Attacking: Little Things That Make Big Things Happen!

with Ryan McGuyre,
Baylor University Head Women's Volleyball Coach;
2019 USMC/AVCA Div. I National Coach of the Year;
2019 Final Four;
2x Big 12 Coach of the Year (2017, 2019);
Big 12 Champions (first time in school history!);
former Cal Baptist University Men's & Women's Head Coach;
9x National Champions; NCCAA Division I National Coach of the Year (2011);
Named AVCA's Men's & Women's NAIA National Coach of the Year in the same year (2010)

In this video, Baylor University head coach Ryan McGuyre covers the fundamentals needed for coaches to get their players to become more dynamic attackers. This includes working on more deceptive and effective shots that will result in a higher kill percentage for your attackers.

Concepts Critical to Attacking

The foundation for the attack begins with proper footwork. Coach McGuyre teaches how footwork should look from small, to big, to even bigger steps and from a slow, to faster, to fastest pace. The first step begins when the ball is in the setter's hands. Once players can repeat the correct footwork, they can look at the double arm lift. While teaching the double arm lift, coaches should see relaxed arms out in front, then back by the player's side, and finally up by their side.

Through a series of progressive drills, McGuyre takes you through the process of training your hitters in the fundamentals of attacking, as well as some higher-level drills on how to become a more deceptive hitter. Some of the principles that Coach McGuyre teaches to make your players more dynamic hitters include:

• Elevate - Learn to hit over the block.
• Annihilate - Power the ball through the block.
• Locate - Find the open spot on the court.
• Variate - Change up your hitting locations.
• Humiliate - Don't allow blocker to read your attack.

Hitting Techniques

McGuyre teaches the elements of attacking the ball with precision. The cut is performed with a thumbs-up attack that works well for hitting down the line on an outside attack. The wrist away works in opposition to the line shot and is an effective tool for an outside hitter used to scramble up the defenders. One way to incorporate the cut and wrist away attacks is to use only these two attacking methods during practice sessions.

Whether your team is big or small, it's essential for your hitters to have a full bag of shots from which to choose. McGuyre teaches how to help your hitters better understand the little things they can do to improve their dynamic attacks. There are many ways to attack the ball and part of being a dynamic attacker is being able to draw upon all of these hitting tools in combination.

Practice Drills

Finally, you'll see McGuyre break his athletes into three equal teams with a Queen of the Court concept, rotating after sideouts. The Jungle Ball drill requires attackers to only use pre-named attack techniques. This blocked training creates game-like situations for hitters to work on being more dynamic. The final round of Jungle Ball includes a "Whatever it Takes" segment where the attacker can use their whole bag of shots to create a dynamic offense. This is a great way to challenge attackers to tool the block, to be unpredictable and to work on all of their attack skills.

When coaching volleyball, it's important to understand the full range of attacking skills that can be taught. This video from Coach McGuyre is a great reference for any coach who wants to improve the details of attacking for their team!

59 minutes. 2019.