USA Volleyball Blogs

Manny Johnson: Blog 19 at 2008 HP Yo …

Wed Jan 21 17:25:00 -0500 2009

Player meetings/evalsBefore our last gym session the four coaches met with each player individually.  I will not divulge what each individual was told but I will give some generic examples of the things we told players and words we used to motivate the players.We opened each player meeting by… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 18 at 2008 HP Yo …

Wed Jan 21 17:25:00 -0500 2009

Day 9 Steve Aird recruiting talk Between sessions today Steve Aird came in and gave a talk about the recruiting process to the players.  Steve played in the Canadian National team program, he played collegiately at Penn State (after being highly recruited), Steve has coached at a developing… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 17 at 2008 HP Yo …

Wed Jan 21 17:24:00 -0500 2009

Day 9 sessions one, two, and threeThe day started with a visit from Bruce Powers for a review of goal setting and a discussion of how it was working for them.  Bruce talked about the way goals can help players bounce back from adversity.  He used the school of hard knocks as an example; he… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 16 at 2008 HP Yo …

Wed Jan 21 17:23:00 -0500 2009

Day 8 session 2After our pre-practice routine today we did one way pepper and warmed up our arms by jump serving.  Before we started play we went over the whiteboard where Neil had written the following:Left side rhythmMore blockers is better than lessTriple block invites tip, be readyMiddles… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 15 at 2008 HP Yo …

Wed Jan 21 17:22:00 -0500 2009

Day 8 coaches lunch.  Over lunch Neil went over some coaching philosophies and tactics with us.  We started by discussing gym culture, what is it and how do you establish it.  Neil defined gym culture as expectation, responsibility, consistency, focus, discipline, structure,… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 14 at 2008 HP Yo …

Wed Jan 21 17:21:00 -0500 2009

Day 8 1-2-09 session 1Review day today!  We went over all of the skills and keys we have been working on all week.  We started by discussing the pre-practice routine; Neil told the girls that they need to be aware of their deficiencies as players and focus on them while they are doing the… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 13 at 2008 HP Yo …

Wed Jan 21 17:19:00 -0500 2009

Day 7 session 1Blaine and I took the girls to the San Diego Zoo today.  They went off as group of 12 while Blaine and I took in the zoo and talked volleyball all day.  After the zoo we headed back to the OTC for an evening session.  This session was designed to be grueling and… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 11 at 2008 HP Yo …

Wed Jan 21 17:16:00 -0500 2009

Day 5 session 2Broke into some positional training today; one court had OH working on pass + hit, pass + shuffle (3) + hit and no pass + shuffle (5) + hit.  The outsides also worked on back row transitions going from left back and right back to hit a pipe (shuffle 3) and from middle back to hit… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 10 at 2008 HP Yo …

Wed Jan 21 17:15:00 -0500 2009

Day 5 session 1We opened w/our pre-practice routine, worked w/the setters, and then went into defense.  We focused on digging high and off the net, 10 feet off the net, 20 feet in the air, in the middle of the court (10-20-middle).  We went over serving and talked about some key points… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 9 at 2008 HP You …

Wed Jan 21 17:13:00 -0500 2009

Day 4 sessions 2 & 3Our second session today was another video session where we watched the reunion special on the 1980 women's Olympic team.  It was really interesting to see the history of how the game changed and training methods also changed.  It was also neat to see Toshi as… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 8 at 2008 HP You …

Wed Jan 21 17:12:00 -0500 2009

Day 4 session 1Light practice today as we will be doing lots of playing later; like yesterday we started w/setters on one court and everyone else doing serve/pass on the other court.  Our setters worked on setting and covering and we went over the basic keys of setting.  To recap we want… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 7 at 2008 HP You …

Wed Jan 21 17:11:00 -0500 2009

Day 3 session 3 12/28/08After pre-practice we had setters on one court and serve pass on the other. On the setting court we had the libero work on setting when the setter digs (the setter says a name when she digs), while the other court did some butterfly games.We then went over the basic defensive… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 6 at 2008 HP You …

Wed Jan 21 17:10:00 -0500 2009

Day 3 session 2 This was a film study.  We watched the Men's Gold medal match from the Beijing Olympics, USA vs Brazil.  Before we started we asked the girls to watch the match not as a fan but as a student of the game.  Tom Pingel was with us and he talked about how a lot of… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 5 at 2008 HP You …

Wed Jan 21 17:09:00 -0500 2009

day 3 session 1"The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling but in rising again after you fall" Vince Lombardi. Blaine put that quote on the whiteboard to start practice.  It applies to camp well b/c we want the kids to be unafraid of making mistakes (falling) when training… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 4 at 2008 HP You …

Wed Jan 21 17:06:00 -0500 2009

Day 2 Session 3 12/27/08We opened the session with a review of serving and passing while the setters worked on separate court on footwork and set location.  After the review we went into hitting we kept the keys simple and focused on keeping the ball in front of you hitting high and deep cross… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 3 at 2008 HP You …

Wed Jan 21 17:05:00 -0500 2009

Day 2 Session 2 12/27/08This was a classroom session focused on the importance of goal setting and how to achieve the goals you set.  Neil had Bruce Powers, the co-author of his upcoming book The Blueprint of a Champion, come in and give a presentation to the girls.Bruce began by describing how… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 2 at 2008 HP You …

Wed Jan 21 17:03:00 -0500 2009

Day 2 Session 2 12/27/08Today began with our pre-practice activities, then we went into serve receive (s/r) passing.  Neil put some keys on the whiteboard, the first three were 1.) volleyball is a visual motor sport 2.) we want simple duplicatable movements 3.) efficient and simple.After Neil… Read More

Manny Johnson: Blog 1 at 2008 HP You …

Wed Jan 21 16:59:00 -0500 2009

Day 1 Session 1 12/26/08The USAV Youth Holiday Camp started today at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. 12 of the top athletes in the USA High Performance Program gathered here for high-level training.  Coaches for this camp are Neil Mason, founder and CEO of TCA volleyball… Read More