Build Volleyball Mental Toughness Improve Skills By Training With Guys

Playing and practicing against male volleyball players helps you develop volleyball mental toughness quickly. Here's how. 

Playing and practicing against male volleyball players helps you develop volleyball mental toughness quickly.


When I get asked by female players how to improve your volleyball mental toughness one of my first suggestions is for female players to do their workouts and trainings with guy players whenever they can. 

If there's a way to work out with the boys volleyball team or to pepper with one of the guys on the team that's an excellent way to speed up your skill development process.


This is not a suggestion I'm making up just for you.

I adopted this way of doing my workouts throughout my entire career.


Every chance I got as a high school player, a college player and a professional beach player I tried to find a way to practice or do some part of my drill training with a guys team that was in the gym or in the same city or in my neighborhood.

Here's what I did as well.

In my free time, I would go to the city park and play with the guys who would show up for the open gym for their practice sessions, for games or to do ball handling drills

Yes, often I was the only girl, and the guys were bigger than I was, but time after time I found the best pepper partners--the best volleyball workout partners were guys who hit harder and faster which forced me to have to stay low in defense in order to dig their hard hits so my defense abilities improved at a faster rate.

  • forced me to stay low in defense in order to dig their hard hits so my defense abilities and reading abilities improved at a faster rate
  • forced me to read their arm swing so I could quickly look for clues that would help me anticipate where they were going to hit the ball


Best of all, playing defense against hard hitters 

  • helped me develop volleyball mental toughness and confidence about digging balls that were hit right at me without a block


Even before my high school volleyball workout, during recess if my other friends hadn't organized any pick up games then I would organize some and I would ask my guy friends to play first.


Why Did I Choose To Develop My Volleyball Mental Toughness By Playing With and Against Guys? 


First because my motivation to improve my volleyball skills was super high.

I wanted to compete for a college scholarship, I wanted to make varsity and be on the starting team and I wanted to travel to Europe and play professionally. 

I had set those goals for myself when I was a sophomore in high school and I knew in order to accomplish these goals the levels of my volleyball mental toughness had to be high.  

I had to build confidence while going through some tough training in order to accomplish my goals and I was prepared to put myself in or create tough situations for myself so those "tough" situations would become normal. 

I found that I was challenged more by surrounding myself with guys that were physically bigger than I was.

Practicing with them helped me develop confidence in my abilities. 

When guys play volleyball they don't give you time to doubt your abilities.

Especially in high school volleyball its all about competing to get as many touches on the ball as possible.




Guys just want to compete during their workouts or practices or games or competition. They don't do a lot of self analysis like girls tend to do.  

So, when I was playing with the fellas I learned to compete too. That was the best part of learning how to develop my volleyball mental toughness skills. 

What I got from from working out and training with the guys wasn't necessarily a technical knowledge of the game.

But three of the most important things I did learn was 

  • how to have a competitive attitude
  • how to fight for a point 
  • how to be scrappy in defense on the court



It became very important for me not to let a ball fall anywhere on the ground around me.

If a ball did drop without me going for it or making a move to try and get it up while practicing with guys, the fellas did not let me forget about the fact that I didn't try my hardest. 

To avoid hearing them make fun of me for not going for a ball...I learned to go for every ball that was hit towards me general area.

That made me a better defensive player. 



Varsity Girl Guide
Where To Go From Here


Where do you need to go now? Here are three options: 

  1. Learn more about The Volleyball Girl by checking the links in Related Links section.
  2. Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page  (Sitemap)
  3. Or visit the pages in the How To Play Volleyball section in the drop down menu at the top of the page.


You might like these articles about high school varsity volleyball

  • Improve Your Volleyball Performance With Private Volleyball Coach April Chapple
  •  ›
  • Six High School Varsity Volleyball Skills That Top Prep Players Crush
  • Build Volleyball Mental Toughness Improve Skills By Training With Guys
  •  ›

    New! Comments

    Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.

    What Are You Looking For?

     

    Hi there!

    Thanks for stopping by. Hope you learned something today that will help you reach your volleyball goals.

    Be sure to subscribe to my email newsletter so you can learn more each week!

    Stay strong! Stay motivated!

    -Coach April

    SUSCRIBE

    to my email newsletter below!


    Get Christmas volleyball shopping for your favorite beach/indoor player done early this year!
    Click to Shop!



    Recent Articles

    1. Hot Tips, Strategies And Responsibilities for Setters In Volleyball

      Mar 27, 24 11:37 PM

      pac12stanfordsetterrunningaplaybymichaelejohnston.jpg
      Setting Success Unlocked: Essential training tips for setters in volleyball who need to know how to quickly and successfully improve their setting technique

      Read More

    2. A Volleyball Passing Guide On How To Improve Volleyball Bumping Skills

      Mar 27, 24 05:51 AM

      Bump a volleyball
      Volleyball passing is the way to contact the ball with your forearms to guide it to your setter or over the net so developing a good forearm pass is crucial.

      Read More

    3. Improve Your Volleyball Forearm Pass With My Five Ball Control Tips

      Mar 27, 24 05:10 AM

      volleyball forearm pass
      Learn about these five volleyball forearm pass tips that will help you get the ball to your setter consistently while your team is on serve receive in a rally.

      Read More