#tryout tips

[passion-for-the-game]

I have tryouts tomorrow. I made the team last year and I'm going Into sophomore year. I'm worrying because I'm not the greatest on the team... And there are freshmen coming up that have to possibility to bump me off the team.. Any tips so I can feel more confident going into tryouts to do my best?

Just keep in mind that you’re familiar to the coaches and familiarity is usually preferable to unpredictability. With that in mind, don’t become complacent. You still have to go out and work hard just like everyone else. Make sure you go for every ball and bust your ass no matter what. I think I’ve mentioned her before, but my favorite libero that I ever played with wasn’t the most consistent or the “greatest on the team” but she was my favorite because she never gave up and I’d rather play with someone who has that much heart than someone who’s just really good at the game. It really depends on how you define “great”. Volleyball is a team sport so there’s something different that everyone brings to the table. I was never the greatest on any of my teams, but I’m a super consistent player so my coach could always depend on me. Someone else may have a killer serve, or may be an awesome blocker, or may just be a really positive source on the court that makes everyone work together really well. Find whatever it is that makes you awesome and play to that strength. Of course you want to work hard to develop all your skills, but if you ever get down, just remind yourself that you’re super good at ______. I always told my teammates if they made a mistake serving, to just make it up with a good pass. Or if they made a bad set, I’d tell them to make it up with a nice block, etc. Try to remain positive and encouraging (mind you, without overdoing it. I’ve played with people who thought they were being positive but were really just being annoying) and to work your butt off. It’s honestly the most respectable thing. 

[passion-for-the-game]

I have tryouts on Monday the 4th so I don't know if you'll answer this before hand, but anyways. I played volleyball in middle school and fell in love with the game, but the high school I went to the last two years doesn't have sports and I can't afford club so I haven't played in 2 years. I'm transferring schools and trying out as a junior. Are there any tips you have for tryouts to help me out some? Thanks in advance.

I also have tryouts on the 4th. I wish the best of luck To you :)

Im telling you right now, you’re in a difficult situation. (Just so you know my perspective, I go to a school with a really good volleyball team so any advice/information I give is based on the assumption that the school has a really good program).

Juniors are typically on varsity although since you’re a newcomer I’d be willing to bet they’ll put you on JV if they want you for a team. You’re competing against girls who have been in the program for years and that’s difficult. What a lot of people might do is keep quiet and act nervous and just try to blend it, but if you do that you’re pretty much ensuring that you won’t make a team.

The coaches have never seen you play before. So you need to show them what you can do. That doesn’t mean you can’t make errors, EVERYONE makes errors, please remember that. Just try to limit the unforced errors and learn to bounce back when you make one. It’s soo easy to get frustrated when you’re making mistakes, but disciplined players know how to take their mistake, evaluate what they did wrong, move on, and fix it.

Any time you play volleyball, you should have high energy. But now even more so. You can’t just communicate, you have to be THE communicator. Even if literally no one else is talking, you need to. Same with effort. The two biggest things in volleyball are communication and effort. A ball does not hit the floor without a body hitting the floor. Even if there’s no way in hell you can save the ball, you haul ass like you can save it. Every time. Coaches and players will notice and they will respect the heck out of you for doing it.

It might be a good idea to introduce yourself to the coach, just so they know your name. The main thing, go out there and be the type of player they can’t play without.

Kick ass and let me know how it goes :)

[passion-for-the-game]

I am trying out for the 8th grade volleyball team in about 3 months. I already know majority of the girls who were on the team and who's trying out for the next year. The coach shows a lot of favoritism between students regardless of their skill. I also feel like i need to work on my overall skill level to be able to make the team. Do you have any suggestions on how I can vastly improve my skills to be ready for tryouts?

do you have any advice on try-out tips, practicing, and skill improvement? Im trying out for my eight grade girls team in August.

I’m answering both of these in one. First of all, also see here for anything that I might not have covered. 

