Japanese Coaches Misuse Of Defensive Drill Seen As Abuse

This video has made its rounds on the volley-web, drawing outrage from around the world. In the simplest of terms, there is a right and a wrong way to conduct this drill, and this is the latter.

* * Abusive training video from Japan .That made me mad ??? Unacceptable !!! Is there someone who can us more information about the coach ,club? @wofvolley @myvolleywood @volleycountry Ps: It is Imamiya High School ,Osaka Japan . The trainer is 30 years old ,claiming it was aimed to improve spirit rather than technical skills. It was said that he had done such exercise occasionally to several students so far * FOLLOW me ♥ @volleyball_club_no1 * From @voleyvideo * Love to tag? Please do!⤵ * * * * * From @volleyball_club_no1 #volleyball #volleyballprobs #volleyballplayers #volleyballplayer #volleyballmatch #volleyballislife #volleyballlife #volleyballteam #volleyballgame

A post shared by volleyballplayer (@volleyballplayer.love) on Oct 7, 2017 at 4:37am PDT

The drill above is what I would call “ten touches,” which essentially puts one player on the court, with one or two coaches tossing/hitting balls at the player. The “right” way to conduct the drill would be to toss game-like balls to the player as opposed to slamming the ball at the players head or making the ball impossible to touch. Though, in the right way to conduct the drill, the ball could very well be impossible for the player to reach, depending on athletic ability. What you see above, is the “wrong” way to conduct the drill, using it more as an impossible to achieve practice option.

The point of the drill is to teach players to hustle and to try for every single ball that is in play. It is a physically demanding drill but should not be unreasonable, impossible or harm a player coming from the coaches toss/hit.

This, however, is a drill that seems to be misused in practices, with two examples coming out of Japan. Check out another video below of a libero being trained intensely using a similar drill to the one from above.

These drills have a purpose and teach players a valuable and important aspect of the game of volleyball. However, it needs to be conducted in a way that players are not being harmed in the process or overworked to the point of being dragged off the court in pure exhaustion.

Ways to keep this drill safe:

• Know your athlete’s athletic abilities. If they are not the most athletic player then you cannot conduct the drill in a way that you would with someone that has a vastly superior athletic ability.
• Know what kind of shape your players are in. If your players are not in tip-top shape, this drill needs to be modified, adjusting the distance of the lunge to the level your players are at.
• Know the age-level of your players. This is a physically demanding drill to participate in, if you are coaching younger players, it would be smarter to cut the drill down to fewer repetitions or otherwise modify to that specific training level.
• Know the point of the drill. If you are conducting this drill as shown above or punishment, you are not understanding the point of the drill. This is a drill to get players’ minds into going for every ball they can try for, learning that they can hustle for a ball and keep it in play. (Watch this amazing hustle play by recent volleyball sensation Autumn Finney). While this is a not an everyday occurrence on the volleyball court, it shows that it is possible to go for every ball and very possibly keep it in play.

If you have any thoughts about this particular drill and how it is run, please leave us a comment below.