Film. As coaches, we know it helps us understand what our teams do well and what we need to work on. It allows us to scout our opponents and gives us insight into their performance.

However, for players, it can be cumbersome. They might see it as just another thing they “have to do.” Players often don’t know what to look for, or they get caught up in what they individually did or didn’t do.

That’s why it’s important for coaches to use film as a learning experience, so it’s beneficial for everyone on the team. Watching film can build volleyball IQ and, for your visual learners, it can be really eye-opening.

Get It on the Schedule

My teams use film in different ways, but it’s most productive for us to watch together as a group. I like to take the first 45 minutes of practice to do this. It’s not every week, but I do it as often as I can. Why? Because going back and watching matches can be as important as practicing itself.

I always watch the film first to edit out timeouts and side changes. Most of the time I have them watch one set, or at the most, two. This ensures it catches their interest and keeps their focus. I try to use different editing tools to highlight what I want the players to pay attention to the most.

Set the Goal

Having film meetings at the start of practice means it’s already a time where the players planned to be together and work on getting better. But it’s important to be clear that this isn’t a time to point the finger at anyone or any position. Volleyball is a game of errors. If we want to get better, we have to see where we’re making our errors and then work hard to correct what we can.

In the same breath, we also need to celebrate what’s going well for us and where we have improved! I like to start there, with the good things we do, then move into the things we need to get better at.

Choose the Assignment

I’ve found a few different ways to keep players interested during film sessions.

Have players take notes

While they’re reviewing matches, have them look for three things they did well and three things they need to improve on. Or have them track those same categories for the team instead of themselves. Then share with partners or the whole group.

Stat sets by position

Here’s how to divide it up:

• Setters can stat set selection, kills, digs
• Middles can stat blocks, kills, hitting efficiency
• Right sides can stat kills, hitting efficiency, digs
• Outsides can stat kills, hitting efficiency, digs
• Liberos/Defensive Specialists could stat serve receive, digs, passing efficiency

Once they’re finished, have each position group share their results with the rest of the team.

Scout opponents

Divide the team in half—one half will make notes on your team, the other will make notes on the opposing team. Have both groups study how they could beat opponents, and how opponents could beat them, then have them share their findings with the team.

Don’t Skip the Last Step

No matter how you watch film, I recommend ending the session with the same two steps every time:

• Set practice goals for themselves based on what they learned from the film.
• Have them help you create a practice plan based around these goals. In my experience, players really enjoy having a say about what we do! It’s a great way to keep them engaged during practice. And if they forget, remind them why you’re practicing it—because you all recognized it needed work in film review.

Both of these steps are extremely important because it makes the film-watching process tangible. And when your players are bought in, they’re already on the path to improvement.

Lind­say Peter­son has been a var­si­ty head coach for eight years. She played for the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Alaba­ma, help­ing them win the DII Nation­al Cham­pi­onship in 2003. Peter­son has led her Mil­lard North High School team to the state cham­pi­onship tour­na­ment sev­en times, win­ning in 2016 and 2018. She was named one of the top 40 coach­es in the coun­try by the AVCA, and Coach of the Year by the Oma­ha World-Herald.

Every club has unique relationships with parents and families. It’s tricky to strike the right balance between involving them in club activities while affording coaches the space to do their job without feeling like they have to look over their shoulders.

But for elite volleyball clubs like Oregon Juniors Volleyball Academy (OJVA), the solution is to include parents in team operations—and the approach is paying dividends.

For parents that don’t want to be a “Hudl Dad” but still want to be involved, video and data offer objective insights into athlete performance. They’re tools that enable all parties—coaches, athletes and parents—to communicate clearly and without bias.

“Hudl has impacted the team as a whole in regards to the parents and players together with me,” Cruz said. “Me be being blunt with them in regards to now, ‘hey, listen, this is what your daughter is doing and how she’s doing in the in the game’ versus me just saying it and then not [having that] understanding.

“And now we’re able to actually inform them and say, ‘Hey, listen, this is how it works. This is how we’re doing this.’ And now the parent coach communication is a lot better.”

The success of any club comes down to creating clear lines of communication and developing systems to ensure the sum is greater than the parts. By inviting parents to be active members in the day-to-day duties of the club, there are more opportunities for meaningful contributions across the board.

Club directors get buy-in from parents who are using the tools that the club invests in. Coaches spend less time micromanaging tasks that are outside of their area of expertise. Athletes gain a wider support system with ample resources to grow and get recruited. And parents deliver substantial assets that impact athlete, team and club goals.

OJVA not only uses Hudl as a platform for performance analysis, but also to mobilize key stakeholders so that everyone is building towards success—together.

You coach because you’re passionate about helping your athletes get better. The wins are great, but what lights your fire is seeing players improve. Consider attack tendencies the newest accessory on your coaching toolbelt.

Maybe you have an outside whose attack percentage is lower than you’d like. They have a solid swing with some power behind it, but the ball just isn’t finding the floor. With attack tendencies, you can sit down with them and review their attacks. If you notice the player tends to attack left back—which isn’t great because most of your opponents put their libero there—you can work on thumb up shots during your next practice so the ball falls deep line.

With the speed of the game, it’s easy for you (and your coaching staff) to miss this. You might catch on by watching video, but that takes time. And looking at stats is great, but it’s not going to give you the full picture. That’s where attack tendencies come in. You see the what, where and why behind every swing and in turn, you can help your athletes improve their game and become greater offensive threats.

You don’t let your team play in a match they’re not prepared for. You spend countless hours watching scout film and planning your practices around what you find. Good news—the attack tendencies report will make this part of your job easier than ever.

You have your biggest match of the year coming up. It’s at home, against your rival who beat you in five sets the first time you played them this season. To get a win, you’ll need to be prepared offensively and defensively. Their middle’s .400 attack percentage catches your attention right away, so you dive into each swing. You notice their attacks are most often falling in the deep corners of the court, so you might switch to a rotational defense when they’re front row. You might even triple block the middle and be less concerned with what the pin hitters could do without a block.

No matter what you decide, this new report will make learning your opponents’ tendencies easier than ever. With the perfect scouting and practice plan in place, your team will be ready for the big match.

You love numbers so much, diving into your reports on Hudl is basically your favorite hobby. But a number only tells part of the story. Attack tendencies will change your view, so you can change your understanding.

Say you’re worried about the outside on the team you’re playing next week, so you dive into your stats report and click on #14’s attacks. You see the video clips that show all of those swings, but your opponent recorded from a side angle, so it’s hard to tell where the attacks are landing and where the hitter is taking off from.

Have no fear, the attack tendencies report is here. See the start and end location of every attack so you can plan your defense accordingly. Notice most of the sets aren’t getting all the way to the pin? Bring your right side and middle blocker in a couple of steps and challenge the attacker to go line—you’ll have a defender there anyway.

TL;DR: the possibilities for using attack tendencies are endless. We’re excited to see how this report will help club, high school and small college coaches and athletes improve, win, teach, plan and scout.