September Semiprivate Sessions Sale- Get ready for club season with Coach April

September Semiprivate Sessions Sale- Get ready for club season with Coach April

Perfect Volleyball Platform: Make Your Passes Go Where You Want

I spent years with wonky passes until I learned this one platform secret. Here's how to fix yours—with the help of my volleyball platform checklist.

Every great passer in volleyball history learned one thing first—how to make a perfect platform. (Texas libero volleyball passing the seams step left and freeze the platform Ralph Aversen.)

You practice passing drills religiously.

You can receive serves when there's no pressure.

But when game situations demand consistent, accurate passes to your setter?

Your platform breaks down, balls fly everywhere, and coaches lose trust in your serve receive.

Every great passer in volleyball history learned one thing first—how to make a perfect platform. Every bad pass that flies over the net, every ball that goes out of bounds, every weak pass that doesn't get to your setter—they all happen because of "platform problems" that you can fix once you know how.

If your athlete struggles with consistent serve receive, gets subbed out, or is overlooked for playing time—this is the fix you’ve been looking for.

Struggling with passing consistency?

I help talented passers tired of getting pulled from games because of inconsistent serve receive skills  BUILD passing confidence without expensive private lessons using the same 3-step system that's helped dozens of my athletes get recruited.

Download my eBook for $17.99 and start building the passing confidence that keeps you on the court—and gets you seen by college coaches.

Here's the basic truth:

Every great passer in volleyball history learned one thing first—how to make a perfect platform.

Every bad pass

• that flies over the net, 
• every ball that goes out of bounds, 
• every weak pass that doesn't get to your setter—they all happen because of "platform problems" that you can fix once you know how.

Stop chasing your platform. Start controlling it.

You work on passing all the time. You can make good passes when the ball comes right to you. But when serves come at weird angles, different speeds, and with spin? Your platform falls apart, and you're back to hoping you get lucky instead of knowing you can handle it.

You work on passing all the time.

You can make good passes when the ball comes right to you.

But when serves come at weird angles, different speeds, and with spin?

Your platform falls apart, and you're back to hoping you get lucky instead of knowing you can handle it.

Here's what I learned during my record-breaking career:

Getting good at your platform isn't just about where you put your hands—it's about "building something solid" that works no matter what, against any serve, in any big moment.

Does this sound like you?

• Your platform feels different every time you make it
• Balls hit your platform but go everywhere except where you want
• You can't get passes to go to your setter consistently
• Your platform breaks when serves come hard or the pressure is on
• You watch other players make passing look easy while you fight with yours

Want to know the difference? They figured out their platform. You haven't yet.

Does this sound familiar?

• Your platform feels different every time you form it
• Balls contact your platform but go in random directions
• You can't consistently direct passes to your target
• Your platform breaks down under pressure or against hard serves
• You watch other players make passing look effortless while you struggle

Guess what? Platform mastery is exactly what separates them from you.

Hi, I'm April Chapple—and platform mastery was the foundation of everything I achieved.

Lady Vol volleyball legend and record holder Coach April Chapple a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hall of Fame Inductee, 3-time All American, 3-time SEC Champion, SEC Tournament MVP, 2-time All SEC Team is celebrated with her 1984 SEC champion teammates at Neyland Stadium during Champions Weekend on November 1-2, 2024.

My Platform-Powered Career

On November 1-2, 2024, I was honored at University of Tennessee's Champion's Weekend for our 1984 SEC championship.

What made my career possible wasn't just serving—it was the platform skills that made me a complete six-rotation player.

My platform-based achievements:

• Only six-rotation starter to win 3 SEC championships in 4 years**—required elite passing skills
• 3-time All-American** who excelled in both front and back row
• USA National Team member** competing against world-class servers
• Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee** recognized for complete volleyball skills
• International professional player** in Italy's top division

This formula helped me set career and All-Time records that still exist today in the volleyball serve aces category at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. 

The Volleyball Serve- Career Aces Record at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. In the Career Aces Records I rank as #2 overall with a total of 244 aces and I went to school from 1981 to 1984 and that record still stands. http://tennesseevolleyball.net/statistics/career.php?stat=sa

The Good Volleyball Serve- In the Univ of Tennessee, Knoxville single season records for "Season Aces per Set" I hold the #3 (.65), #5 (.56) and #7 (.53) positions in the top ten spots in the rankings.

The platform philosophy behind this success:

Perfect platform formation creates the foundation for every other volleyball skill. Master this, and everything else becomes possible.

Playing in Italy's D-I FIPAV championship finals alongside 4-time Olympian Paula Weishoff taught me that European volleyball demands platform perfection—you can't survive against world-class servers without unshakeable fundamentals.

What I discovered:

The best passers in the world make platform formation look automatic because they've mastered the systematic approach to consistent technique.

