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Karch Kiraly's Approach to Volleyball
Karch Kiraly is unquestionably one of, if not the greatest, volleyball players ever to step onto a court. He won three Olympic gold medals and nearly $3 million in career prize money as a beach volleyball player, after leading UCLA to multiple NCAA men's championships as a collegian. He was twice chosen as the "Best Player in the World." The following is a sample of the philosophy he follows in approaching the sport of volleyball:
"To be the best in the world, we needed to believe in ourselves and our program, lay our goals in a comprehensive plan. We all had to commit to the plan and we had to attack the work set out in our plan. Those four things: believe, plan, commit, and attack, became our way to the top.
I like to break those four ideals into action. Believe in yourself. Volleyball play begins with the serve. The serve is the only technique that is totally under your control. You cannot succeed in the serve without belief in yourself. That belief is totally under your control.
If you had watched one of our matches, you would have seen planning at work. If we were serving, the blockers all gave signals behind their backs showing how they would defend. If we were on offense, the setter told each of the hitters exactly where to go and what to do. We planned every move.
The Japanese were known for their outstanding defense. We tried to emulate their techniques, but more importantly their attitude -- an all-out commitment to playing the ball. No ball was impossible to get, no matter where it went.
When hard work got us down we visualized achieving a higher jump, a spike for the gold. A big spike is the most spectacular, most aggressive play you can make on the volleyball court. It is an all-out attack on your competition. Whenever you find yourself stressed out, envision every detail you can summon about the goal you're trying to attain, and attack it!"
Jump Training
Along with core strength, jump training is something every athlete can easily do every day at home in order to vastly improve their athleticism on the court. The video below shows some exercises guaranteed to increase an athlete's ability to get vertical.
Parents' Corner: Taking an Interest
Parents have a deep impact on their child's confidence. No matter the situation: home, school or sports - parental involvement and support is key. When parents place expectations on young athletes, even with words as well-meaning as "Go out there and score three goals today," kids can take these expectations on as their own. If they don't achieve them, their confidence will likely be hurt. They also might even feel as if they let you down.
Also, when parents have goals for kids that are different than the kids' goals, it can hurt the athletes' enjoyment, confidence and success. For example, some parents hope their athletes will earn college scholarships through sports-but their young athletes simply want to play to have fun with friends. Putting advanced pressure on your kids to play harder, score more often, and rack up wins because you want your kids to earn scholarships rarely helps build kids' confidence. It's just the opposite. Your young athletes will focus too much on achievement and striving to meet your expectations.
It's critical to focus on the positives after a game. A positive attitude on your part will help build and maintain your young athlete's confidence. Too often, well-meaning sports parents and coaches, eager to help kids' improve, focus too much on the mistakes young athletes make. They often do this during the drive home after a game. Focusing on your kids' mistakes - especially right after a game - is a sure-fire way to sink your young athletes' confidence. They don't need to hear about their terrible stance; bad court vision, or the stupid way they tripped during the third quarter.
If you focus on such negatives, they'll likely start focusing on them, too. That can lead to negative self-talk and low self-confidence. Instead of concentrating on what your young athlete did wrong, you need to keep your post-game or post-performance comments brief and positive.
In addition to focusing on the positives, parents should be careful about what they say about the coach's techniques. It's not helpful to tell young athletes that their coaches aren't good at what they do. It's not a good idea to say something like, "Why did he put Rachel in during the fourth quarter when he you would have done much better?" Such statements undermine kids' confidence and trust in their coaches. In order to perform well, they need to trust and believe in their coaches.
Thanks to www.weplay.com and Dr. Patrick Cohn and Lisa Cohn