part of the court where the ball doesn't go to, must sit on the floor, as soon as he or she knows that the ball doesn't go his or her direction. They must try to do this earlier, everytime they do this dril. At the first time it's good when he or she sit on the floor when the ball is going over the net, after that they must 'see' the direction of the ball even when the ball isn't going over the net. A variation on this drill, but more difficult (but more gamelike) is: the same drill, but now, when the player know that the ball doesn't go his or her direction, he is running to net. The other player must play the ball to the net, where the first player must catch this ball. Good luck, when you like to know more, please ask. Bert

Yes, ´dog pile´. The kids laying over each other on the floor, like a ´dog pile´. On the other side of the net, there stand the coach with a ball. He serve with a underhand serve. When he do so, the kids must stand up, the first kid must play the ball with a forearme pass, the second must give a set up and kid 3 or 4 or maybe 5 must spike or play the ball otherwise over the net. It's a great game, where the kids must work together and play volleyball at the same time. Bert

Hello John, If I could I will paint it out, but I couldn't this way. I will sent you a email about it. By the way, I don't prefer 3-1-2 as last part of the eduction. I think a 3-2-1 is a more dynamic system than in a 3-1-2 system. There is another reason. I think that some one should choise for a system that matched with the team. In a 3-1-2 system, the player on position 6, is the one close the the block. Because he or she is always close behind the front players, this is a system with matched with teams with or a good and high block or in a competion where the spike isn't a big problem (so for starting teams). In a 3-2-1 system, in my opinion there is in the first place more transition, it's more dynamic, the player who is behind the block is most of the times no so close behind the block. This is a system used in a competition where the level of the spike is higher or the level of the block is lower or the players are not so tall (the spikers of the other team could easily spike over the block. There is something else. I think, but who am I, that a W formation is more system in a service reception and not, as above in the defence. Bert

This is funny, over here we play most of the ball with a forearmpass, only the second ball. This is why we learn the forearm pass as the first technique in circulation volleyball. By the way, I saw you're message on the guestbook of Adrie Noy. Does Adrie or perhaps Wilco (the webmaster) sent you a email already? Bert

my wife said the same thing! I am also a book fanatic and this is for me also not even the right word. I try to read books from all over the world. Half of the familie of my wife lives in Canada, so I am a little bit orientated on Canada, that's why I mentioned those canadian books. Yes, I like the ideas of McGown very much. Bert Thanks again John!

Hi all, In my opinion the 3-1-2 is not a very dinamic system. I was wondering if there are coaches over here who played a 3-2-1 system with a youth team and when they do, why they do so and why they don't play 3-1-2. Thanks for any reaction! Bert

"The real question, to my mind, is how far ahead do we allow the player to go? Do we simply use skill level to determine it, or do we add social and physical development to the equation?" Hello John, There is maybe another level we must deal with, namely the mental level of a child. I have coached for example the first woman team of a local volleyball club. They play, in those days in the highest regional competition, just under the national competition. I was not so old my self also, I was 23 when I coached this team. In this team played some veterians, two or three woman in the age between 32 and 36, 6 girls in the age between 18 and 22 and one, very talented, 14 years old girl. Beside this there was also one girl, also very talented 12 years old, who don't play in competition but who join our lessons. This girl was maybe even more talented that that other 14 years old girl. This last girl do have played in the national youth selection. When I coached this team I sometimes sayd to others: "I have two mothers in my team, 6 girls I go out with and two kids who go to bed after 'Sesamstraat' (I hope you know this TV programm for kids in the USA). What I mean by this is that in this group allmost every player do have the same volleyball level, about power volleyball, the highest hitters where those two young girls, but there was a big difference in the mental skills. Those girls were very, very talented volleyball players, but ........ they were also children and not adults. Sometimes I think we select, specially girls, earlier and earlier and I don't think this is always a good idea, just because there is more than volleyball skill or physical skills. Bert

