Volleyball Training

Volleyball training can take several forms. From individual one on one training to group camps and clinics at Universities. We have experience with many of these and hope to provide you with some insight to help you make a decision.

Always keep in mind when looking for volleyball skills training, that your son or daughter is matched with a program based on the their age, skill level, expectations and maturity level. We have broken them down into some basic groups that you can find here in Kansas City....

Introductory Training (6-9 years old) - These programs are a great way to introduce your child to volleyball and let them get a feel for the sport. Many community centers, churches and city parks and recreation departments also offer these programs for younger children. Also check with your local high school as many HS volleyball coaches host programs during holiday breaks and summer. Sometimes these programs offer recreational league play as well. Be sure to try and find a program that provides the most touches on the ball for your child and emphasizes basic skills mastery rather than game play! At this level, your child should be learning the game basics, learning to serve underhand, passing/bumping, team work and getting the ball over the net.

Camps & Clinics - So your child can serve underhand or overhand, understands the game and basic rotations, can pass (shank) the ball. This is also the time that your child might be leaning towards a particular playing position based on their skills, physical make up and choice. This is normally the 10 to 12 or 13 year old age group. There are many options available for players of this age bracket. By this time you will have heard from other parents or read about camps and clinics. "What's the difference?" you might ask. Well, "camps" are generally a multi-day program covering all skills. "Clinics" are generally a one day program covering a specific skill or having a particular focus such as a "hitting clinic". I have signed my daughter up for many many of these over the last 7+ years. Most were great for her...and some were not. I always made it a point to ask her "so, how was the camp (or clinic)?" followed by "did you learn something new?" As a parent I made the mistake of putting her into camps or clinics that did not fit her skill level or was not the right age group so the experience as you might expect was not that great. Tips for parents...RESEARCH the camp or clinic, ask for references and if you can, watch a camp or clinic that you or your daughter is interested in. Be realistic about their skills and most of all match their enthusiasm for the sport with the program.

CAMPS can be local at a community center or held as an multi-day overnight program at KU or MU or Nebraska. We participated in the KU overnight camp during the summer for many years and we have had friends that really like the Nebraska program. We will list both local and college camps/clinics on our website. Click on the link in the upper left. Camps run by colleges and universities are very fast paced and demanding.

PRIVATE INSTRUCTION - We feel that this training avenue can provide the best results in skill improvement when the right volleyball skills instructor is found. Our personal experience with private coaching has been very good. Private training allows you as the parent to control the frequency of lessons, duration and help taylor a program specifically for your childs' skills needs.

There are many sources to find coaches who offer private training...word of mouth, club websites, and local volleyball centric websites like ours. Check with your local high school coaches to see if they offer private lessons. We are lucky to have very good instructors available in all regions of Kansas City - some train in general skills and some are very good at position specific training. Some have patience for younger players...and some don't. Check our instructors page for information.

PERFORMANCE TRAINING - Do you want to help your child's performance levels, reduce injuries and increase their strength and endurance? YES, I would guess is your answer. From one parent to another - sports performance training has been one of THE best things we have done for our daughter! We STRONGLY recommend this for those who aspire to gold level volleyball, varsity level sports or wish to attain peak athletic performance. Most folks see this as "plyometrics" and to be honest, so did I at first. Athletic performance training includes plyometrics, but also is an educational process teaching your child HOW to move, jump, stop, accelerate, change direction. There is a WRONG way and a RIGHT way! We are strong believers and proponents of ARC here in Kansas City. They have two sports performance training centers, one in the northland and the other in Overland Park. The instructors are excellent and there are programs to fit about any budget! For more information, click on the "performance" link above.