Hey, what's up you guys? Welcome back to my channel. My name is Coach Covill and I love volleyball. So much so my channels fill with tips, tricks, hacks and anything you could ever need to know about volleyball. So today, I want to give you 10 things that you need to know before you start playing volleyball. I know on my channel a lot we talk about when you're playing, how to play, what to do, tips, tricks, all of that, but I want to talk about things you need to know before, especially since a lot of things are starting to clear up if you know what I mean and people are starting to think about going back into the court. So let's get right into it. So if you don't already know, my name is Coco and I'm here on YouTube to help you learn how to play volleyball. I've been here a long time and my channel's filled with different tips and tricks that you can use in order to become the best player that you want to be. So today, I'm going to talk about 10 things that you need to know before you start playing. And number one, these are not in any particular order, but number one is super, super important. And what that is is do not buy all of your volleyball equipment before you start playing. And let me tell you why. A lot of the time I see a lot of players who get really excited about learning how to play volleyball. And then they go and they go to dig sporting goods or different stores and they buy all of the volleyball equipment, the shoes, the ball, the jersey, the spandex, all of that just to find out that either their team is in a different color. They got their wrong shoe. The shoe doesn't work well. They don't want to play volleyball anymore. And then their parents or themselves are out of a lot of money. I highly suggest you wait until you either make the team, you find a recreational team or if you find if it's really your thing. Now, not everybody who plays volleyball, if they find out that it's their thing, you might like softball, you might like tennis, you might like art, you might like music, anything like that. But I highly suggest that when you first start playing, not to buy all of your equipment from the jump because I don't want you to waste money. But at the same time, I do want you to be prepared. So if you are joining like a recreational volleyball league or something like that, then yes, invest in some volleyball shoes. But if you're wanting to become a volleyball player and you're only practicing at home right now, don't go and spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars in equipment yet until you know if it's your thing. Number two, not practicing before you try out for a team. So a lot of the times I see a lot of players who email me and say, hey, go, go, I'm really looking forward to trying out for a team. I want to play. I'm new. I don't know anything. And I always tell them work on your basic skills, work on your passing, your setting, your serving, your digging, your spiking, all of that kind of stuff before you get there because it gives you that foundation of knowledge that you need before you start playing on a team. And I love them. They're like, wow, I really need to know all of that before I start playing. Yes, I think that it's great to have just a foundation. Now I'm not saying you got to go and be like, Hanata or anything like that. But I think that you should have a foundation of knowledge to learn how to play. So when a coach starts working with you, they can go ahead and start building on what you are. Number three, start working on conditioning. So for those who have never played a sport before, conditioning might be a term that you might not be too familiar with. Conditioning is the art of working on your stamina endurance. And I don't want to say the phrase get in shape because I think any shape can play volleyball or any sport and do anything. So let's talk about working on our stamina and endurance and doing something that makes us feel good. Conditioning is important because on the volleyball court, things can get tiring, especially if you're in a long rally and you're kind of just in it and keeps going and keeps going and keeps going and you're tired and you're like, oh, this is going on forever. The better stamina endurance that you have, the better chance you have to perform well. So working on conditioning is extremely important. Actually on my channel, I'm going to start doing more conditioning and health related content on Mondays. So that way, we can talk about all the aspects of being a player, not just how to play, how to spike how to serve, but how to feel good and be good while doing it. Number four, meeting the coach. We talked about this a lot. In every video when I talk about what you need to know for your volleyball team, I always talk about meeting the coach. Meeting the coach is so extremely important, especially if you're new to the game and you've never played before. By introducing yourself to the coach, it gives them the opportunity to know number one, you're coachable, number two, you're serious, and number three, you're really looking for it to playing. It doesn't have to be something that's so nerve-wracking. You don't have to just come up and go, hi, hi coach, my name is Ashley and I, you don't have to do anything like that. It can just be, hey coach, my name is Ashley and I'm really looking forward to playing. Thanks for having to try out. Something just like that simple, short and sweet can get the coaches eye on you because you have to remember. Sometimes if you get to bigger school, you got a lot of people trying out and you know, you want to stand out in the crowd. This is why I say we're a brighter shirt. But sometimes you guys a lot of people trying out and you want them to notice you, introducing yourself as something that sometimes they don't expect and it can really give you an edge lean forward. For five, understanding the positions. Now, don't mean you need to know exactly the entire rotation unless you're trying out for a competitive team, but understanding positions. That means understanding what does an opposite do, what is an outside do, what does a middle blocker do, what does a libero do, things like that. So that way when the coach is using those terms at that practice or that try up, you don't feel overwhelmed and you're like, I don't even know what an opposite