Offseason Tips and Tricks to Make 2021 the Best Yet
From not knowing if there was even going to be a season to wrapping up a successful 2020 Nebraska State Tournament by crowning six State Champions on November 7th, the high school volleyball season was for sure a journey! Club tryouts have wrapped up for most clubs and now you maybe thinking..now what do I do?
If you play another sport use this time to also improve yourself as an athlete. If you play basketball this is a good time to work on your physicality and conditioning. It is also a great time to train your body to do other things. This also helps with injury prevention and overuse injuries. It is also a great time to improve yourself as a competitor and teammate. College coaches love multi-sport athletes!
Class D-1 High Plains Community head volleyball coach Brittany Klingsporn, who just finished her first season as head coach and coming off of a district runner up finish mentioned her team will plan on playing in a winter and or spring league. Most of her girls play other sports so she definitely doesn’t want to take away from those activities and wants to the girls to keep up on their skills and improving in any way they can.
If you are playing club, this is a time to get the gym before the holidays to get some small group training in or work individually on some skills to get ready for club. You also need to update your recruiting profile and get your HUDL highlights etc. updated from the high school season. If you are interested in playing at the next level reach out to your high school coach or recruiting club coordinator to begin the process. This is also an opportune time to get registered for Prep Dig Expo 250’s in your area. These Expos are a great way to get exposure to various college coaches and levels. It gives you great feedback on skills you need to work on and showcases your strengths. Not only does it give coaches a glimpse of you as a potential recruit but can give you valuable insight on where you may stack up against other athletes in your area.
Something many athletes who just finished their seasons forget is to rest your body. This a time to take a break and let nagging injuries or your body recover from the season so you are fresh for club or basketball, etc. If you are not doing a winter sport take some time off and then begin regular strength and condition training and add some yoga or dynamic stretches. As you reflect on the past season this is a great time to work on getting mental reps as well. Evaluate past film, read some books about motivation, or mental toughness or explore some ways to improve your mental game. While reflecting this is a good time to begin setting goals for club or the following volleyball season. What can you do to help your team reach the next level? Did you lose the state final by 2 points in 5 sets? What could you have changed to turn the outcome to your favor? Maybe working on eliminating unforced errors? Work on your jump float serve or maybe you need more work on serve receive. The off season is also a time to evaluate your nutrition and sleep. Begin an eating and sleeping log and see how your performance and mental clarity changes. Remember what you put into your body determines the output of your performance.
Throughout 2020 the phrase “control what you can control,” has been coined many times, the off season is a great chance to ponder how you can be a great teammate and work hard to achieve your goals and dreams. When the 2021 club and high school seasons gear up you will feel prepared and ahead of the games when considering the above mentioned items. If anything 2020 has taught us to not take anything for granted and to play with a grateful heart!