Heidie Lacroix – Better At Volleyball

Volleyball tryouts can be a stressful time for both coaches and players. As a player, there are a lot of things to think about before tryouts. Here are some ideas and advice to think about before the upcoming tryouts. What To Expect From The Coaches You might already have some ideas about the position you want to play but coaches want to see how you do playing different positions, so keep an open mind. Be flexible and try your best to show them how you would play in that position, even if it is not the position you intended on playing. Lang Ping: Team USA Volleyball coach. This can show your coach that you are very determined as a player to do your best wherever you are put on the court. If this is your first time trying out for a volleyball team, they might separate the tryouts based on which position you play (defense, setters, and offense). I would recommend looking up the different positions and learning about their role in the game beforehand. This can help you have an idea of what position you would like best. What To Expect From Other Players During tryouts, all of the players are nervous, even if some of them don’t seem like it. It’s important to get to know a couple of the girls there especially if you have never played before. They can help explain what to do during certain drills if you don’t know what to do. They can also help you enjoy tryouts! Volleyball is meant to be a fun sport! Getting to know the other players during the tryout is good because you could be put on the same team as them. What Drills To Expect All coaches have different drills they do during tryouts, but one of the most common drill is called “serve receive.” Serve receive is when the opposite team is serving and your team is receiving the serve. This drill is where you split up equally on opposite sides of the court. One side will be passers and the other side will be servers. This can help determine who the best passers are during serve receive and who the best servers are. As a passer, your goal is to pass the ball to the setter’s position (front row between the middle and right side hitter positions). You want your pass to slow down the speed of the serve and get it high enough for a setter to set any front-row hitter. This could also be called a 3-grade pass. Your goal as a server is to make it hard for the passers to get to. Your goal is to get an ace, where the ball either shanks off the passer’s arm or immediately hits the floor on the other side of the court. What To Wear To Tryouts There are a lot of things that volleyball players wear. The most important thing is you want to be comfortable when you play. Here are my suggestions for how to look and feel like a volleyball player. Shoes-You will need a good pair of volleyball shoes. Most volleyball shoes are fairly expensive so, if you don’t already have some, you can wear tennis shoes but you will eventually need a pair of court shoes. The shoes I suggest are Mizuno and Nike volleyball shoes. Spandex-Some girls aren’t comfortable with wearing spandex so you can also wear athletic shorts but I recommend spandex. They allow you to move without restrictions so that you can get to the ball as quick as possible. I suggest either black or grey Nike, Mizuno, or Adidas spandex but any brand works. Socks-Next you will probably want some socks. Volleyball players either get medium length socks or knee-high socks. I love the medium-length socks (sometimes called basketball socks) because they make you look professional. Some girls like knee-high socks because they have different crazy patterns and styles and it shows their personality as a player. Knee pads are required in many leagues. Kneepads-You will also need knee pads. You want your knee pads to be thick enough so that when you fall, dive, or slide, it won’t hurt. You also want them snug enough so that when you slide they won’t slide off your knees. I like the Mizuno and Nike knee pads. Over time your knee pads will become thin because of falling on them and you might even get holes in them so you will need to get new ones when you notice that. I normally get new ones at the beginning of each school and club volleyball season. Elbow pads-You might notice girls at tryouts who have elbow pads or even arm sleeves. These are extremely helpful! If you play defense and you are taught to dive on your knees you should eventually learn how to dive landing with your arms first. This prevents you from having knee problems in the future. If you don’t have elbow pads you will get floor burns on your wrists and elbows so the pads are very helpful at preventing this. These are mainly recommended for defensive players and maybe setters. To see all of our recommended player equipment and apparel, check out our Player Equipment page. How To Physically Prepare For Tryouts Volleyball is a high speed, high energy sport. Being fit is a huge part of volleyball. Volleyball is all about short bursts of speed and energy to get to where the ball is going. It is important to be quick as a volleyball player. If you have never played volleyball or this is your first time trying out for a club, I would suggest that you start working out ahead of time. It is completely okay to start off slow like jogging a lap around your neighborhood, but you want to gradually push yourself harder during workouts so that you see progress. One idea could be going to the gym and lifting. When lifting, you should focus on your legs the most and then your arms. It is also very important to focus on your core. Some examples of workouts that we do at my high school are sprints, running a mile, running stairs, and jump rope exercises. How To Mentally Prepare For Tryouts Being mentally prepared for tryouts is also important. You need to have confidence in yourself that you have prepared the best that you can for