Virtual Coaching Tools



Coach Tran Coach Tran's Background: After coaching volleyball for over 8 years and accumulating over 10,000 hours of experience, I have learned a lot and still have room for improvement. As the game continues to grow, it has led me to identify some key principles that are essential experiments for success. The more I understand these concepts, the better equipped I am to level up my athlete/team:
  • Understanding Motor Skill Learning - The abundance of online resources for teaching volleyball skills can be overwhelming, and it can be challenging to determine which drills are truly effective. Early in my coaching time, I often wondered why players seemed to forget the technical skills I taught them when it came time for games. The key lies in the individual subroutine, also known as being "in the zone." By comprehending the motor skill learning model (including the environment, specific situation, and reference points for information), I am able to provide a framework to support immediate feedback in drills or game-like scenarios that are tailored to my team's needs and maximize their development.
  • Motor Skill Learning in environment.
  • Understanding Motivation and Team Dynamics - Motivation and team dynamics are complex subjects that even science struggles to fully comprehend. Nevertheless, I wanted to dig deeper and have an understanding of these intricacies. Despite their complexity, my experience and insight into various team dynamics enable me to cultivate a team culture that prioritizes learning and growth, leading to improved performance. This is achieved by ensuring that athletes have a clear perception of the information driving their performance.
  • Time Management and Using Tools for Monitoring and Measurement - To achieve success in coaching, it is essential to focus on factors that can be controlled while having overall progress awareness of your team during practices and game. By prioritizing time in your game management and using available tools, both the team and individuals can reach their peak performance. I have created the following tools to aid in my coaching efforts.


  • Virtual Coaching Tools:

    Over the time, I combined my knowledge of coding and volleyball to create practical tools for use during coaching sessions. These tools are freely available for use in the volleyball community.

  • One of these tools is the Game Management, which helps coaches communicate effectively with their players during timeouts. A 30-second timeout is very short, and coaches must learn to master the game and time management. The Trendline Visualization provides a quick snapshot of the trendline, allowing coaches to deliver a clear message to their players and help them visualize the game status and focus on specific areas of the court. For more information on the use of trendlines, see https://thecoachesmind.com/trend-line-stats/.
  • The Mastering VB Rotation System allows new player/coach to learn each rotation and seasoned player/coache to experiment with team rotation. You can use the interactive feature to see how a typical 5-1 or 6-2 volleyball rotation system works. There is a hidden feature that enables you to move players around and experiment with different configurations to determine what works best for your team. Recently, the triangle-middle (Tri-M) offense system is also added.
  • The Camera/Mirror Delay is a motor skills feedback tool that helps athletes work on specialized skills. It is often set up as a station where athletes can repetitively work at their own pace and receive feedback on their technique.
  • The GO and HUT offense practice plan is an example of using a tool to simulate advanced offensive attacks, which forces the opponent to create gaps in their defense.
  • Another tool is the Perimeter Eye Work, which continuously displays a randomized number and allows coaches to configure the speed and range of numbers. This tool is used to practice peripheral vision while working on a task.