Unless there is a galactic championship out there, the Olympics demonstrate volleyball at the highest level. As the Olympics wind down, I find myself bleary-eyed from watching as many matches and events as possible. I have the utmost respect for these athletes that push the edges of their talents.
Although these are the best players in the world, are there any aspects of the game as it’s played at the highest level a coach might adapt to a high school team? You may not be able to copy the entire skillset of the best players, but can you take aspects of what you see and adapt them to your players?
First, a few general observations. I have to say, I found the men’s matches more intriguing and better played than the women’s matches. On the men’s side, top players played well, the matches were hard-fought, competitive and the standard of play was extremely high. I found the women’s matches to be somewhat inconsistent as to the level of play. The two most consistent women’s teams relative to their level of play, Brazil and the USA, found their way to the finals. There is no doubt a correlation between consistency of play and making it to the gold medal match. It is fitting that this consistency was rewarded. Being good all the time is very difficult. The other trait of both Brazil and the USA women’s teams is they don’t depend on one player to score all the points. Both teams have an excellent offensive balance which makes them harder to defend. Competing with the USA in the gold medal match was an uphill climb for Brazil as the USA was superior in talent and execution.
I was ecstatic that the referees were calling throws on open-hand third contacts where the hand/ball contact was deemed too long. Supposedly, this officiating mandate was ordered by the FIVB. The reasoning was the throw, or as it is termed, the “jam,” is “this type of attack is not good for the game.” I heartily applaud this point of emphasis. In the recent NCAA Women’s Championship, the number of throws on attacks that were not called was insufferable. I hope this rule enforcement extends to collegiate play.
I’ve listed below a few items that stood out to me that might be implemented into a collegiate or age-group program.
Why “Les Bleus” won the men’s gold medal.
After watching the France-ROC match this morning, I saw a couple of skills by France that a high school coach might consider incorporating into their training session. I was impressed with how effective the out-of-system offense was for France. When I say effective, I mean they scored when the first contact took them out-of-system. Very rarely did they provide ROC with a freeball or a non-attack. Regardless of where the first contact placed the ball, the second contact allowed a quality attack. More often than not, the result was a kill. It was apparent they prioritized this aspect of their transition offense. All the players were adept at setting or using their forearms to present a hittable ball to an attacker.
