I feel like an initial warning is in order here. If you are just thinking about starting coaching, especially at something like the high school level, you may not want to read Coaching Volleyball Successfully by Sally Kus. I could scare him and not train, and nobody wants that!

Seriously though, the author talks extensively about what makes a good volleyball program (not just a good team) and it has many facets. Thinking of all of this as someone new to coaching can be a bit overwhelming.

The first section of the book is described as the Coaching Foundation. The two main focal points are the philosophy and communication of coaching. The coaching philosophy may be something that assistant coaches or volleyball trainees shouldn’t worry too much about as that will come from the head coach, but for anyone leading a team, it is an important consideration. Since a large proportion of lower-level coaches don’t have the advantage of starting out as an assistant, that’s likely to cover most readers.

The second approach is communication, in all its forms. We’re talking player-to-player, coach-to-player, coach-to-coach, coach-to-parents, and whatever other line of exchange you can think of – verbal, written, and otherwise. Kus leaves no doubt about how important it is to the health of your team, your program and yourself to ensure that there is good and positive communication with and between all parties involved. Player and team motivation is part of that equation.

The second section of the book is Coaching Plans. Again, we are talking about a very comprehensive look at the planning aspect of being a successful volleyball head coach. Much of it is focused on developing effective training plans, which will no doubt be of considerable interest to most readers. Here are a series of exercises, games, and warm-up ideas.

Part III addresses individual skills instruction. This is pretty detailed in terms of looking at player mechanics with lots of suggestions on ways to tackle common issues and bad habits. This section is also supported by a series of exercise ideas.

Following the skills section, in a natural progression, come two sections dealing with systems, strategies, and tactics. These include a comprehensive overview of offensive and defensive playing systems and how to develop them, as well as considerable discussion on how to manage teams in preparation and during matches.

The book concludes with a sixth section that reviews the evaluations of both the players and the program. Kus, as with every other part of the book, is quite detailed in terms of what needs to be evaluated and how it can be done.

As you may have noticed by now, this book is absolutely loaded. It’s not something you can get over in a few hours. That said though, the writing is very straightforward and paced. I seriously doubt that you will get bored at any point along the way, as can sometimes be the case in training books.

The bottom line is that Coaching Volleyball Successfully is a fantastic book. It focuses a lot on high school volleyball, but there are also many references to college, junior and youth volleyball, and much of the material can be applied across the board. If you were offering suggestions on what a new or developing coach should read, this would be at the top of the list.