The split step is something I was never taught

Have you ever considered why you just stand still on your float serve reception?

THE SPLIT STEP - Does it really matter?

I will be very honest about my journey as a passer - as my life, career depends on me being as simple/optimized/consistent as possible.

I was always taught to be still. But being still, left me getting aced on short jump serves and short float serves alike in my 1st season in Poland - I needed to find a better way, as I wasn't going to increase my speed over night.

While writing the Passing Course, I realized that there was another way to split.. the 1 footed split step - I had never heard about this before nor seen it before watching Damian Wojtaszek and Michal Ruciak who play in the Polish Plus-Liga (where I am playing now)

Ready to go all in?

The 'old' way

On float serves I would stay still, wait and then move. it’s exactly what I see in 99% of NCAA women’s receivers.

It’s the old way of doing things, it’s not wrong, it’s not right but as with everything I write about – I’ll tell you what I’ve found watching, studying, analyzing the best receivers in the world and what I’ve felt as I’ve incorporated them into my game.

In staying completely still on my float serve reception for the past two years, I passed great! I was passing floats at a high level but when I had my scout coach create a montage of only my negative receptions I saw a consistent theme – an assumption step into the wrong seam.

I had a decision to make.

Fast forward to 2021 pre-season - it was go time! Time to re-wire my subconscious and incorporate a 1-footed split step into my float approach.

You can too!

Imagine balance and speed

What I found… was astonishing, I was considerably quicker than ever before – even at the ripe age of 35. I was able to get to short balls in a balanced position, I was even able to prevent teams trying to pick off our back row.

I was able to improve my first step and my ability to pass balls outside my body due to 3 simples adjustments

Time my split step correctly – being in the air as the server touched the ball.

A conscious distinction in tracking the ball and figuring out if the ball was heading straight for me, to my left, to my right or if it was a short serve while the ball was 3-8 feet from the server’s hand

If my distinction said (left or right) I would only land on the opposite foot, using it to push towards the ball.

Stop playing the game you love with anxiety and shame

I am meticulous of how I think about the Libero position, so you can be more confident and play the sport you love with more joy.

I've spent the last 13 years devoting my life to getting 1-2% better each day and the last 3 years writing and creating videos for liberos to level up faster - which has helped me tremendously as a current professional libero, still playing in Poland.

The feedback was so strong from the Passing and Digging Course that in became clear that I could go deeper in providing step by step drills to teach/learn the concepts that I was talking about as well as bring in other professional liberos to share their journey.

You deserve a mentor, who knows your journey and the frustration and anxiety that is more than natural.

It’s time to take your game to the next level by adding the clarity and training intentions of a professional athlete.

If you’re a libero who eats, sleeps, dreams volleyball, then click the button to get started!

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