with Cliff Hastings,
Parkland College Head Coach;
Back-to-Back NJCAA DII National Champions (2015-16) - finished a perfect 57-0 in 2015;
Back-to-Back NJCAA DII National Champion Runner-up (2013-14); 8x Mid-West Athletic Conference Champions (2009-16);
Director of the Prime Time Volleyball Club (IL)
Cliff Hastings has amassed an impressive .905 winning percentage in nearly a decade as the head coach at Parkland College. His efforts led to back-to-back NJCAA D-II National Championships in 2015 & 2016 (following back-to-back NJCAA D-II National Championship runner-ups in 2013 & 2014) and it's clear that Hastings knows what it takes to build a winning program.
In this video, you'll see Coach Hastings cover his essentials for team defense. He focuses on back row play, collaborative drills, and improving control to help you boost the effectiveness of your team in the defensive portion of the game.
Back Row Position Qualities
Each back-row position is unique such that the outside positions move forward and backward most frequently while the middle-back defender performs more side-to-side movements. We should put our players in the back-row position that they are most likely to succeed in. You'll see Coach Hastings cover a number of topics, including:
- Why it's important for coaches to know their players and to understand the best way to use them effectively in the back row.
- Warm-ups that include segments where players pass the ball while moving forward and backward. Alternatively, they can focus on the side-to-side skill that is needed from the middle-back position.
- The Shuffle Passing drill, which is used to focus on footwork and maintaining good body control.
- Having players self-evaluate the skills being taught and putting them into practical game-like situations to improve performance and skill level.
- The Knee-pad drill, which is used to make sure players pass with the chest up, hips forward and in a neutral position at impact.
6-on-6 Collaborative Drills
With this video, you will learn how to incorporate collaborative drills into your team practices to gain a clear picture of what you should cover the most with your defense. Too often, coaches lose sight of the simple things when they go into attack mode and miss out on making the little changes needed to be successful in defending every aspect of an offense. You will see:
- The Backpedal drill, which is used to force the passer to exit the court after a good pass by backpedaling.
- The 6-on-6 Setter Dump drill, in which points are scored only when the setter dumps the ball untouched to the other side of the net. This is a great way to observe how well a defense moves to the ball on setter dumps.
- Ways to decide which defense to run and who does what on defense in a variety of conditions.
- The 6-on-6 Overpass drill that allows teams to focus on where they should position themselves in the event of an overpass.
Control Drills
Control drills will allow you to see and coach a ton of defense. Coach Hastings guides you through how to build a high-caliber defense and shows:
- How a coach or manager can fill the 6-person role to run the collaborative drills when your team is short on players.
- Why blocking middle hitters isn't a 'cookie cutter' approach. Coaches need to understand which offensive players are most effective and how to play defense with the percentages. For instance, if an offense has a good weakside hitter, you may want to cheat the double-block in that direction.
When coaching volleyball, it's important to understand the considerations for establishing a team defense. This video from Coach Hastings will guide you through a systematic approach to incorporating collaborative drills and skills into your practice regimen.
60 minutes. 2019.