Listen, Watch, Try
Coachability
Legend
- player
- coach / parent
- movement path
How it works
Introduce young players to the three steps of receiving coaching: listen actively, watch the demonstration, try it yourself.
What you need
- volleyball
Your focus
Coachability must be explicitly taught, not assumed. Young athletes often focus on what they want to do rather than what they are being shown. The Listen-Watch-Try framework gives them a concrete process for absorbing new skills and applying feedback, which accelerates learning across every skill they will ever develop.
Coach announces the 'Listen, Watch, Try' routine at the start of practice.
Coach demonstrates a basic skill (e.g., forearm pass position) and asks players: 'What did you SEE?'
Players verbally describe what they observed. Coach confirms or corrects the observations.
Players try the skill. Coach gives one specific correction to each player.
Player must repeat back the correction in their own words before attempting again.
Helpful cues
- Quiet body when someone is talking
- Watching is part of learning, your eyes are working even when you're not touching the ball
- Say back what I told you so I know we understand each other
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Use only one instruction at a time, don't stack multiple cues.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Have a player teach back the skill to a partner based on what they heard and saw.No account needed
Build a practice plan
Add drills, keep the plan in this browser, then share a link with your staff or parents.This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.
This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.After every practice, UpLVL automatically surfaces the drills each player needs to work on most. See it for yourself.