Playing the Game to Create Swings

with Kevin Hambly,
Stanford University Head Coach;
2019 NCAA Champions;
2018 NCAA National Champions;
2017 Final Four;
2018 Pac-12 Volleyball Coach of the Year, 2018 AVCA Pacific North Region Coach of the Year;
former University of Illinois Head Coach;
2011 NCAA Runners-up; 5x Sweet Sixteen appearances;
2011 Volleyball Magazine Coach of the Year

Everything Kevin Hambly does during training is designed to result in his team getting more swings than their opponent . He knows that the team that gets the most swings will win most of the time, so he approaches every facet of the game with this in mind. This presentation shows you how his philosophy affects his training methods for passing, blocking, defense and even sending free balls over the net.

Passing
Coach Hambly's main concern in serve receive is getting a quality swing. He is willing to sacrifice some perfect three-option passes to maximize the number of decent passes his team makes. By taking the ball higher when passing, facing the line of the ball and moving with intention, his passers eliminate passes and increase the number of attacks the team gets.

Bunch Read System
Coach Hambly's goal for his blocking system is to control block as many balls as possible, especially on middle attacks. He realizes his players may give up a few stuff blocks over time, but he trains his blockers to soft block in order to maximize the number of swings his team gets. The "Bunch Read System" of blocking is perfect for this philosophy. Using this system creates deflections leading to more opportunities for your team to create swings.

Defensive System
Like all of Coach Hambly's system, his defensive system is designed to ensure a quality swing. Because of this, defenders are instructed to pass high off the net. This gives the setter time to make a good set and gives the hitter time to transition to attack mode. He is willing to give away quick attacks in transition to maximize the number of quality swings.

Managing the Rally
In the final segment, Coach Hambly talks about managing the rally when your team is out of rhythm. When his team is out of rhythm, their job is to give the opponent a ball that will result in the easiest ball back. He prefers free balls to strategic locations instead of downballs. Specific locations are demonstrated for occasions when the setter is front row and back row.

Volleyball is an imperfect game. Coach Hambly realizes this and shows you how to develop systems to get quality swings even when players are peforming less than perfectly.

Produced at the 2014 AVCA Spring clinic.

46 minutes. 2014.