Getting started with 13-14 year olds

A reader and subscriber to the weekly newsletter sent the following questions.

This winter, I’ll be coaching 7th/8th grade (girls) volleyball for the first time…a long-time dream finally coming true. I’ve browsed your website a bunch but figured I’d reach out if you have any recommendations for a good starting point in terms of practices. Some of these girls will probably have prior experience but I am anticipating a lot of need for the basics/fundamentals of the game. 

There’s a few different things to have in mind in this kind of situation.

Teach them the game

The first thing I would say is that when dealing with new players your #1 priority is teaching them the game. You should, of course, do it in a fairly basic fashion, but still do it. There is a tendency to want to jump right into skill training. That’s understandable, since they basically don’t have any. Just keep in mind that they want to play volleyball, not just do drills. Giving them an understanding of the game also provides them a context for what you’re trying to teach them on the skill side. Chances are, they’ll have at least some basic understanding. You’ll just need to build a bit on that.

Lots of variation in ability

You’ll note in the question that the expectation of this coach is to have a mix of experience levels. That is quite typical. Even if you have a group with basically the same level of experience across them all, you’re still going to see a lot of variation. Because of their different stages of physical development, the kids are likely to be much stronger in some areas than in other on an individual basis. You might have a taller kid who picks up hitting fairly quickly, but who can’t pass to save their life. Another kid might pass really well, but can’t serve the ball over the net. Some kids will be comfortable taking the ball with their hands and others will be terrified. You have to be prepared for this, both in terms of planning and in setting your expectations.

You can and should control things

This age group generally doesn’t have a lot of ball control. As a result, you’re going to need to do a lot of initiation stuff – more than you’d want to do for a more experienced group. Your purpose in doing so will be two-fold. First, you’ll need to put balls in so they’re good enough for the players to actually get reps. Thing controlled serves or tossing in a second ball if there’s a missed serve….