Most competitive volleyball teams at the junior high or high school level are limited in their practice periods by state and local regulations. Another factor is the availability of local facilities. The season is approximately twelve to fifteen weeks with three or four designated practice days and one, two and sometimes three competitive events a week during the competitive season.

Practice sessions afford the time for players and coaches to develop individual talent and team skill and spirit. The competitive event is, in actuality, the proving ground for the effectiveness of the practice sessions. The importance of planning for specific outcomes from these sessions can not be over emphasized.

Practice sessions have three basic purposes: conditioning, skill development, and psychological readiness. Each of these purposes has individual and team implications. The purposes and general plans of practice sessions should be made known to the players. Daily practice plans should be written and include specific items covered and organization of practice. At the close of the practice session, an evaluation should be made to note general progress, suggested drills or improvement upon current drills, and any suggested changes for the future practice sessions. Any visible individual or team strengths and weaknesses should also be noted. Notes covering players' responses, attitudes, and psychological state are helpful for planning future practices. Each practice session should be planned with consistency, skill progression, and flexibility as needed.

Early in the season, emphasis is given to general conditioning and individual skill development. During the latter stages of the season, the focus of practice sessions should be on achieving team balance and coordination of the offensive and defensive systems. The last portion of the season is devoted to maintenance of physical and psychological readiness and refining team skill and strategy in preparation for the tournaments. Emphasis will vary each session and each week. As intensity and quality of play develop, specific individual skill practices may be combined and then included with offensive and defensive pattern drills.

Conditioning

Conditioning is either general or specific and is both physical and mental. General conditioning results from permanent positive habits of health, diet, discipline, and exercise and is maintained through continuous work and mental discipline. A specific conditioning program has the purpose of developing a balance of an individual's strength, agility, quickness, and endurance as they relate to specific volleyball activities.

Physical and mental preparation varies with each individual. It is generally assumed that mental preparation is more complex than physical conditioning. This is because an individual's mental and emotional responses to internal and external influences are difficult to measure. Unlike physiological changes, mental and emotional changes can be viewed only by external behavior rather than by exact measuring devices.

No training program, however sound, can be effective unless the participant is convinced of its effectiveness. In the same reference, the most effective program can result in mediocre results and performance if the individual's mental state is not in harmony with his/her physical readiness.

A practice session begins with a period of warm-ups. Warming up is the process which produces the physiological changes that prepare the individual for strenuous physical activity. Warming up improves performance and prevents injury by two essential means:

1. A rehearsal of a skill or a complex series of skills before competition fixes the nature of the task which is to be repeated later in the individual's nervous and muscular system. Most athletes agree that a warm-up before the match will enhance their performance during a match. Most coaches use a warm-up before practice or match to psychologically prepare the team for practice or the match.
2. A warm-up before practice or match can prepare the body for the stress of the activity. Strength, quickness of movement, bodily coordination, and accuracy are improved as well as the increase of muscle and tendon elasticity which tends to lessen the possibility for muscular injury.

• Increase in strength.
• Increase in muscular endurance.
• Increase in cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory endurance.
• Increase in flexibility.
• Improve neuromuscular coordination.

There is increasing evidence to indicate that the greatest gain and benefits from warm-up procedures come from activities that imitate as closely as possible the movements which are to be used in the sport. Practices, drills, scrimmages and the competitive match itself provide the best conditioning for the sport. Physical development in this setting does not happen by chance, the coach must carefully plan for the best results.

The proponents of this type of conditioning contend that conditioning and skill development can be accomplished simultaneously, thus permitting skill development to be developed quickly. Some seasons are so short that separate conditioning programs are detrimental to skill development, yet conditioning is of prime importance to a competitive team.

Length of Practice Session

Current research has not been helpful in defining the length of practice periods or the absolute amount of rest needed between practice for specific sports. There are some generally accepted and proven principles which should guide the coach when planning the practice sessions.

1. Spaced or distributed practice is superior to massed practice in many situations. How to distribute the practice for maximum efficiency is complicated by the nature of the task and the maturity of the learner.
2. The practice session work load is governed by work efficiency and the player's recuperative ability. In most practices, the obvious objective is to achieve the greatest total amount of work without developing fatigue that can not be dissipated with normal rest by the next day. Some practice sessions will not be sufficiently strenuous for the coach to be concerned about the fatigue element.
3. It is generally accepted that planned practice sessions, scrimmages or games take up no more than six days per week. Early practice sessions occurring before the start of school may last from 2-4 hours in length. After the start of school, practice sessions should not last longer than 2 1/2 hours. The length of a practice session is determined by the purpose of the practice, the condition of the athletes, and the demands of the daily schedule.

The content of each practice session should be governed by the purposes of the specific session and condition of the participants. Each session should be planned with a concern for the participants and how they best learn. The following principles should be considered when planning a practice session:

• Practice should be satisfying and the learner should have a sense of accomplishment at the end of the session.
• For repetition to be effective, the learner must be rewarded or reinforced in some positive manner.
• The participants should be motivated by the challenges of the session.
• Controlled speed during the early stages of learning may produce best results if quickness and accuracy are to be involved in the finished performance.
• Practice scrimmage tempo should mirror the speed and tempo of an actual game.
• The more highly conditioned the athletes, the fewer the rest periods or breaks are needed in the actual practice session.
• Some learning can take place without actually performing the skill. While physical practice is better than mental practice, mental practice is better than no practice at all. Thinking through the correct physical response, in combination with actual practice, may be the most effective learning combination for most individuals.
• If at all possible, keep everyone working.
• The most efficient learning practice will include a progression of drills which lead to a game simulation drill or scrimmage.

Daily Practice Format

Team meeting: This will be a short meeting to discuss any player-coach concerns, previous

day's practice, scrimmage, or game and the objective of the day's practice.

Team Warm-up: This is a period of general exercises that involve the major muscle groups.

Begin gradually with light work and then increase the work load. The final series of exercises should include the basic movements included in the game. If there is to be a long talk during practice, it should come at the very beginning. Short talks can be made during practice that act as rest periods. Moments of instruction should never be ignored, but lengthy talks should never occur during practice. A team warm-up can include the following:

• Stretching
• Calisthenics
• Aerobic Exercises
• Plyometrics
• Basic skill movement drills without a ball
• Dives and rolls

1. Underhand Passing
2. Overhead Passing
3. Hitting
4. Serving
5. Blocking
6. Digs, dives and rolls
7. Emergency skills
8. Net retrieval
9. Communications

1. Offensive Systems
2. Defensive Systems
3. Transition
4. Communications

1. Partial team
2. Full team

This is a period of tapering off from the hard physical work load and from intense emotional involvement. Mild activity can facilitate this cooling down period. The coach should take this time to personally talk to individuals, offer encouragement, or patch up any disagreements. It is highly desirable to leave the practice session on a note of psychological well-being. A team cool-down would include:

1. Light aerobic activity
2. Stretching
3. Team Cheer/Discussions