Geoff Carlston: The 'Plus 25 Culture' Drill

with Geoff Carlston,
Epic Journey Leadership - Founder & Director;
Ohio University Head Volleyball Coach from 2021 to 2025;
2020 Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame inductee;
Ohio State University Head Coach from 2008 to 2019;
Back-to-Back-to-Back Sweet 16 appearances (2014-16);
Ohio University Head Volleyball Coach from 2003 to 2007;
5x Consecutive MAC Conference Championships;
4x Mid-American Conference (MAC) Coach of the Year;
2x AVCA Mideast Region Coach of the Year

Coaches are always looking for ways to enhance our team culture on the court. In this fantastic video, Ohio’s Geoff Carlston demonstrates a transformative team drill that he calls “Plus 25 Culture ''. This video takes you step-by-step through this drill and breaks down variations that you can add to your team to help you develop and maintain a positive atmosphere and culture on your team. 

Build a trusting environment where players give and receive feedback from their peers

Carlston discusses methods to build trust within your players where they feel comfortable to give feedback and help them accept feedback from each other. He provides some simple “rules” on how players can communicate to provide constructive feedback and then techniques to receive that feedback. Carlston believes peer-based feedback is as valuable as coaching feedback, and you have to train your team how to provide that feedback properly.

Coach Carlston begins by setting up the drill and breaks down what he calls a “fix it” mindset. He uses a “fix it” mentality to quickly restart the drill to keep the action high before pausing to share comments that reflect positive culture traits seen in the drill. This allows his team to work on any volleyball related skills or topic.

Learn how to modify a drill to work on team culture AND focus on a technical skill

Carlston demonstrates his favorite drill for working on team culture and shows how that drill can be used to focus on whatever volleyball skill you want to focus on at a particular time while simultaneously having the players give positive feedback on their teammates. He explains how some of the elements of the Plus 25 Culture drill can be used in pretty much any drill to keep the whole gym focused on communication. By putting the power of observation into the hands of the players, Carlston helps them be accountable for the focused skill as well as how to provide feedback to each other.

As Carlston goes through his drill he explains how he wants his players to talk to each other in the gym. He describes the tone of his players’ voices, their use of everyone’s names, his player’s eye contact and even what happens if someone does not react positively. 

Keep your players moving and learning

Carlston shares how Plus 25 Culture can be a quick, daily warm up that gets the players moving quickly and setting the tone for continual feedback. Carlston asks the players what they enjoyed about the drill. Their positive comments and enthusiasm helps you understand how the communication improved quickly within that group of players during the short coaching session.

Coach Carlston shares a philosophy where you determine what is important to your team culture and then provides techniques to reinforce that culture within this simple drill. The Plus 25 Culture drill can be used for a shorter or longer period, as he explains techniques to adjust the drill as you go to focus on a different set of skills while continuing to focus on your culture goals. Throughout the drill, Carlston demonstrates how energy and attitude can immediately improve when players know others are looking to provide feedback on effort and execution, which translates into improved player communication in matches when it becomes integrated in your team culture.

As the video moves on, he describes the many benefits of running a drill like this every day. He finds that his teams are very positive and become unafraid of making mistakes and even become better conditioned. 

In this breakthrough video, Coach Geoff Carlston demonstrates a great drill that is a refreshing departure from the typical “drill.” Carlston teaches his team how to work together but also, he encourages individuals to find their voice in the gym. In today’s environment, this video is a must-have resource for volleyball coaches at all levels of competition! 

53 minutes.  2024.