Using Middles Effectively in Your Offense

Get your middles involved in your offense whether you're in or out of system, and push them to become a dominant component of your team's attack! Georgia Tech Head Coach Tonya Johnson explains the principles of middle hitter involvement and shares drills and progressions that she uses in her gym to build an effective middle attack.

Coach Johnson discusses four keys to an effective middle attack: vision, timing and tempo, spacing and volleyball IQ. Using drill demonstrations with progressions and helpful explanations, she shows how to train these principles effectively in your own gym in order to:

• Help middles see the defense beyond the block and be better able to score
• Train hitters to create a good lane to see the pass and be included in the offense
• Run middles up early to connect aggressively rather than attacking at the tape on the way down
• Provide optimal attack options for zero-tempo situations
• Teach middles to use a wide range of effective shots, not just the most impressive looking ones

If your middle hitters are not an offensive force because they're not always available to get involved in an aggressive attack, don't miss out on the opportunity to learn from Coach Johnson. Teach the principles you learn here and bring Coach Johnson's progressive middle-targeted drills into your gym today. Then join in your team's excitement when their middles put the ball to the opponent's floor again and again.

Produced at the 2013 AVCA Annual Convention in Seattle, WA.

42 minutes. 2014.