The Volleyball By Design Podcast

Most coaches spend hours hunting for new drills when the drills they already run could be giving their players twice as many quality touches. In this episode, I break down rep ratio, a concept I learned working alongside national team and professional coaches, and show you how to restructure simple serve receive and blocking drills so the ball never stops moving and no player is standing around. We dive into: What rep ratio is, and the minimum reps per minute your passers need to actually acquire the skill How 5 to 7 seconds between serves quietly wipes out hours of quality reps over a season Why removing a passer from my serve receive drill doubled everyone’s reps The serving rhythm that keeps a serve receive drill moving with 7 servers in line A national team blocking drill that keeps the ball alive and cycles blockers through faster How shadow blocking turns time in line into extra reps How to audit the drills you already run before you go looking for new ones Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Click here to join my workshop - http://volleyballworkshop.com Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_CoachB Interested in my in-person coaches mastermind (tentatively August 7, 2027)? Email [email protected] or DM me on Instagram and say “I’m in.”        

More and more coaches are leaving the game for one reason: they’re done dealing with parents. So I’m going back to the vault to re-air one of my most requested episodes, on five strategies to prevent parent issues before they ever start. Before we dive in, I added a new intro on something I didn’t cover the first time: no-cut policies. If you can’t remove a player who’s poisoning your culture, you don’t control your team. Your team controls you. In this episode, you’ll learn: The tryout presentation The parents meeting The player-coach contract The 24-hour rule Defining the role of the parent Doing your job I also share the year 1, 2, 3 pattern I see in parents, and how to address it right away when a parent crosses the line. 👉 DVA members: my player-coach contract and tryout presentation templates are inside DVA, ready for you to adapt. Not a member yet? Apply at www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Join my workshop - http://volleyballworkshop.com   Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_CoachB    

Designing your offensive systems is one thing. Training them so your players know exactly where to be and get the most quality reps is another. In this episode, I break down how to train your team’s systems in practice. That starts with knowing every scenario your players need to recognize: in-system, out-of-system, medium pass at 8 and 12 feet, sideline, the 3–4 zone, and the corners. You’ll learn: Why high level coaches use one “skeleton” 6-on-6.  Alan Knipe’s rotation order (1-4-2-5-6-3). How to set the variables.  How the way you enter the ball decides what you train My favourite systems drill, Offense vs. Defense.  How to run it with only 9 or 10 players. If your team looks lost the moment the pass isn’t perfect, this episode gives you a plan to fix it. Want the full training, including Alan Knipe’s transition multi-ball drill? Apply to join DVA at www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Join my free workshop on the top 3 things that helped my team win a championship at http://volleyballworkshop.com Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_CoachB

Every coach eventually faces it: a player who’s talented, maybe even your best, but is quietly dragging the whole team down. In this episode, I share the story of cutting my best player at Seneca, the step-by-step process I use when a player’s behaviour starts damaging team culture, and what to do when cutting isn’t an option. We dive into: Why one player can derail a volleyball team faster than in almost any other sport The difference between an unhappy player and a toxic one, and why coaches mix them up The warning signs that teammates are playing scared How to run a players-only meeting, including the questions to coach your captains to ask Why “hoping it goes away” makes it worse What to do when you can’t cut a player: playing time, practice suspensions and clear consequences What happened to our program the season after we made the call Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Click here to join my workshop - http://volleyballworkshop.com Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_CoachB

In this episode, we go back into the vault. In 2021, I sat down with John Speraw, former head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team and UCLA, and now President and CEO of USA Volleyball. Recorded around the Tokyo Olympics, this conversation is packed with lessons from one of the best minds in the game that hold up just as well today. In this episode: Behind the scenes of the Tokyo Olympics How John approaches seasonal planning Practice structure and planning at the highest level Why fundamentals still matter at every level Game day preparation and approach And much more Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Click here to join my workshop - http://volleyballworkshop.com Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_CoachB

Most players think showing up to practice is the sacrifice. It's not. In this episode, I show coaches how to teach their athletes what a serious competitor actually looks like. In this episode: The line in the volleyball manual that every player signs, and why most don't understand it Why showing up is the floor, not the ceiling The ladder every athlete has to climb How Daenan went from club to one of the best middles in the world The honest truth: some gifted kids make it on talent, and some hard workers won't make it at all The player who never made the roster but changed the whole program How to teach this to every kid in your gym, even the ones who won't make it Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Click here to join my workshop - http://volleyballworkshop.com Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_CoachB

Most coaches pick their starting rotation the same way every match: setter serves first, best hitter up front, and go. But your starting rotation quietly decides which rotations get extra turns in close sets, and that can be the difference between winning and losing. In this episode, I break down how to analyze your rotation data and build a strategy to improve your sideout and breakpoint percentages. We dive into: The three default rotation strategies most coaches use, and why they might be costing you points The surprising research on how often each server comes up for a third serve in a close set A simple formula to measure your rotation efficiency, and what the number tells you What to do if you don't have any data yet (three quick strategies you can use tonight) How to match your best rotations against your opponent's best server Why so many top teams choose to receive first, and the one situation where serving first makes sense If you want the full system, including how to place your players inside each rotation, join me for the live training inside DVA. Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Click here to join my workshop - http://volleyballworkshop.com Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_CoachB

Every parent knows Lego instructions are so clear a five-year-old can build the set on the box without help. What if you taught your athletes the same way? In this episode, I break down the exact method I use to teach skills so clearly that any athlete on your team, at any level, can pick them up faster, using passing as the live example so you can apply it in your gym this week. Why most coaches unintentionally slow down their own athletes' skill acquisition without realizing it The 3-part framework you can use to break any skill into "Lego pieces" your players can actually follow The one detail in a passing platform almost every coach fails to correct Why teaching movement before mechanics changes how fast your athletes improve How to apply this method to any skill you teach, not just passing Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Click here to join my workshop - http://volleyballworkshop.com Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_CoachB

Your practice plan has drills, reps, and systems on it. But there's a second curriculum running underneath your entire season that no one writes down and it might be shaping your team more than anything you actually drew up. In this episode, I break down 5 unwritten lessons every coach is teaching whether they mean to or not, and the exact moments in practice where you're either building your culture or quietly letting it slip. These aren't drills. They're moments. And how you respond to them is the real program you're building. In this episode we dive into:  The customer service idea  Culture  Standard of excellence  Getting pixie dusted  Response to pressure/adversity  Team first mentality  Coachability  Modelling And a few more key concepts  Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Click here for my workshop - http://volleyballworkshop.com Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_CoachB  

In this episode, I share my journey from knowing very little about volleyball to building a career coaching at the high school, club, and college as well as eventually working alongside some of the best coaches and athletes in the game. Along the way, I share some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about becoming a better coach and building a successful volleyball program. In this episode, we discuss: How I went from basketball player to volleyball coach The biggest mistakes I made early in my coaching career Why finding a mentor can accelerate your development The importance of having a plan for your volleyball program Why coaches need to be lifelong learners Building culture, identity, and systems within a program What I learned from working with elite coaches Why player development should go beyond simply teaching positions How to build a championship-level volleyball program Why coaching education is so important for the future of volleyball If you're interested in growing as a volleyball coach, I'd love to have you in my community - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com  Click here for my workshop - http://volleyballworkshop.com  Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_CoachB