is. I don't even know what a middle blocker is. You kind of have the understanding of what those positions are and you have a better chance of knowing exactly what they're talking about because believe me, I've been there when the coach was at tryouts and she was like, okay, everybody get into rotation one, everybody talk about the outside is going to do this and I'm just sitting there like, I don't know what it's you even said. I want you to be able to kind of understand and recognize some of those terms and if you want me to make a terms related video, I can do that for you. Next time, number six, make sure to watch some footage. Now, I think that watching volleyball online is a great thing to do because it can show you some of the quirks and nuances of other players and you can kind of see some of the other players' style of play and better understand your own style of play. So one of us watching collegiate volleyball games, professional volleyball games, or middle school and high school volleyball games, but I heed this warning. When you do watch professional or collegiate volleyball games, please don't get overwhelmed. Sometimes when we watch those kind of games, we can feel like our skills aren't good enough or we can feel intimidated because we're like, I don't do that that well. You know, I want you to remember that those players also started from the beginning. They were you at one point in time. They put a lot of work and effort into where they are now. It would may have been years of dedication, years of training, so don't feel like you have to strive and achieve to be that level your first year, your second year heck your even your tenth year. I just want you to understand that before you start watching those games because sometimes that can happen. Number seven, join a recreational team. The YMCA is a great place to look for recreational teams or your recreational center in your area. So what you can do is you go to Google and you type in volleyball, right team near me, and what that can help you do is find a place where you can learn how to get your hand on the ball and get some net time. I think it's important for everybody to get net time when they first start playing because there was no better way to learn how to play volleyball than getting in it. So I think that getting in a wreck team would be on the weekends one day a week is a great time for you to practice those skills that you were learning. You remember in step what step was that in step two. So I want you to do that. Number eight, understanding the rules a little bit. So this is different than understanding the positions. What I need to understand the rules, I want you to work on what does a bump mean, what can how many serves can I have in the net. I want you to work on all those kinds of thing. Referee calls. I want you to work on what counts as inner out. What does it mean when somebody gets what is a double, what is a carry, things like that. Those underlying rules. So that way once again when the coach is talking about things you have a better understanding. Number nine, which is so important. Which is learn confidence. And I mean confidence in you. We have to remember that when you're trying something new, it is not always going to be easy. It is not. And that's with anything in line, not just volleyball, but anything in life. It is not always easy. And we have to remember that even though it's not always easy, we have to keep trying. And when I mean confidence, I want you to be confident enough in yourself to try. You don't have to be perfect in my life. I've had times in my life where I felt like I had to be perfect. And it's hindered me. And I have to say, you can't let fear hold you back. You really can't. And one of the things to do that is to start believing in yourself and take it one step at a time. Whether that's going to one practice or just showing up and watching, that's a step. Realize that every step is a step in the direction of your goals. Number 10, height does not matter. Now some people might find this controversial and say, of course, Coco, height matters. Volume up players are all tall. They're all tall. You have to be tall the better and the taller the better. You know, some people might find that controversial, but I'm going to still say height doesn't matter because some of the greatest players I've ever played within my life who didn't play college, who didn't play in high school, who didn't play in middle school, who didn't play Frank expensive fancy club team. They are on the shorter side. Our fantastic players. And I stand by that. I think that throughout our society, we have, I don't want to go into huge spiel, but I feel like throughout our society, we have this preconception that volleyball is, this is volleyball and this is volleyball and that's only volleyball, but that's not true. Volleyball is playing in so many different aspects in so many different areas with so many different people. And I just want you to remember that even if you don't play on a school team, even if you don't play in college, even if you don't play in a traditional volleyball setting for still playing volleyball. And that's what this channel is about and that's what volleyball is about. It's a great sport to play. Great place to meet people, great place to meet some new friends, to socialize to working your stamina endurance. Remember, we're not going to say get it shape. We're going different things in your life on the court. So I think that height doesn't matter and I also think size doesn't matter. It doesn't. I play volleyball when I was heavier, when I was fit, when I was really really skinny at different phases of my life. And I still enjoy it the same. So I really hope that you like this video. I hope that it gave you some tips on things you should know before you start playing volleyball and you can take those tips to heart. I'm always open to video suggestions, leave them in the comments below. And if you didn't already know on my website, cookoholey.com, I have blog posts talking about some more volleyball topics that you can look into, especially if I haven't posted a video recently. And I'm on TikTok where I post quick tips and volleyball tricks. All right, I hope that you like this video. Please like, comment, subscribe. And I will see you guys next time.