The Volleyball By Design Podcast

In today's episode, we go back into the vault where Erik Shoji shares some tangible advice that coaches can take and apply in their gym right away with their players. Topics include  Passing Technique & Strategies  Reading and Cues  Mental side of passing  Defensive movement & cues  And so much more.  Click here to view Erik's youtube channel  Click here to register for my free workshop -...

In this episode, I went back to past interviews with great coaches and compiled all their advice on building team culture and put it into this episode. There are a ton of takeaways and notes you can get from this episode. We dive into: Documents & Pillars  Communication  Standards  Relationships  Special culture items per team  Amazing quotes on culture  And so much more  Click here to join my...

This custom blocking system taught in the episode has helped many high level teams create chaos on the fly and shut down some of the strongest offenses. If you're a coach looking to improve their blocking toolbox, this episode will change the way you think about blocking. We dive into:  Blocking terminology  The custom blocking system  How to implement it  Different Variations  And a few more key...

In this episode, we dive into hand signals from not only the setter but the coach and other players as well. Then we transition to verbal cues and how you can use verbal cues to communicate effectively with your players and avoid having to burn unnecessary timeouts. In this episode we cover: 10 different hand signals  Different positions that have different purposes  Play calling  Verbal cues and...

In this episode I walk you through the exact blueprint that took a local high school with zero competitive volleyball experience to 2 regional championships, 1 city championship and a top 4 finish in the province (equivalent to State championships) in just 3 years. We dive into: The 3 year plan  Culture  Planning  Player Development  What moved the needle the most  Core ideas to elevate programs ...

In this episode, I'm privileged to bring back National Team Middle Daenan Gyimah where we're talking about the evolution of the game and why his coach is the best coach in the world. We dive into:  6 Skills/Tactics that is being used more at the highest level  The skills of a Middle Blocker  His pro team's scheduling and training  Importance of training environment  A few drills  Why his coach is...

In this episode, I take us back into the vault to an interview I had with pro setter Micah Ma'a where we discuss the tactical and technical aspect of setting. We dive into: Setting technique  Decision making  Key factors to making a great setter  And a few more key concepts  Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com   Click here to join my workshop - www.voll...

In this episode I share 10 strategies on transition that can help your team capitalize when in transition. We dive into: 7 different types of transition  Footwork  Switching Patterns  Transition off Dig  Creative offense in transition  And a few more key concepts  Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Click here to join my workshop - www.volleyballworksho...

In this episode, I dive into a common problem coaches face with their teams and that is, what to do when the other team goes on a run. In this episode I share strategies to combat this issue. We dive into: The Mental Side  Timeouts  Rotation Issues  Play Calls  Train it in Practice  Perfect 12 Drill  Tactical  And a few more key concepts  Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digital...

In this episode, I sat back and thought about how the greatest coaches in the world got to where they are. Did they do anything similar? Where did they spend a lot of their time? Where did they invest their time and money to get to where they are?  I noticed there were patterns that were the same across all high level coaches and I wanted to bring those to the podcast. This is a great episode if y...

In this episode, we dive into a popular discussion regarding volleyball IQ. How can we, as coaches, improve our players volleyball IQ. In this episode we dive into 5 main strategies and a few others to help your players increase their volleyball IQ. We talk about: Volleyball IQ is game understanding + perception + decision making + anticipation  Block Training vs Game Training  Video Decision Maki...

This episode is a little different. Yes, you'll still get some value out of it as a coach for a variety of reasons but I walk you through my entire process for starting my ProAm Volleyball league. We dive into:  My Vision  Step By Step Process to Start  Draft Combine Unique Rules  Tickets  Staff Coaching  Etc.  Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com   Clic...

In this episode, I dive into the tactical aspect of serve receive and not necessarily the technical. Understanding how to tactically approach serve receive will help increase your sideout percentage. We dive into:  Long Angle vs Short Angle  Spin vs Float  Different footwork  Film  Mindset  Libero  Seams vs Passing zones  Increasing Sideout % Short Serves vs Long Serves And a few more key concepts...

