How to Perform Consistently in Volleyball
Have you ever performed in the “zone?”
We’re sure you’ve heard the “zone” hype and want to enter the zone?
A reader recently asked the question:
“How can you get yourself into the ‘zone?'”
You hear about the zone being this elated experience, where your performance feels almost effortless, like you’re on autopilot. What athlete wouldn’t want to perform that way?
The thing about the zone though is that many athletes never enter the zone over the course of their career, and the ones that do may only play in the zone a few times.
Therefore, you want to strive for consistent play rather think you must get into the zone.
When you’re consistently performing, you just might enter the zone.
I remember specifically playing in the zone only a couple of times in my volleyball career…
The first was in high school. My team was down 2-0 heading into the third set against our rivals and I sort of caught fire in that moment.
The fifth set especially was an “automatic” type of play. So focused as if I wasn’t focused on anything at all; you just play and let it happen.
In this state, you feel motivated, confident, and completely trust in your skills.
In college, it was a similar situation. We were playing our rivals and down 2-0. I had about 21 kills that match and after each one I’d rub my fingers together as if signaling “money.”
You become intense, attack everything, see the holes in the block, tool the block, and swing with everything. Scoring left and right. “Money.”
I think back to those two specific occurrences in my volleyball career, wondering what I did differently in those matches almost four years apart to achieve the same “zone” play.
There are four themes that I believe help you play consistently and can inspire the zone:
- Preparation
- Confidence
- Trust
- Focus
You want to prepare yourself the same before each match. Have a pregame routine that helps you transition from person to athlete, gets you psyched, ready, and focused.
Make sure you’re confident before you ever step on the court. Also, maintain your level of confidence throughout the match.
Trust yourself and your skills and swing freely; also your team’s ability to compete.
Play in the moment, focusing only on what’s important to execute your next task.
Getting into the zone can be elusive for many athletes, but when you do, you’re completely immersed into the flow of the game…
The “zone” is great, and many athletes aspire to play there. However, the probability of regularly playing in the zone is unlikely.
Instead, strive for performing with consistency. Be prepared, confident, trusting, and focused each time you step on the floor.
New Mental Game of Volleyball Program
Hey, we’re finishing up a new mental game program for volleyball in the next two weeks….
We want to make sure we answer all your questions about the mental game.
If you have not done so, this is your last chance to complete our survey. And as a bonus, you can download one of the bonuses for our new program…
The Mental Game of Volleyball Feedback
We’d appreciate if you tell us about the mental game challenges you and your volleyball players face and how we can help you improve your mental game in volleyball.
Below is a link to a short survey. It should take only one minute of your time. (Of course, the survey is anonymous.)
This survey will give us the input we need to bring you the most relevant and practical information about how to improve your mental toughness in volleyball.
Please take one minute to complete this survey. In return, you can download a free bonus to improve serve receive mental preparation: