Blocking at the Pins (An Hour with AI)

ChatGPT functions as a tutor...if we know how to use it. It probably borrows from Feynman Technique.

• Choose the topic
• Explain it 
• Research it 
• Restate in simple terms

Here's the process from Prompt to Response (with light editing)

PROMPT: "You're a teacher with one hour, and you'll never see me again. Make me functional in blocking at the volleyball pins before time is up. No theory without practice. What to learn first, what to skip completely, and the one exercise that puts me ahead of people who've been studying for months."

RESPONSE: "This is a great prompt because it forces ruthless prioritization."

If I had one hour and my only goal was to make a player functional at blocking the pins, I would ignore 80% of what is typically taught.

Skip Completely

For today:

• Hand signals
• Advanced scouting
• Read systems
• Swing blocking terminology
• Triple blocks
• Matchups
• Statistics
• Most whiteboard theory

A beginner doesn't lose points because they don't know enough. They lose points because they can't get in front of the hitter.

Core Competency

Rule #1: Beat the Ball to the Spot GET THERE

Most pin blockers are late.

Not short.

Not weak.

Late.

Everything starts with:

See → Move → Load → Jump

The blocker should be moving while the set is traveling, not after it arrives.

Rule #2: Inside Hand Owns the Court BE INTENTIONAL 

At the left pin:

• Right hand takes line.
• Left hand takes seam.

At the right pin:

• Left hand takes line.
• Right hand takes seam.

Most young blockers wave both hands equally. Functional blockers understand responsibility.

Rule #3: Press, Don't Reach SHRINK SPACE

The goal is not to touch the ball.

The goal is to take away space.

Hands penetrate across the net.

Think:

"Hands over. Not hands up."

The One Exercise

If I could teach only one drill:

Shadow Blocking with a Coach Setter

No ball.

No hitters.

No distractions.

Coach stands at target.

Player begins in base.

Coach points:

• Outside
• Middle
• Outside
• Right side
• Outside

Player performs:

1. Read
2. Crossover
3. Plant
4. Load
5. Press

Over and over.

Fast.

Hundreds of reps.

Why?

Because blocking is primarily a footwork skill.

Months of study won't overcome poor movement.

Ten minutes of correct movement beats ten hours of talking.

The Progression

Minute 0-20

• Base position
• Crossover footwork
• Plant sequence

Minute 20-40

• Add a setter
• Read the set
• Move while ball travels

Minute 40-60

• Live hitter
• Don't care about touches
• Grade only:
  • Was blocker on time?
  • Did blocker seal space?
  • Did blocker press?

The Coaching Cue

If the player remembers only one thing:

"Arrive early enough to be stopped before you jump."

Almost every blocking error stems from arriving late.

Great blockers look athletic.

Elite blockers look early.

Those are different things.

The player who masters early movement, crossover footwork, and pressing over the net will be ahead of many players who have spent months learning blocking vocabulary but still can't consistently close a block at the pin.

Summary: 

• Get there
• Be intentional
• Shrink space
• Master your footwork
• Study a great blocker (e.g. Rachel Johnson) 

You don't need a gym or a net to practice footwork and pressing. You need a little space and could put a string between two points to simulate the top of the net. 

Rachel and other historical great MVB blockers get there, they don't "ball watch" and arrive late. 

Hang time (stay with the play):

 

One block doesn't end the play. 

  

Study Melrose Video

Develop technique and tactics. MVB 11 went to the State Finals with many familiar names. 

Points to study:

• Service intentionality - short (Bell), seams (Cain), sideline (McGowan), topspin (McGowan and Diraffaele)
• Attack versatility - McGowan (direction, power), Johnson (quick jumper), Slabacheski (power)
• Blocking - Johnson-Wyland pair and McGowan (middle)
• Setting - Bell, model of consistency
• Defense - no weaknesses
• Tempo - capable of playing fast or methodically

Watching at reduced playback speed (wrench tool) clarifies some technical aspects. 

Link to player statistics Four players with over 125 kills...that's a possibility for MVB 26. 

 

Lineups

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Another coach informs reality - "Players decide the lineups" with good coaching.

Return to the "Achievement Equation."

ACHIEVEMENT = PERFORMANCE x TIME

The better your performance, the more court time you earn. It's a "feedback loop" where positivity is self-reinforcing. 

Everyone gets a chance during scrimmages and the PlayDay. This is not new. 

Intangibles (attitude, coachability, effort, encouragement, positivity) all factor into the equation. AND positive contributions on the court - communication, decision-making, and the ability to put the ball down on offense or keep the ball up on defense.  

Character and competence...

