Players communicating during volleyball

Communication in Volleyball

By Allison Douglas Every volleyball athlete has experienced that moment on the court where a ball drops in the middle of two people and they just look at each other. Then we wonder why it happened in the first place. It’s not like anyone wanted to lose the point, so why did we lose a point off of something as simple as a free ball landing in ... More

Common Injuries of Volleyball Players

Today, there are two types of volleyball sports – indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. It’s important to know that both indoor and beach volleyball have been introduced to the Summer Olympic Games. Despite the fact that beach volleyball is relatively new sport, it is actively developing and has quickly risen in popularity. Like many ... More

Pakmen team winning

The Beautiful Game of Volleyball Serves up Many of Life’s Lessons

For years, many Canadians have looked upon volleyball as a peripheral sport for the "not quite gifted enough," or the "play it safe" athlete. Not good enough to excel in basketball. Not macho, or aggressive enough, to make it in hockey, or football. But peoples' perceptions are changing. It won't all happen overnight, but gradually, more ... More

Another Talentless NBA All-Star Weekend…

By Asad Raza Down at the ACC centre recently, the NBA held one of its most prestigious events, the 2016 all-star game. For a full 48 minutes, the best players in the league raced up and down the court performing massive dunks and spectacular alley-oop plays in front of the thousands of cheering basketball fans. It was a truly spectacular ... More

How to be a Good Teammate

By Allison Douglas Ms. Pakmen 14u Volleyball is one of the greatest team sports of all time, but what exactly makes a good teammate? There are many different opinions on this topic.  After playing for a few years now, both beach and indoor, I have seen some incredible chemistry between players that has ultimately led to great success.  Each ... More

What Not To Say

by Orest Stanko There are some statements that you might want to reconsider uttering either as an athlete or as a coach. These phrases or comments can often be interpreted as self-absorbed, demeaning and fundamentally have no real, constructive value. They can have a significant, detrimental effect on both individual performance and the overall ... More

Hernan Humana of Pakmen Volleyball

Pakmen coach truly ‘Played Under The Gun’ for Chile during Pinochet’s rule

By DAVID WINER Canadians attempted in vein to choke back the flow of tears when the first planeload of exhausted, yet grateful, Syrian refugees were welcomed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Mississauga's Pearson International Airport late Thursday (Dec. 10) night. It was an early Christmas present for this country, knowing that our ... More

Pakmen Volleyball Coach Orest Stanko

Lines and Push-Ups and Burpees, Oh My!

by Orest Stanko Pretty much any coach with minimal experience and in any sport can prepare and run a physically demanding practice. In the sport of volleyball classic drills such as volley to your partner than run back and touch the wall or figure-eight passing drills around a set of cones were de rigueur when I was learning how to play. ... More

Mizuno gum rubber sole of volleyball shoes

Volleyball Shoes for Indoor Volleyball

Choosing the perfect pair of shoes for indoor volleyball can be a very tough task especially for those people who have never done this before. Obviously, your objective is to pick the best pair of volleyball shoes that will perfectly correspond to your needs. In fact, you need to take into consideration many factors when choosing shoes for indoor ... More

Reid hall volleyball nutrition banner

Volleyball Nutrition 101

By: Reid Hall Strength and Conditioning Coach theathletematrix.com Most volleyball players have a hard time understanding how important nutrition is on performance because they have NEVER had a healthy diet. An athlete with a bad diet is like owning an expensive car, giving it the lowest grade fuel and not taking it in for regular oil checks, ... More