March 14, 2024 | Tagged Skills,
Building Stamina on and off the Volleyball Court
Volleyball requires stamina. Find out in this article all about stamina and how it can help you improve your volleyball skills and leadership on and off the court.
What is stamina?
It's a word that means “power to resist or recover; strength and endurance.” In modern sports terminology, stamina is the maximum level of energy devoted. For example, stamina allows you to do your 10th pushup with the same level of energy as your first.
How does stamina differ from endurance?
Stamina is about quality and endurance is about quantity. How many pushups you can do is endurance, how many maximum effort pushups is stamina.
Why does stamina matter for volleyball?
Stamina is important for volleyball because the quality of your game can deteriorate without it. Those athletes with lower stamina may start out playing well but become fatigued as the game continues compromising the quality of their execution.
Why does stamina matter for school or work?
Imagine two people reading books. One is reading an 8th grade level book, and one is reading a master's level book. Endurance is how long they read, stamina is the intensity and difficulty of that read. Part of elevating our performance in the classroom or at work is the ability not only to get our work finished but also do so with excellence. If you aren’t pushing to the edges of your ability, you are not growing your academic or work stamina. One of the best and most effective ways to build this kind of stamina is to read material that is just beyond your comfort level. If what you read doesn’t push your mind to work, then find something more challenging.
How to build volleyball stamina
Stamina is maximum energy. The problem is that energy is finite. It will diminish the more that you expend, but you can learn to build and conserve your energy to give maximum effort when you need it the most. Check out some of the best players of the game; they excel at stamina. When other players let down, their skills are as perfect as when they started. They get stronger under pressure.
Building stamina requires two important processes
- Improving maximum intensity
- Rest and recovery
How to improve maximum intensity
1. Set a goal beforehand. Hold the number in your mind, or better yet, write it down.
2. Reset mentally on each rep and imagine doing it as well as possible.
3. Imagine pushing past your plateau and reaching a bit further.
4. Give yourself a small mental or physical break to catch your breath and then go as hard as you can.
5. Stay positive. The moment you begin to slide into shame or self-disappointment, you lose the benefit of the work. Keep your mind grateful.
6. Give yourself grace. Being kind keeps you in the game. When we are too hard on ourselves, we are likely to give up.
7. Have people help you whether it’s saying, “One more rep,” or, “Dig deep!” You will push harder when you are with others.
Stamina during practice
Much of volleyball stamina is your mental discipline and how you talk to yourself. Keep your energy high by being mentally buoyant, positive, and speaking the energy you want to see. “I dig deep, I love to work hard, I get better under pressure.” These statements energize your body.
Be disciplined to stay out of what robs your energy such as comparison, focusing too much on the coaches, flights of ego and visions of adulation. Stay humble, stay hungry and put your energy where it matters most. If you are trying to prove yourself, you are wasting valuable energy.
Stamina is created as we push past baseline. Just like in weight training, you increase the weight, or you increase the rep. The same is true for any part of life, you increase the challenge, or you increase the repetition.
Stamina during the game
With the length of most games, you shouldn’t be getting fatigued. If you are getting winded, make this a high priority to correct. Sports researchers show that stamina is your ability to get oxygen to your muscles. When you are out of breath, you will struggle with the intensity of your vertical jump and lateral speed.
Mental Stamina
One top professional athlete had an elementary coach instill the power of mental stamina into him at an early age. His coach taught that mental stamina was far more important to master because it preceded physical stamina. If you have mental stamina, you can develop the stamina you need for any life endeavor.
Anyone who competes with the very best athletes will find they have world-class mental stamina. They get tougher in difficulty, they push harder when it matters most, they put in the hours to back their ambition, and every execution is at the highest level.
Your mental stamina during volleyball club season is one of the most important aspects of your game to develop.
- What mindset do you bring to practice each day?
- How do you maintain peace when life is busy or painful?
- How do you keep mentally buoyant when you find yourself under pressure?
These disciplines are your daily tasks.
Hey NBC student-athletes,
We love that you go look to start volleyball club season, you come ready to learn, serve, and discover what is needed to be your best. Guard your heart and your mind from anything that robs it such as fear, jealousy, bitterness, or comparison. You are a miracle with a powerful life and each day is a gift that you get to live. Your greatest strength is gratitude. Find stamina in giving thanks.
About NBC Volleyball
NBC Volleyball started in 1979 and is in Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, California, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. To find out more about camp visit www.nbcvolleyball.com.