tryouts and that you are going to do your best. If you mess up at tryouts do not get discouraged! I believe you can do it! Don’t let it get in your head if you don’t make the perfect pass or a kill when you hit. Everyone messes up! Recognize your mistake and make changes to prevent it from happening again. Also, be willing to listen to the coach's advice and make changes to your form or what you did the last time. This will show your coach that you are a coachable player. How To Stand Out To The Coach Coaches are always looking for players who are going the extra mile to prove they deserve a spot on the team. For example, someone who is still hustling to get to the ball that was shanked when nobody else does. This really stands out to the coaches and will make them think ‘that’s a player I want on my team’. This can also be someone who is always talking and communicating during a drill. Volleyball is not a shy game so don’t be scared to be loud. You also want to be coachable. If the coach asks you to change something, be willing to step out of your comfort zone and change. The coach is looking to see if you will follow instructions, whether it's changing your stance or them asking you to play a position you aren’t as confident in, they are trying to see how you will adjust in different situations. Last but not least, always be encouraging to other players! This will show the coach that you are a team player who could make the difference in a game. If you are being positive you are more likely to shake off mistakes and make needed corrections. This could make the difference between winning or losing a game. Middle School Volleyball Tryouts In middle school volleyball, there is normally a 7th-grade team and an 8th-grade team. This is the most important time that a player will learn the basics of playing volleyball. Spirit and effort are HUGE attributes for coaches to find in young players. They will also develop their form and start to be more consistent at passing, setting, and hitting. Middle school volleyball is also all about having fun! The coaches are normally looking for players who will encourage each other and who will try their absolute best during a game. High School Volleyball Tryouts High school tryouts are much more intense than middle school tryouts. In high school, there are normally three different types of teams for volleyball. There is a 9th-grade team or freshman team, a Junior Varsity or JV team, and then a Varsity team. Coaches in high school are determined to win during games, so during practice, they are pushing you as hard as they can to help you become the best player you can be. During high school tryouts, some coaches will have the first part of the tryouts for conditioning and then the second part for different drills. Some coaches do this to see which players will push hard during the conditioning and the practice time. This also allows the players to see what the conditioning and workouts will be like during the season. Club Volleyball Tryouts Definitely, arrive early for club tryouts! Club tryouts are very different from trying out at your middle school or high school. Club volleyball can be more intense sometimes. I would definitely recommend getting there earlier than the tryout time. Sometimes before the tryouts, your parents need to fill out paperwork and pay tryout fees. They might also have different options for the position you play in the paperwork. If you have never played before I would recommend researching the different volleyball positions and learning their role in the game. This could help you know what position you are interested in. Club volleyball teams may have a parent meeting to talk about different tournaments the team will go to and what to expect when you go. Coaches are looking for players who will work well together and who are not afraid to communicate on the court. If you haven't played for a team before, be sure to check out our article called 11 Steps to Make the Volleyball Team With No Experience. Related Questions What Makes A Good Volleyball Team? Some things that make a good team in volleyball are players that work well together. A good team will communicate plays they are running or encourage one another before or after plays during a game. A good team also should know when it is time to put in work during practice in order to get better and when it's time to have fun. If you haven't already seen it, check out our article called 5 Essential Qualities Of A Good Volleyball Team Captain. This article is about what it takes to be a good leader for your team. What Is A Junior Varsity Team? A Junior Varsity team, also known as a JV team, is one of the two types of teams in high school volleyball. The Junior Varsity normally consists of freshmen and sophomores but sometimes there will even be upperclassmen on this team. They are normally the less-experienced players. During this level of high school volleyball, the coach should be preparing you for playing on the Varsity level. Can You Wear Glasses In Volleyball? All players are allowed to wear glasses if they need them. It’s recommended that if you need them, you get sports glasses. You can order these online and have them made with your prescription. Zenni is one of the leading companies that have some very affordable options and very cool designs, check them out here. Photo credits: Feature image by Tania Van den Berghen from Pixabay. Coach image by Brandon Gillin on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ Knee pads image by Tania Van den Berghen from Pixabay. Beach volleyball image by CEV Beachvolleyball Satellite Vaduz on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ Middle school image by Loren Kerns on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, cropped. Club image by Falcon Quill on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/