Hello rvrkids, I always play with my setter on position 2/3, so not in the middle but just left of the middle position. There are many reasons for this, but the important reason is that it's easier to pass from left to right, for most of the people. The second season is that it's now now possible to play the third ball on three net positions. Why do you think that the boys are not able to spike the third ball? I think kids, and perhaps specially boys (but this idea is maybe dangerous????) must learn the spike veru early, scoring with a spike is like scoring in soccer or hitting a homerun in baseball, it's the fun of the game You wrote that they serve a overhand serve pretty well. I think it's very easy to learn to spike on short and fast set ups. These are the most easy ball to spike on. This is, not very common, when I learn volleyball my self the first ball I learn to spike on, were the high ball outside the court, the 43 and 53. If you know what I mean. These balls are very difficult, just because of the high downwards velocity of the ball. When you learn the boys to spike it's a good idea to use backwards shaping method. You start with the last part of the technique, and then every time a earlier phase. This is a easier way to learn. By the way, I agree with John that it's a good idea to watch a game on a much higher level or a vdeo game, the key's to succes of the FIVB is such a good video tape to use for this reason. Perhaps you could even find a very good player to help in you're lesson's perhaps only for one time, but when this player can help you to show some perfect techniques it will be great. but .................... the most important thing they must learn is: FUN! Volleyball must be fun, and when they have fun, the rest come later, but it will come! Bert

Hello John and rvrkids, I think I don't understand it. Am I right John, that you mean that your teams play a lot with a overhand pass from the backrow? Perhaps the next books or videotapes are interesting too: 1. Coaches Guide to beginning volleyball programms - by the USVA 2. Volleyball for Children - by Volleyball Canada (federation de volley-ball du Québec) (this is a english book) 3. Volley Skills and game concepts - beginner to advanced by Robert D. Bratton (also Volleyball Canada) 4. Science of Coaching Volleyball by Carl McGown 5. Jeugdvolleybal - by Emile Rousseaux - this is a very good book, from belgium, but with a lot of pictures andI think this will be very usefull (it's available on http://www.volleyvvb.be/Formulieren/VVBPub...ublicaties.htm) 6. For the technique: Power Volleyball by Arie Selinger. I have also a very good videotape, called Volleyball for the future, also by Selinger, but I don't know if this tape is still available. Bert

Hello Allana12, Yes, I agree with John, I am also very intersted in you're sollutions, just because it's something every one could happen Bert

A good coach is always focussed on learning goals, and not on winning te next game or getting champion. When a coach is focussed on setting learning goals, in learning technique, he or she and the team are able to lose a game but in the same time reaching the goals they set for this game. On the other hand when a team lose the game or didn't becom champion, this doesn't mean they didn't learn something. I always say to my kids: "when we want to get champion, we have a problem. There are a lot other teams who want to be champion too". When we didn't becom champion this doesn't that we can play a great season. This is what I mean by the words 'a good coach never lose'. A good coach is some one who is able to set the right goals for the team and every individual kid in the team. Bert ..... by the way, there is not so much activity in this forum.

Hello, I was wondering, what are Little Dribblers. By the way, when you start with kids of 7 years old, perhaps even younger, I should start with circulation volleyball. On this forum I wrote allready something about this method/game. Bert

Hello John, In our club we didn't have solve this problem, but we are busy with it. I know that the national federation use now a different try out organisation, for I think it was even until the national youth selection. A few years ago they have one or two try outs where the whole group was invite. Now they use smaller groups, one group for the players born from october - april and one group with the talents born from may - september. So the difference in age between the oldest and the youngest in the group is smaller. They invite those age groups on the same day, but the try outs are in two different accomodations, so the coaches couldn't compare, even unknown by them self, the individual players of those two groups. From both groups there must select a even group, so for example when they select 8 players from the group 'october - april ' - they must select also 8 players from the other group. Of course this is something they agree before the try outs. Truth the smallers 'age group' the change there will be a RAE is smaller, but even then it could happend. So, of course, when you have the change to select out of a very big group of players, the sollution to organize try outs with age-group with a age variation of three month, is better, but most of the time the selection group won't be so big, to use this method. Bert

Hello, I understand the whole topic sound perhaps strange, but it is or can be a really problem. On the next website: http://www.psychologie.uni-bonn.de/sozial/...sch/ageeffx.htm , you will find a good article about this problem in soccer. The article is in english, all the other articles bellow are in english. Perhaps you like to read it, it's very interresting ....... or better, that's what I think. On the next website there is a other article about this problem: http://bjsm.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/34/6/465 On the next website, I found something about a inquiry in Canada, at schools: http://www.psychologie.uni-bonn.de/sozial/...sch/devrev.htm: "For volleyball teams in schools, there was no RAE. We can suppose that most players interested in volleyball had a chance to be part of the teams. Nevertheless, the study also revealed that, when regional elite teams are formed from this pool of players in schools, there was a RAE for male players in the 14-15 years old category" In the text above RAE means Relative Age Affect (this is the same as the influance of the date of birth). Bert