My Favorite Player

By Alexander Ketrzynski In the article, "My Favorite Player," written for USA Volleyball, John Kessel lists sixteen attributes of his favorite player. Every quality or action listed by Kessel is worth repeating, but I will stick to the ones that stand out the most for me. I urge a complete reading of the article by both coaches and athletes. ... More

Keeping Teammates Accountable

By Alexander Ketrzynski I've lost track, but in my sixteen-plus years of playing volleyball, including, one year of being on an Olympic team, I've only played on two or three exceptional teams which truly reached their full potential. I've also assisted only a few teams which, I thought, reached their full potential. Win or lose, my participa... More
GTA Premier League Girls Volleyball League in Mississauga

Pakmen’s Girls and Boys Volleyball Leagues Soar

Pakmen's advanced volleyball leagues, the GTA Premier League for girls and Pakmen Plus for boys, continue to grow and prosper. This past weekend our Fall Championship was held at Canlan Sportsplex and Mississauga Secondary School and the results were impressive. Hundreds of youth participated for medals and prizes and the level of play was ... More
Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson

With a Coach Who Pulls Teeth to Relax, Iceland Becomes a Contender

By Alexander Ketrzynski In her article for the New York Times, entitled, "With a Coach Who Pulls Teeth to Relax, Iceland Becomes a Contender," Sarah Lyall writes about Heimir Hallgrimsson, who coached Iceland, the smallest country ever to qualify for the World Cup of soccer. Hallgrimsson's team achieved an astounding finish of having reached ... More
Mississauga Secondary School wins Junior and Senior Volleyball ROPSSAA titles

Mississauga Secondary School wins Junior and Senior ROPSSAA titles

Mississauga Secondary School Lions successfully 'defended the den' while hosting the junior and senior boys ROPSSAA boys volleyball championships recently. Facing a the local rival St. Marcellinus Catholic Secondary School in both matches, the Lions were able to capture both titles, 3 sets to 0. The Lions have won the Ontario Championships ... More

It’s Not the Drills

By Alexander Ketrzynski BJ LeRoy contributed an article, “It’s Not the Drills,” to John Kessel's Growing the Game blog. In it he observes that many coaches are always on the lookout for the special drill that will solve their problems. LeRoy states, “It’s not the drills.” “There is no magic.” The top coaches, in fact, use ... More
Girls volleyball players practicing with their coach

How to Make Drills That Work For Your Team

By Alexander Ketrzynski Tom Tait is recognized as the founding father of both the men’s and women’s Penn State volleyball programs. His article, “How to Make Drills That Work For Your Team,” provides great advice for coaches looking to improve their teams by finding the perfect drills to do the job. Coach Tait points out that since ... More
Pakmen volleyball libero huddling with volleyball team

Libero Volleyball Tips

Libero is a volleyball player who plays a very important role on the court. Libero occupies a back row position on the court and he/she is responsible for defence. It’s fair to say that the job of a libero is all about receiving serves, digging hits and making passes. In fact, being a libero is not easy. A digger should aim to dig successfu... More
Mississauga School wins Provincial Middle School Volleyball Title

Mississauga School wins Provincial Middle School Volleyball Title

Volleyball is alive and well in Mississauga as Mississauga's David Leeder Middle School recently won the Provincial Cup - the Ontario Middle School Volleyball Championships. Competing against 32 schools across the province David Leeder went 5-1 in pool play, losing only to Armadale Public School of Toronto. But the two schools met again in the ... More
Boys volleyball players practicing to hit a ball

How Long Should You Practice?

By Alexander Ketrzynski Mark Lebedew makes some valuable observations for coaches in his blog post, "How Long Should You Practice?" Lebedew states that most coaches "want to train more" and they feel that "training is the the solution to all preformance problems." As junior club coaches we yearn for more time with our players, but we are ... More