USA National Team players outside hitter April Chapple with 4-time Olympian, Silver and Bronze medalist middle blocker Paula Weishoff and Italian National Team member opposite hitter Cristina Boselli, during the A-1 Division I championship finals (finale dello scudetto) playing for Braglia Cucina Reggio Emilia against 5-time champion Teodora Ravenna. All of us in a serve receive ready position with right foot slightly forward, shoulders over knees and knees slightly bent ready to move in any direction

Unlike traditional volleyball states where platform fundamentals pass through generations, Las Vegas players often develop inconsistent habits without systematic foundation training.

I moved here specifically to change that—teaching the platform mastery that transforms athletic ability into consistent passing excellence.

15+ years developing platform excellence with Squad VBC, Vegas Volley, and Tstreet Vegas:

Elite Platform Masters I've Developed:

- USA National Team member Kami Miner (Stanford setter)—started mastering platform fundamentals at age 12

- Gatorade Player of the Year Sydney Berenyi (Silverado)—built college recruitment on platform consistency

- Two-time Gatorade Player of the Year Tommi Stockham (Bishop Gorman)—dominated with platform precision

- BYU starters Kate Prior & Sierra Orton (Boulder City)—used platform mastery for 3 state championships

Struggling Approach:

Randomly wrap hands together and hope for the best

Mastery Approach:

Systematic fist-wrapping technique with precise thumb positioning

The Foundation Secret:

Make fist with right hand, wrap left hand around it, press thumbs side-by-side pointing straight down

My championship method:

I practiced 50 platform formations daily, checking hand position in a mirror to build perfect muscle memory.

I tell my players:

Your hands create the foundation. If the foundation is wrong, everything else fails.

How Do You Create Your Platform? By wrapping your left hand around your right fist, with your thumbs pointing straight down to the ground. Mastery Approach: Systematic fist-wrapping technique with precise thumb positioning The Foundation Secret: Make fist with right hand, wrap left hand around it, press thumbs side-by-side pointing straight down

Freeze platform on contact with rigid wrist and forearm control The Stability Secret: Press wrists together firmly, never separate during contact, maintain platform shape under pressure

Struggling Approach:

Platform moves and adjusts during ball contact

Mastery Approach:

Freeze platform on contact with rigid wrist and forearm control

The Stability Secret:

Press wrists together firmly, never separate during contact, maintain platform shape under pressure

Record-setting insight:

I practiced platform freeze drills where partners would push against my platform while I maintained perfect formation and angle.

What I teach:

"Platform stability isn't about strength—it's about systematic positioning and mental discipline."

Struggling Approach:

Hope the ball goes toward the setter

Mastery Approach:

Systematic inside shoulder angling for precise ball direction

The Targeting Secret:

Angle platform toward target before ball contact, use inside shoulder drop to direct ball to setter

Tennessee training method:

I practiced platform angles without a ball first, perfecting the shoulder positioning that creates automatic targeting.

Strategic principle:

"Your platform angle determines ball direction. Master the angle, master the pass."

Struggling Approach:

Platform too close to body, forcing arm swing

Mastery Approach:

Maintain one ball's distance between platform and body

The Positioning Secret:

Keep platform away from body to eliminate arm swing, create space for clean ball contact

Championship technique:

The "ball under armpit" test—if you can't fit a volleyball under your armpit when in passing position, your platform is too close.

I tell my platform masters:

"Distance creates control. Too close creates chaos."

Struggling Approach:

Only practice platform during team passing drills

Mastery Approach:

Daily platform formation and consistency training

The Development Secret:

50 platform formations focusing on hand position, 50 platform angles practicing target direction, 50 platform freezes building stability

Record-building routine:

I practiced platform fundamentals for 15 minutes daily, separate from team practice, to build unshakeable muscle memory.

Mastery mindset:

"Platform excellence isn't built during games—it's built through systematic daily development."

Struggling Approach:

Randomly wrap hands together and hope for the best

Mastery Approach:

Systematic fist-wrapping technique with precise thumb positioning

The Foundation Secret:

Make fist with right hand, wrap left hand around it, press thumbs side-by-side pointing straight down

My championship method:

I practiced 50 platform formations daily, checking hand position in a mirror to build perfect muscle memory.

I tell my players:

"Your hands create the foundation. If the foundation is wrong, everything else fails."

Struggling Approach:

Platform moves and adjusts during ball contact

Mastery Approach:

Freeze platform on contact with rigid wrist and forearm control

The Stability Secret:

Press wrists together firmly, never separate during contact, maintain platform shape under pressure

Record-setting insight:

I practiced platform freeze drills where partners would push against my platform while I maintained perfect formation and angle.

What I teach:

"Platform stability isn't about strength—it's about systematic positioning and mental discipline."