Volleyball Tournament Part I

Yesterday my volleyball team played in an all day tournament. The kids arrived an hour before play was scheduled to start, which gave us time to work on a few vision drills. First up we worked on convergence/divergence with pencil push ups and tracking corrections. We found a previously unknown lazy eye and quite a few kids who's eyes weren't tracking completely together towards the close range of their vision. This could help to explain why they tend to have an easier time digging balls than with serve receive. During serve receive they have to track the ball from the endline on the other side of the court all the way to their arms. On the other hand, when they dig, the ball is usually hit harder and from a shorter distance away from them. Because of this, digging relies more on anticipation and reaction speed rather than truly tracking the ball in.


We also tested and trained saccadic eye movements (how well the eyes focus while moving side to side), hand-eye and hand foot coordination and near/far focusing. For the near/far focusing we used the following drill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAPE3hJ2GBE


One interesting finding from the assessments showed that on average, their hand eye coordination was a third or more faster than their hand foot coordination. This could help yo explain why tend to reach out for the ball instead "seeing" the ball with their feet and moving their body to it. Next practice we'll incorporate drills where they have to move a certain direction or perform a skill based on a visual cue.

When we played our first game of the day, the team was very relaxed on the court, and played more cohesively than usual. They were almost too relaxed. Next time we'll have to make sure to follow up the z-health drills with more fast paced, high intensity drills to get them game ready.

Another thing that's been quite interesting for me is my whole coaching paradigm has undergone a huge shift. Previously, I would analyze how some moves currently and then coach their biomechanics to get them to perform a desired skill. Now I first ask the why someone moves the way they currently do and how that can be optimized to help them achieve their desired skill.