 

Summer Reading*

*Adapted from my basketball blog. 

Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Notorious coaching readers include the late Coach George Raveling, Gregg Popovich, Mike Neighbors, Steve Kerr, and Brad Stevens. 

I asked ChatGPT for the favorite book (if known) about these five or about books 'associated' with them. For what it's worth, I've read all except "The True Believer" which I am reading now. 

Coach George Raveling - "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer

Gregg Popovich - "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin (note this is a tome that will consume a whole summer). Perhaps her "Leadership in Turbulent Times" which includes her thoughts on Lincoln would be better.

Steve Kerr - "Wooden on Leadership" by Wooden and Steve Jamison

Brad Stevens - "Good to Great" by Jim Collins

Mike Neighbors - "Legacy" by James Kerr 

As summer and summer break arrive for many, what's on your bookshelf for summer reading? Here are my top three recommendations:

1. Legacy by James Kerr

Legacy informs the culture and leadership principles of the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby organization. It's an international bestseller, highly readable and actionable.

• "Sweep the sheds." Leave the facility in better shape than we found it. 
• "Old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit." This Greek maxim explains what coaches do. 
• "Leave the jersey in a better place than you found it." This summarizes team culture and the individual's responsibility to it. 

2. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

BITB weaves a tapestry from three stories, culminating in the 1936 Olympics. The first inhabits the struggle, survival, and rise of Joe Rantz, a "big kid" whose family literally exiles him from the home during the Great Depression. As a 15 year-old he has to find work and make his way in the world. Along the way, he finds rowing or rowing finds him at the University of Washington. 

The second narrative arc is life during the Great Depression. Unemployment reached 25 percent and the author describes the despair and suffering of the era.

The third part informs the politics and conditions arising in the early to mid 1930s in Germany, the national pride and prejudice, and the media construction leading up to the 1936 Olympics. 

Is it the greatest sports story ever written? I'll leave that to you, although it is brilliantly written. “What mattered more than how hard a man rowed was how well everything he did in the boat harmonized with what the other fellows were doing. And a man couldn’t harmonize with his crewmates unless he opened his heart to them. He had to care about his crew.”

3. Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

Man is the Storytelling Animal. People remember more from a great story than from a lecture. Facts usually matter less than the personal impact the story has on us. I heard an interview with Doug Collins. He said that the last song he heard, leaving the US dressing room before the Olympic final in 1972 was "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?" He hates that song. 

The Heath Brothers present the acronym SUCCESS -

• Simple
• Unexpected
• Concrete (specific)
• Credible
• Emotional
• Stories

Red Sox clubhouse manager Vin Orlando told me a story about meeting Ted Williams as he got off the bus in Scottsdale, AZ in 1939. Williams asked whether anyone had ever hit a ball over a house beyond the fence in right field. Orlando said, "No, that's too far." Williams replied, "I'll do it." And of course, the rest is history. 

Become a storyteller and change others and yourself. 

Lagniappe. Make friends with the dead. hat tip: Rae Radford

Understand Your Attack Options

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Develop a "common sense" approach to attack against blockers. Options:

• Through - low success rate although softer defenses or extreme power sometimes score
• Around - Melrose literally lost in 2003 against a Marlboro team that excelled at using cut shots to hit crosscourt short. Another 'around' choice is down the line, think Abby Hudson versus Billerica in 2021 or Laura Irwin against Barnstable in 2009 (for older fans). 
• Over - not going to happen often
• Tooling - attacker most commonly hits off the outside part of the outside hand of the blocker. Highly effective and unexpected. Watch Coach Donnie's video for more detail. 

If you want to become a high volume attacker, understand these approaches are critical. 

The Will to Fail

NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson said the one constant among winning players is being willing to fail in the summer when nobody is watching.

Every failed rep forces you to adjust and figure it out, and that is exactly what builds the self belief that shows up when the lights come… pic.twitter.com/YngmlvRdXO

— Bryce Butler (@bball_brainiac1) June 17, 2026

Have the will to fail.

Unconventional wisdom allows the neonate to walk, the pitcher to pitch to contact, the attacker to find new ways to score. 

The story that resonates shares the mogul skier watched by a nine year-old who says, "I love how you ski. You never fall." At that moment, the woman realized she could not become a champion without taking more risk, having the will to fail. She became a champion. 

There's a saying that the cost of an Olympic Gold Medal in figure skating is falling 20,000 times. 

The conventional advice is "leave your comfort zone." 

Leaving the Comfort Zone 

Growth rarely happens inside your comfort zone. Improvement requires a willingness to be uncomfortable, make mistakes, and risk failure in pursuit of mastery.

