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Hello and welcome to the Parent Volley Blog! This is meant to be a resource for parents, new or experienced, to learn about the sport of...

Volleyball is more than just a game; it is a way to build character, teamwork, and resilience. For young players, the support they...

Volleyball is a fast and complex sport. It requires strategy, teamwork, and skill. As a parent, understanding the strategies involved in volleyball can help you support your child better. Whether your child is just starting or is already on a competitive team, knowing the basics of volleyball strategy can enhance their experience and performance. In this guide, we will explore the key elements of volleyball strategy. We will break down the roles of players, the importance of

Like many sports, one of the most important aspects of playing volleyball is confidence. A confident player is more likely to perform...

I've always been fascinated and inspired by stories of resilience. I love when the underdog overcomes all odds to achieve goals or attain personal greatness. Sport is such a wonderful environment for those stories to play out. My daughter and I have played volleyball together "since I was three years old," she will say. I can't remember how old she was when we first started to play together, but I have clear memories of us playing "indoor pepper" in my bedroom when we mov

My 9th grade year, my high school volleyball was ranked last in the state of NH and, quite probably, that meant we were most likely ranked last in the entirety of the United States. Our school was a very small, private high school - I graduated with a class of 44 students, the largest class in the history of the school. We were ranked in Class "S", which stood for "Small" in a state where the schools were divided into Small, Medium, and Large for sports classes. We only wo

When I first started coaching at Gordon College, I had little to no idea of what I was doing. I came in with almost no coaching experience, and I shaped my approach to coaching largely from what I had seen as really working well from prior coaches. I also used a lot of what I had seen as not working well from the player perspective to shape how NOT to be as a coach, which shows how important both positive and negative experiences can be for a person's development. Generall

In 1985 a group of volleyball experts founded Gold Medal Squared to enhance the use of data and statistics in understanding and advancing the sport of volleyball. Think "Moneyball" but with less attention on the finances of the sport and more focus on how to use data to help determine high probability outcomes. I absolutely love this approach, because I myself am a scientist at heart - I've always favored the data analytic side of my research work. I am also a HUGE proponen

There is a principle that I talk with my research lab of graduate students about quite often when we are reviewing professionalism topics...

Advocating for Your Child's Best Interest I've seen some really challenging parent-coach interactions, where the parental authority and...

It's funny in junior athlete sports... there is usually one, high-profile position that almost every athlete wants to be, no matter their...

There are many different types of parent cheering styles. Here are a few I've noticed: The Retired Player (this is me... cringe): This...

When I was a freshman in high school, our volleyball team was ranked last in the state. Quite honestly we might have even been ranked...