There’s nothing you can do about the coach. You can’t change the fact that he plays favorites. If he wants to be stupid, that’s on him, and does it affect whether you’re on the team or not, yeah maybe, but it sure as heck doesn’t affect how you try out. 

That being said, you want the coach to notice you. Make conversation, ask the coach what he thinks you need to improve on, work your ass off to make yourself get noticed. 

I can’t help you much with nerves (if that’s a problem for you). Everyone responds to that differently. Some people just need to take a second and breathe and some people need someone to scream “Get your head out of your ass”. My piece of advice for nerves is: just play. Just play volleyball.

What I can help you with (to an extent) is skill. Repetition. Repetition repetition repetition. If you don’t have a ball, buy one. Every day, go outside (or inside), find a wall, set 100 times, pass 100 times, serve 100 times, hit 100 downballs. I do a modified pepper where I serve and pass that, then set myself and hit a down ball to the wall, pass that, set myself, hit to wall, etc. Ball control is also important. With no wall, just pass to yourself 50 times (same with set, then pass set). Shoot me another message if I didn’t explain this well enough, but once the above becomes too easy for you, add on (note I said “add on”, not “replace”) pass to yourself, one arm pass to yourself, one arm pass to yourself (with the other arm), set to yourself, tip to yourself, tip to yourself with the other hand, and then repeat. You can also do this against a wall. Pass, one arm, one arm, tip, tip, set, then hit down ball and pass off of that, then  one arm, one arm, tip, tip, etc. All for ball control. Shoot for doing that 10-20 times without the ball dropping. 

Athleticism is also big. Practice your approach, practice blocking, do sprints, go running, do ab workouts, do squats, do wall sits. Put yourself in better physical condition. 

But most of all, remember to have fun with it. Yeah you have to put in a lot of hard work, but you’re putting in the work because you love what you do. 

Anything else, just send me a message :)

[passion-for-the-game]

I am going into the 8th grade.I'm not on the volleyball team because i didn't try out. I really enjoy volleyball but I'm not the most athletic person. Volleyball tryouts are next May so i have some time. I'm practicing right now and will continue practicing for the rest of the year and beginning of next year with my best friend that's on the volleyball team. Do you think that there is a chance I could make the team if I keep up the hard work and keep practicing and exercising? I

Okay I’m a little confused on whether you’ll be trying out for the 8th grade team or 9th grade but it shouldn’t matter.

You say you’re not the most athletic person, so in addition to spending time practicing volleyball, try to spend time getting more in shape and improving your athletic ability. It doesn’t have to be anything huge but try to go running (1 mile is fine) and do push ups and ab workouts. I also recommend a lot of footwork. I don’t know how much your friend knows about volleyball because you are going in to 8th grade and when I was that young I didn’t know very much, but footwork is very huge. If you can do the ladder for agility or some equivilent, please do that. I also recommend shuffling and quick feet, and then do a lot of thigh stuff (squats, lunges). 

I definitely think that you can make a team. Hard work pays off. I don’t know what kind of school you go to. Some are better at athletics than others. My school has a really good volleyball team but for freshman, you don’t have to be an incredible player with tons of experience. Just keep practicing and I"m sure you’ll do great :) 

You should also try to watch volleyball. Go to games at the high school and observe. It’ll help a lot x

[passion-for-the-game]

Hello well, i want to try out for my high school team but im really afraid i wont make it. Again. I was on the teams in middle school but freshman, i got cut. I'm also short, so my only shot is libero/ds, and the coaches are club coaches, and the libero from last year is on their club team and its obvious they pick favorites. I know i should've been able to make it last year because of the people i am for sure better than (not trying to be cocky though). So I honestly dont know what to do..

Hmm… That’s always an unfortunate situation. I would encourage you to try out again, however only if you’ve improved a significant amount since Freshman year. I’m not trying to be a bitch, but if you show up with little improvement, they will cut you again because it’s essentially the same person/skill level. If you go in having improved substantially, working your ass off, then there’s a much higher chance of you making the team. 