In this episode, I dive into the conversation regarding playing time and how it affects the culture of your team. We talk about:  Dealing with players, parents and administration  Volleyball Manual  Popular scenarios on your team regarding playing time and culture Strategies to help deal with the playing time dilemma for coaches  And a few more key things  Click here to join Digital Volleyball Aca...

In this episode, I dive into some drill concepts as well as team and individual drills. These drills are vetted and proven and used by the best coaches in the world. We dive into: Fundamental vs Skill  Block Train vs Game Train  6 Individual skill drills  7 Team Skill Drills  Multi Skill Drills  Performance Indicators  How To Implement Progressions and Variations  And much more  Click here to join...

In this episode, I share a list of items that will help coaches be more prepared and ready for the beginning of the season. We dive into:  Equipment  Planning  Training  Structure  Reporting  Meetings  Etc.  Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy - www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com Click here to register for my free workshop - www.volleyballworkshop.com Reach out via Instagram @BrianSingh_Co...

In this episode, we are privileged to have on 2025 Libero of the tournament at the NORCECA Championships Quintin Greenidge where he not only dives into the technical and tactical aspects of being a Libero but tells us the insights from what the best coaches did for him to get him to the next level. He dive into:  Serve Receive - Technical  Defense - Technical  Club  Film Strength Training  And a f...

At DVA LIVE 2025, there were amazing guest speakers that provided real insights that helped coaches with their teams. One of them was head coach Dan Lewis who had a great presentation about his planning process, player development, evolution of the game and so much more. In this episode, you get to hear some important points he made during that presentation in which you could apply to your team. H...

In this episode, we have the privilege of having 6X National Champion Jessy Satti on and he talks about how his club is the largest club in Canada and why they're so successful. He also talks about how he's gone to 9 18U provincial championships in a row. It's a great episode. We dive into:  Keys to growing a club  Retaining Athletes  Seasonal Planning  Practice Planning  Phases of Training  Top D...

In this episode I share several strategies that you can use in games to adjust and give your team an advantage. We discuss:  Match Prep  Matchups  Blocker Tendencies  Serving Strategy  Backcourt Defense  Substitutions  Offensive Plays  Timeouts  Setter  And a few more key concepts   Join Digital Volleyball Academy by visiting www.digitalvolleyballacademy.com   Join my free workshop at www.volleyba...

There's no secret that Ai is taking the world by storm but did you know we can use it to help us with volleyball? AI can not only save you time as a coach but can help you be more efficient with your team. In this episode we talk about:  AI Video in Volleyball How AI can help you plan practices  Obtaining information at the fastest rate  Allow you more opportunity to learn  Strategies on using AI...

I get asked all the time from coaches, how do I efficiently train my players with just one court. There are so many skills to work on but it's hard to do it  with one court. Yes, 2 courts is better than 1 but we can absolutely effectively train with 1 court. In this episode I dive into:  How we can break the net up  Serving and passing drills that allow us to train multiple skills  Ball control wi...

In this episode, I share a good general plan for an off season practice. Remember the goal of off season is to get multiple touches and how you do that in practice is important. We talk about:  First thing you need to do  Multiple drills you can use in practice  Accountability  Offense vs Defense  And a few more key concepts  Click here to join Digital Volleyball Academy or visit www.digitalvolley...

The off-season can play a significant role in how successful your team is next season. What are the keys to your off season? There is a lot of wasted time and misconceptions with what needs to be done in the off season. In this episode we dive into:  The single most important aspect of your off season and why teams don't improve during the off season  Debriefs, Reflections & 1 on 1's  Characte...

In this episode, we our privileged to have on one of the most known volleyball coaches in North America, Coach Donny Hui. In this episode we dive into: Practice Planning & Structure  Player Development  Culture  Drills  Standards Attacking Breakdown  And a few more key concepts  To find out more about Coach Donny, you can visit www.elevateyourself.org   Click here join Digital Volleyball Acade...