One thing still surprises me after all these years.
I’ve coached complete beginners.
I’ve coached national team players.
I’ve played against Olympic medalists.
And you know what?
Everybody makes mistakes.
The difference isn’t whether you make them.
The difference is whether you recognize them.
Sometimes I watch a player and within five minutes I already know why they aren’t improving.
Not because they aren’t talented.
Not because they don’t work hard.
Usually because they’re repeating the same mistake hundreds of times every week.
The frustrating part?
Most of them don’t even realize they’re doing it.
I Wasn’t Any Different
When I was younger, I honestly believed that if I trained harder than everyone else, I’d automatically become a better player.
So I stayed after practice.
I served another bucket of balls.
I attacked until my shoulder was sore.
I thought more repetitions meant more improvement.
Sometimes they did.
Sometimes I was simply repeating bad technique.
Nobody becomes a better hitter by practicing the wrong movement a thousand times.
You just become very good at making the same mistake.
That lesson probably changed my career more than any single drill.
When young hitters ask me how to hit harder, they usually expect me to talk about the gym.
Instead I usually ask them a different question.
“Can you hit around the block?”
Silence.
Power matters.
Of course it does.
But volleyball isn’t a sport where the hardest hitter always scores the most points.
The smartest one usually does.
I’ve played against guys who could absolutely destroy the ball.
After one set they became predictable.
The block was already waiting.
Meanwhile another hitter, maybe not as powerful, kept scoring because nobody knew where the next attack was going.
Power without variation is easy to defend.
This one is everywhere in junior volleyball.
A difficult set comes.
Instead of making a smart decision…
…the player tries to hit the highlight of the season.
Straight into the block.
Or the net.
Professional volleyball taught me something very simple.
Sometimes the best attack isn’t the spectacular one.
Sometimes the smartest play is a high hands attack.
Or a deep roll shot.
Or simply keeping the rally alive.
The scoreboard doesn’t care whether the point looked beautiful.
I’ve seen this in almost every country I’ve played in.
The hitter misses.
Looks immediately at the setter.
Raises both hands.
Complains.
The funny thing?
The best hitters I’ve ever played with almost never did that.
If the set wasn’t perfect…
they adapted.
That’s what makes great attackers great.
They don’t wait for perfect conditions.
They create solutions.
Walk into any gym before practice.
Half the players are peppering.
Some are serving.
Some are chatting.
Ask them:
“What are you trying to improve today?”
Most don’t know.
Professional players almost always do.
Maybe today’s goal is serving short.
Maybe it’s attacking line.
Maybe it’s reading the block earlier.
A practice without a goal often becomes just exercise.
A practice with a goal becomes improvement.
Social media made this much worse.
Someone jumps 370 cm.
Someone serves 130 km/h.
Someone signs a professional contract at eighteen.
Good for them.
What does that change about your training today?
Nothing.
The only comparison that matters is whether you’re a better volleyball player than you were six months ago.
That’s the comparison professionals actually care about.
Honestly, I could probably write a hundred mistakes.
After more than twenty years in volleyball, I’ve seen almost all of them.
Some cost you points.
Some cost you matches.
Some quietly slow your development for years without you noticing.
That’s exactly why I created my free guide.
Not to criticize players.
To help them recognize the things that are hardest to see in themselves.
The five mistakes above are only a small sample.
In my free PDF you’ll discover 25 of the most common volleyball mistakes I see in serving, attacking, reception, defense, blocking and mindset, along with simple advice on how to avoid them. The guide organizes them from the most critical errors to smaller adjustments so you know what to fix first.
Some of them are obvious.
Others might completely change the way you think about volleyball.
👉 Download the free guide from my free next gen hitter plan below and see how many you’re making.
Download 25 Volleyball Mistakes
What is the biggest mistake beginner volleyball players make?
Trying to play too fast before mastering the basics. Good footwork, consistent ball control and smart decision-making will take you much further than trying to hit every ball as hard as possible.
Do professional volleyball players still make mistakes?
Absolutely. The difference is that they recognize mistakes quickly and adjust during the match instead of repeating them.
Should I focus on fixing one mistake at a time?
Yes. If you try to improve ten things in one week, you’ll probably improve none of them. Choose one priority, work on it consistently, then move to the next.
Is watching YouTube enough to improve?
Watching helps, but improvement happens when you deliberately practice one specific skill on the court.