Coaching Tip #55

Tagged – Tip of the Week, Coaching Practice, Player Development

In the 21^st Century many coaches have reluctantly come to the conclusion that not all players are the same.  In the past, it was considered best practice to create a team by aggressively treating every player exactly the same, coaches now understand that this approach does not work when applied to team building and the daily training environment.

However, coaches still do not understand that players are also different anthropometrically and physiologically.  Those differences impact technique and skill solutions in ways coaches often don’t consider.

For example, when teaching setting technique, the size of the hands, the flexibility of the wrists and thoracic region, and the height of contact point of the setter all require different technical approaches.  A setter with big hands and strong wrists should use a completely different technique to a setter with small hands.

For example, when teaching spiking, the height of the contact point and the power generated by the spiker provide markedly different skill solutions.  A player with a very high contact point should not be told to watch the block for the simple fact that they cannot see it, just as a spiker with great power can attack different parts of the block.

Every player is different.  Find the best solution for that player.

The initial collection of 50 Coaching Tips can be found here.