1. Seek Better Competition

One of the fastest ways to improve is to compete against athletes who are better than you.

Leveling up can be humbling. What worked may not still work. Your favorite serve may come back faster than expected. Weaknesses are exposed that were hidden against lesser opponents.

Many college programs have a scrimmage team comprised of men. 

Better competition illuminates gaps in your game and forces change. Great players do not avoid strong opponents; they seek them out. "Iron sharpens iron."

2. Change Weakness Into Strength

Most athletes enjoy practicing known skills. The problem is that comfort does not foster growth.

The outside hitter who struggles in serve receive needs more and tougher serve receive reps. The setter who avoids blocking should work on athleticism, footwork, and timing. The server content to "get the ball over" needs to become more intentional with better planning and execution attacking seams, sidelines, short, or weak defenders. 

The will to attack weaknesses separates good players from exceptional ones.

3. Assume Leadership 

Leadership can create stress, especially for athletes who are natural introverts. You don't need a title to lead. 

Leadership means communicating early, loud, and often. Hold teammates accountable, encourage others through mistakes, and raise standards when hard times come...and they always do.

Leadership can improve performance though commitment to excellence and growing confidence. Teaching, communicating, and setting an example deepen understanding and strengthen commitment to the team.

The Common Thread

In each case, the athlete chooses challenge over comfort:

• Better opponents instead of easier wins.
• Weakness development instead of favorite drills.
• Leadership responsibility instead of retreat to the background.

The comfort zone feels safe, but growth lives elsewhere.

The athletes who consistently stretch themselves - physically, mentally, and emotionally—are the ones most likely to approach mastery. Have the will to fail. 

Lagniappe. Love our losses.  

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Early Birds

"The early bird catches the worm."

Studies show that early risers have superior productivity. And much of achievement occurs when nobody is around. 

Anson Dorrance wrote this about the legendary Mia Hamm, whom he saw training alone in a park as he drove to work. 

Allistair McCaw wrote, "I’ve always been in the mindset that our ability to get the best from ourselves comes down to how we manage our energy and time. Your ability to master your life is learning to control where your attention goes. Value what you give your energy and time to."

Habits define you. Craft a "morning routine" detached from the SNOOZE button.

What elements might merit inclusion in a morning routine? 

• Eight ounce glass of water (correct overnight dehydration)
• Healthy breakfast including fruit 
• Gratitude moment 
• Offer to parents, "How can I help?" - Laundry, cleaning, etc. 
• Mindfulness routine (7-10 minutes)
• Morning journaling including your "To Do" planning
• Reading (what are you reading today?)
• Morning walk and/or exercise 

Success is a choice. Potential isn't performance and coaches want to see the "Spiderman" obligation met, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Lagniappe. Benefits of getting up early 

Image created with ChatGPT Plus 

Lagniappe 2. Body control with fun. 

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Are You Getting the Most from Your Attack?

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The graphic shares the complexity of your volleyball attack. Relatively few players have such a high contact point that they can hit over the block or the power to hit through many blocks.

That means the successful attacker must maximize her fundamentals and choose the "right shot" for the moment (smash, cut, roll, tip, tool, recycle, etc.). 

1. Study the theory and the fundamentals. 

2. Work on your "dry" approach and "dry" swings (no ball). Automate your footwork and armswing mechanics. 

3. You still have time to work on your athleticism. Plyometrics stress tendons, so your work should be spaced to allow recovery.  

Your MVB "Diet"

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For good reason, humans are "wired" to believe what we see and hear. On the savanna, a noise in the bush could represent an "imminent threat." Failure to respond could be a matter of life and death in a "target rich environment" for predators (snakes, lions, etc.).

As coaches and student-athletes, we usually don't have the same urgency. Take the time to review new information and see whether it belongs in our 'software'.

Sport tends toward "copycat" approaches. That can apply to anything:

• Training methods
• Strategies
• Protective equipment
• Proper wearing of protective equipment
• Pregame music

How can we "parse" or filter the firehose of information? 

1. Ask more and better questions.
2. Seek opinions from authorities on your sport (your coaches)
3. Track both process and results
4. Separate "signal" from "noise" 
5. Study elite players, coaches, and programs
6. Use human and artificial intelligence and hybrids

Self-examine critically. 

- Are you getting enough sleep? You should get eight hours minimum.

- Are you focused or distracted? Are we investing or spending our time? 

- Are you tracking your process and results? 

- Are you building athleticism? What is your program? 

- Are you developing resilience? A small mindfulness investment helps. 

Lagniappe. Setting. 

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