Volleyball requires mass explosion, which is why Stanford University's assistant S&C coach Devan McConnell works the nationally ranked Cardinal team with plyometrics.
"The ability to create force [into the ground] sets apart the great from the good," he says. "Plyometrics are a great tool to increase that ability, because it teaches the body to rapidly put force into the ground, resulting in a quicker, more powerful movement, whether that be vertical, lateral, forward or backward."
Here's McDonnell's plyo advice to have you exploding into the starting lineup.
Do
Plyos four days a week in the off-season
Develop stability and learn proper jumping and landing mechanics first
Plyo work after your warm-up, before strength training
Three sets of five reps of each exercise
Upper body exercises for active rest between sets lasting two to three minutes
Complement your plyo work with strength training
Don't
Train with plyos during the season
Use more than one plyo exercise per session
Use a high volume of sets and reps
Perform a set until you're fully recovered
Rush through your reps
Perform plyos to condition
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