Now I know that it may seem like they’re picking favorites (and maybe they are, I’m not there so I don’t know) but just remember that there’s a lot of different reasons for putting someone on a team and that coaches usually have a reason for the things that they do. For example, in middle school my friend got cut from the team and the girl that took her spot was like 5’9” (9inches taller than she is) and had no volleyball experience what so ever. You can make a tall girl good at volleyball, you can’t make a great volleyball player any taller. So just keep that in mind. 

Best of luck x If it doesn’t work out, try to just focus on club ball. I personally like club ten times better.

[passion-for-the-game]

this past season, basically our whole varsity team was made up of seniors, so next year, our varsity team will be mostly jv moveups. the varsity coach has already made it clear that he doesnt think im quite ready for varsity, and i agree! but out jv coach wont be returning )-: so we'll have a different jv coach! i'm really worried for next season, do you think it's possible that the new jv coach might not see what i'm capable of and cut me?

I sincerely doubt it. JV coaches aren’t the only ones who make the JV team, the Varsity coach usually looks over the choices. There’s also a chance that even though you aren’t necessarily ready to play on Varsity, you’ll still be put on Varsity so that you can practice with them and get better.

Don’t stress too much about it. When try outs come around, still work super hard. Don’t go in thinking that the JV coach won’t see what you’re capable of, go into try outs and SHOW the JV coach what you’re capable of.

Best of luck :)

[passion-for-the-game]

hi,im starting my freshman year next fall,and i want to start playing volleyball,is there anything i could do during summer to be better at volleyball next schoolyear?

Yes, there’s so much that you can do. First off, great idea to start up volleyball, because it’s a great sport, though I’m probably a bit biased :) I’m going to turn this into a pretty in depth answer because I’m going to use this for an FAQ since I get this question a lot.

I can’t stress enough how big this first thing is. Find out if the school is running Open Gyms or Summer Work Outs. It gives the coaches so much insight to you as a player because they get to see how much you improve and how hard of a worker you are, not to mention it makes them familiar with you. 

Now, with open gyms, they likely will not be easy. At my school, they do an hour of volleyball, and an hour of conditioning/weight room. It’s to get you in shape. You’ll get out of the conditioning what you put in, so I have to say, don’t cheat yourself. Push yourself to do as much as you can because it will only help you in the long run. 

Before you do that though, please Please PLEASE become familiar with the game and the rules and everything. Open gyms do not TEACH you how to play, it just makes you better. Try to find local games to watch, look on TV for volleyball games, or even search YouTube. I don’t know you so obviously I don’t know how much you know, but I have to say it’s frustrating to see someone at open gyms who has absolutely NO idea what they’re doing. If you, or anyone else reading this has any questions about the game or basics, PLEASE message me and I’ll be glad to help out. 

The second most important thing, is buy a volleyball. It’s important to become familiar with the ball. Ball control is one of the most important things. A good way to improve with ball control is forearm pass the ball to yourself 50 times (if you’re a beginner, you can obviously start at a lower number), then set to yourself 50 times, then alternate passing and setting to yourself 50 times. If there’s a wall that you can practice against, also pass/set, pass and set to the wall. 

I’m going to be blunt here. Don’t bother trying out if you can’t do the basics. That includes, passing, setting, and serving (overhand). Depending on where you go to school, you should be able to hit a controlled down ball, but certain schools are better than others so that one really depends. 

If you need help with technique or anything that I’ve mentioned, feel free to send in another ask and I’ll help you with that. I don’t want to slam you with information that you may not need.

Last thing, don’t just rely on Open gyms. Go out and run yourself. Do push ups or different ab work outs. Get yourself into shape. If you can find some volleyball summer camps to go to, i would strongly recommend that as well. 

Once again, any other questions, just pop another message in to my ask box. 

I hope this helps :)

Ciara

[passion-for-the-game]

is there anything to do to prepare yourself for tryouts if you dont have a ball with you?

Get in shape. Go running, do push ups, do ab workouts. But you definitely need to get a ball, it's kinda hard to practice volleyball without it. 

Also drink a lot of water though. You want to make sure you're hydrated.