Middle school vball tryouts: What will we be doing? Will coach be looking for a particular height?

Question
I WOULD LIKE TO TRY OUT FOR VOLLEYBALL IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT WOULD YOU DO THE DAY OF TRYOUTS. aND CAN YOU BE AND SHAPE OR SIZES BECAUSE I WEIGHT 136 POUNDS AND I AM TALL AND I REALLY WANT TO PLAY VOLLEYBALL

Answer
Good afternoon and welcome to www.coachhouser.com!  It's great to hear from you!  A few years ago, I wrote an article to coaches about how I run a middle school tryout.  Here is part of it below.  When you see the 2nd set of ~~~~~," that's when I'll answer your 2nd question.

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Coach:
I run tryouts as if they're practices.  

I think especially in middle school, if you don't use tryouts to teach passing, serving and setting and start work on your offense/defense, then your first match will be right around the corner and your team will be more unprepared than it should be.  Yeah, the first several matches for every team will look like chaotic, I'm sure.  But I抦 also positive that the team who is the least chaotic will win.

Here are the 5 activities that you should cover each day.  (I抦 writing the following assuming you抣l have a typical middle school team:  mostly made up of rookies.)

1) PASSING.    Show them how to pass..........no swing, no poke, just still arms & use the lower body.   Don抰 forget the new rules厖they抮e allowed to use their hands to serve receive now!  So let them try it.  But, lifts are still illegal!

2) SERVING.    Show them how to underhand serve.  I encourage you to say, "No EVERYONE will learn this.  We'll start overhand serving at the end of the week."  Many games can be won at the middle school level by merely serving the ball in the court!  So let抯 make sure we can do that!!

3) SPIKE APPROACH.   Show them a spike approach, but only spend a few minutes a day on it.  They can learn it at home if they抮e so motivated.  I discovered that chocolate at the end of the week works out great, but only IF EVERYONE can properly do a spike approach 3 consecutive times.

4) OFFENSE/DEFENSE.  Go over this about 15 minutes a day.  4-2?  5-1?  6-6?  (whoever's in the "3" is the setter! haha) 1 blocker up?  (that's what my 14's junior team did for 2 entire years)  3 blockers up?  front row switching?  back row switching also?  How about this:  3 contacts?  haha.  How you play your offense & defense will be decided by the talent level of your girls.  

5) COMPETITIONS.    Here's where you can really have some fun.  Relay race serving, pass to targets etc.  They can be timed, or they can last until x number of targets, or, what's GREAT for youngsters, "this drill is over as soon as a team can underhand serve 20 times (not in a row, just 20 total!) w/o dropping or tossing the ball.  I don't even care where the serve goes."   Then two days later, "20 serves in the court, and if you drop or toss, the serve doesn't count," then a week later, "Your team gets 1 big point each time an individual can serve 3 in the court in a row.   Eight big points and the drill is over.  If you drop/toss, your attempt is over."   Similar progressions can also be done with passing, setting, spike approach, etc.  

After 3 or 4 or 5 days, you can whittle your team down to 10 or 12 or 15, and then continue onward and upward!!  

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Now you ask what ht/wt is the coach looking for?  Of course, tall girls are nice to have.  But, this is what I type to coaches.

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COACH:  WHO ARE THE FIRST KIDS THAT YOU扡L KEEP ON YOUR TEAM?
Look for girls who have those special qualities:  good attitudes, willing to sacrifice, love of the sport, commitment, hard work, spirit, has fun, smiling, helping teammates.  Those are the girls you want to keep!   If they're good athletes, that's gravy.  But regardless of their athletic ability, you抣l have a nucleus of kids who will bust their butt for you and for the team!    And you抣l have a great season!!

Remember coaches:  
Don抰 judge a season by how many you win,
But by how much you hate to see it end.

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Thank you for visiting www.allexperts.com.  I hope that you have great summer and a great tryout next fall.  Please visit my website at www.coachhouser.com!!  You'll see a lot of smiling faces!