The Blocking Techniques & Training that Propelled the Netherlands to a Surprising Olympic Finish

with Giovanni Guidetti,
Head Coach of VakifBank Istanbul;
as the former Netherlands Women's National Team Head Coach, won the silver medal at the 2015 European Championships, the bronze at the 2016 World Grand Prix and a 4th-place finish at the 2016 Olympics (Rio) - the program's highest-ever Olympic finish; 2013 FIVB Club World Champions; 2x 'Coach of the Year' award recipient

Blocking is a training element that sometimes becomes monotonous to players. Giovanni Guidetti gives you an inside look into some of the blocking drills he used to train middle blockers on the Netherlands Women's Olympic volleyball team. He emphasizes repetition - the high reps will prove how tough your blocker's endurance is against a faster attacker - while also giving them better focus on the "read" part of the block.

Blocking Drills

Using a progression of defensive block drills, Guidetti shows you how to utilize your players better during block drills, provide more reps, understand the sequencing of the block-read defense, and provide another way to make them more explosive off the ground.

The drills demonstrated focus on a number of different areas:

• Reading the setter and closing on the most common sets to the pins, middle and the 31 zone.
• The footwork that the Netherlands used for quick attacks to out-of-system.
• How to press over the net using the shoulders.
• Closing to an attacker quickly and making last-minute adjustments.
• How to use the interior hand to take away cross court while leaving the exterior hand to take away line and tool shots.
• Training the blockers not to leave before they have read where the ball is going.

Throughout the presentation, you'll also learn how to incorporate a variety of training tools (medicine balls, elastics, boxes and bands) to emphasize blocking, reaching over the net and conditioning for foot work while blocking.

This video from Coach Guidetti will provide you with some great ideas to help bolster your team's blocking abilities!

Produced at the 2016 AVCA Annual Convention in Columbus, OH.

46 minutes. 2017.