Shelly Francis: Today on clubhouse gas, we’re feeling a little defensive. So, pull up those kneepads and dig this edition. We’re back in McCleskey Middle School with coach Burt Weller. On our last show, Burt and the Lassiter Junior Trojans volleyball team showed us some basic offensive skills. And today we’re going to get the load on, on how defense wins matches. Burt thanks so much for joining us today.
Burt Weller: You’re welcome Shelly.
Shelly Francis: When working with younger athletes defensively what are the most important skills for them to develop?
Burt Weller: Well, we come back to footwork again. The ability to see the ball from 30, 40 feet away and then decide where to actually pass that ball, it’s not easy in the beginning. So, we spend a lot of time working on the lower part of the body, the footwork, we want them to have very fast feet to the ball and then we want their feet go real quiet and center that ball and pass that ball somewhere between their hips and their knees. As you’ll see in these drills, sometimes the passes start at the chest level and go above the head. Every week, we try and get a little lower to the point where they are passing right around their knees where they need to be real competitive.
This drill right here is a serve receive line or a passing line. We’re doing the form pass and what we’re asking them to do is, first call for that ball to let the other teammates know that they clearly have that ball. After calling the ball, they need to anticipate where is the ball is going to hit the court and move behind it, and attempt to pass that ball as low as possible. We try and get them to pass below somewhere between the hips and the knees, doesn’t always work out that away, but that’s what we coach them to do. The arm swing is a very short snap of the arms, not a big arm swing to control that ball.
Shelly Francis: How important is confidence when you get passer at this age?
Burt Weller: It is everything. Right now, we want every girl to want that ball. We want them to be the ball hug but to do it politely and call for that ball. The confidence comes from knowing that you can handle a tough server with confidence and put that ball in the setter’s hands. And the more practice they get, the more confidence they gain.
Shelly Francis: We hear them calling mine, I got it. How important is communication in server safe?
Burt Weller: Well, it’s extremely important, without it, a team cannot function. Calling a ball does a couple of things, it lets the rest of team know that, that ball is handled and the rest of the team, the other five members all have jobs to do. They can open up and be ready to help if the pass is not where we wanted. They all have positions and responsibilities on the court but they don’t know what those are until and they cannot release until that ball is called for. So, communicating constantly about what we see and what is happening is an absolute requirement. A lot of times we involve movement, we intentionally make the girls move left or right, front or back and then they get into their passing position as quickly as they can, quite their feet on a pass. So, they are passing the ball right now to a portion of the court, where a setter normally would stand who takes that second ball. And then they are running under the net, coming around and taking a look at the Dark Fish camera. Then there will be a coach there, they normally helps them understand you know, what they are doing and what they like them to do better, they return to the digging line, repeat it again. And over about 15, 20 minutes, we start to see some very basic changes that are occurring.
Shelly Francis: With your more advanced players, I see more of a combination, you got to pass the set and hit? How important is that combination?
Burt Weller: What we’re trying to do is encourage three touches on the ball, in things of three, our drills are centered around three. So, there is the pass coming over the net, more game like situations, our setters have to react to whatever that pass is, forcing our setters to move in more game like situations. And then the hitters need to place themselves behind the ball regardless of where that set is, sometimes the set is not where they want it, so they’ve got to learn make that adjustment as they approach the ball.
Shelly Francis: We hear coaches talk about great defenses winning matches or winning championships. How is that true in the sport of volleyball?
Burt Weller: Well, with six people on the court and attackers attempting to put that ball away, you’re not – defense, if it’s done correctly makes it look very easily. The girls are actually in position ahead of when the attack occurs and they make it look easy. In reality, they had to have read the offensive attack ahead of time and moved in from what we call a base position where they are standing and watching to a defensive position, which is just a half second to a second before the ball comes across the net. So, they make it look easy, sometimes teams do, but if you can get a good defensive dig up, you usually can put it up and you easily can put it away before the other team has managed to transition from their attack to their defense. So, that’s why it said a lot that defense wins games.
Shelly Francis: Burt, thanks once again for your time today.
Burt Weller: You’re welcome, Shelly.
Shelly Francis: It’s been a pleasure.
Burt Weller: you’re welcome.
Shelly Weller: Thanks for watching this edition of clubhouse gas, we’ll see you next time.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services