Mike Lingenfelter: Multiple Drills, Fast-Paced Drills & More Drills + Relentless Defense, Tough Serving & Scoring in Transition

with Mike Lingenfelter,
Co-Director of the Asics Munciana Volleyball Club and Munciana Samurai Head Coach;
2024 Triple Crown Volleyball 'Heart of Sport' Award;
2021 AVCA Club Coach of the Year;
2023: AAU Open Championship (18s);
2022: AAU Open Championship (18s);
2021: AAU Open Championship (18s);
2017: AAU Open Championship (18s);
2011: AAU Open Championship (18s);
2009: AAU Open and JVA National titles (18s);
Coached HS volleyball at Wapahani HS in Selma, IN;
3x Indiana State High School Champions;
3x Indiana State Coach of the Year;
Coaching at the college level (Cincinnati Head Coach - 5 years, Memphis Head Coach - 2 years);
played college volleyball at Ball State University

In this video, Munciana Samurai head coach Mike Lingenfelter opens the doors to one of his practices to reveal what his teams do to continue playing at a high level year after year. It's an unfiltered look at how one of the top teams in the country trains, communicates and prepares to maintain their status as one of the very best.

From the beginning of practice, Lingenfelter presents a competitive environment. Stressing speed and communication, he maps out a training session that is fast-paced, dynamic, and complete with feedback to help ensure individual improvement through each drill.

Drills to Emphasize Bigger Concepts

Munciana is known for their relentless, intense style of play. That style is a direct result of the culture and concepts that Coach Lingenfelter has engrained in his teams. You'll see this reinforced by starting practice with competition to set the tone for the session. Lingenfelter stresses that if you can think fast and move fast, you can play fast. He delivers methods to train fast retaliation in transition to stress the opponent's ability to reset defensively. Additionally, you'll learn why being tough mentally is just as important as being tough physically.

Drills to Emphasize Individual Growth

One of Coach Lingenfelter's favorite sayings is, "a better you makes a better us." That point is evident throughout practice. Lingenfelter delivers feedback in the context of each drill, maintaining pace and intensity without sacrificing technique. You will learn how Munciana breaks down skills through drills designed to maximize reps and individual development.

After beginning practice with a competitive 6-on-6 drill to promote fast starts and scoring in transition, Lingenfelter moves his team to passing and ball control work. Here, he focuses on several points, including:

• Fighting to stay on your feet.
• Creating early platforms and trusting your tilt throughout the pass.
• Passing is a "quiet motion," in that any extra movement will harm the process.
• Use your feet to keep the ball out in front of your body.

Next, the team works on serving, along with passing, to address the first contact of each point. From there, Coach Lingenfelter shifts to offense. Key concepts of hitting, according to Lingenfelter, include always being ready to hit, aiming for deep corners, swinging line-to-steam (especially out-of-system), and running the middles as much as possible in transition in order to retaliate quickly.

Several drills emphasizing offensive combinations designed to overload and overwhelm the opponent are shown. Finally, transition drills bring all skills together. "Always be ready to defend, and always be ready to hit" are two concepts that are evident throughout this video. Practice ends with games designed to test mental toughness, particularly closing out sets.

Stressing relentless defense, tough serving and scoring in transition, Coach Lingenfelter demonstrates exactly why his teams are National Championship contenders year after year.

113 minutes. 2021.