with Ray Bechard,
University of Kansas Head Coach; 2015 NCAA Volleyball Final Four;
2015 PrepVolleball.com National Coach of the Year; 4x Big 12 Coach of the Year (2016, '12, '13, '15);
winningest coach in Kansas Volleyball history; National Junior College Athletic Association Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1998
Coach Ray Bechard provides inside access as he runs his players through over six hours of practice. Observe how he breaks into individual skills as well as drills for the whole team over multiple courts. Coach Bechard uses his team to demonstrate a variety of drills, including serving, serve receive, hitting, in-system and out-of-system attacks, and a variety of offensive and defensive systems.
The coaching style of the Kansas staff is positive, upbeat, honest, measured, and constructive. Not only are the drills presented going to benefit every coach out there - many lessens can also be learned from observing the coaching wisdom that takes place throughout this entire series.
Practice 1
When practicing twice a day, Coach Bechard believes in having one low impact practice focused on ball handling, and one high-intensity competitive 6v6 practice. The practice begins with a number of small group warm-up drills to maximize touches on the ball, followed by a competitive serve-receive drill. Next, the coaches run position-specific training across three courts (middles and pins; setters; liberos). After serve and serve-receive drills, the practice finishes with a competitive 6v6 digging and blocking drill.
Multiple coaches give positive encouragement, helping the players feel successful. The drill diversity of this practice will help you plan an active practice and give you many ideas for different ways to train your players.
Practice 2
The second practice of the day is a high-intensity, competitive practice giving the team a chance to focus on point scoring opportunities. The practice starts off with a series of partner passing drills and team ball control drills. The team is then split up onto different courts, where the setters and middles work on multiple sets and hard angle shots while the rest of the team runs a combo drill on another court. After a series of serve and serve-receive drills, a competitive hitters vs defense drill (with shovels) concludes the practice.
Practice 3
The first practice on day 2 focuses on ball control and serving. The drills presented are all goal-oriented and competitive. After reviewing free ball defense, the team completes two ball handling drills in which they must pass a number of perfect passes in a row. They are then split onto multiple courts for position practice, where the hitters work on hitting different zones, while the defenders work on serve receiving and digging. Following another serve-receive drill focused on perfect passing percentage, the team is given a chance to end practice early by completing two serving drills of their choice.
Practice 4
The final session is much more game-oriented. It focuses on transition offense and siding out. After beginning the practice with a modified butterfly drill, the team works on out-of-system attacking using a continuous drill. Two serving drills focused on serving specific zones are followed by the attacking pregame warm-up. The practice concludes with two variations of one of Kansas' core drills, a 6v6 4-ball rotation drill that focuses on siding out and transitioning off the net. You'll see options for different scoring systems in 6v6 to make your practice competitive and to focus on rotations
Volleyball coaches at all levels of play will benefit from this 'insider, all-access' look at Coach Bechard's KU volleyball program!
403 minutes (4 DVDs). 2017.
All Access videos are designed to allow viewers from all over the world to see how successful coaches run their practices in a "live" practice setting. All Access videos allow viewers to see the practices un-edited and in real-time. You will see how top coaches run their drills, interact with their team and staff, how they motivate their team, the cue words they use, the atmosphere of the practice and how practices are structured from day to day. Many coaches visit successful colleges and high schools to watch practice. But if you live out of state or out of the country, visiting another coach's gym can be costly. That's why we created the All Access Practice Series of videos -- to bring the practices to you!