It's the second set, your outside hitter keeps drifting off the net on defense, and the answer you need is somewhere in a coach's head you can't call. Years of following volleyball, from rec-league nets to the big international matches, have left me with a soft spot for whoever is standing at the end of the bench. The Art of Coaching (AOC) exists for that person.

AOC is a coaching-education company that sells clinics, certification courses and a large online video library to youth, high school, club and college coaches. Its own site dates the founding to 2011. The founders are former USA Olympic coach Terry Liskevych and record-setting college coaches Russ Rose (Penn State) and John Dunning (Stanford and Pacific).

The pitch is simple. Instead of reinventing practice from scratch, you borrow from people who have won at the highest levels.

Who Is Behind It and How Big Has It Grown

Liskevych is listed as CEO in the JVA's 2018 partnership announcement, and Rose and Dunning's names still lead the featured videos. Since launching, AOC says it has run more than 50 volleyball and softball clinics in 33 U.S. cities. The homepage also lists Karch Kiraly, the three-time Olympic champion and U.S. women's national team head coach. He sits among a network of hundreds of high school, club, collegiate and Olympic-level coaches who contribute.

What the Video Library Actually Holds

The homepage (The Art of Coaching Volleyball) claims over 4,000 volleyball coaching videos and breaks them into categories.

The five categories shown add up to roughly 2,500. Other AOC pages quote totals of 1,500+ for Premium and 3,000 overall. Treat "thousands of videos" as the safe reading rather than anchoring on any single number.

Sample titles show the range. Footwork: Locator Step with John Dunning is a technique clip, How to Teach Spiking with Tod Mattox is a progression, and Offensive Systems: Coverage with Russ Rose is pure strategy. A coach weighing something like a 6-2 offense is exactly the person the systems material is for.

The position series go deep. On the member dashboard, Lauren Carlini is listed for setters, Hagglund for liberos and Abercrombie for opposites. I'd call the philosophy category the sleeper. It has titles such as "Drills are for the Army." The library has opinions.

Plans, Pricing and Free Routes In

The site offers a Free plan with a selection of free videos and a Premium tier. Premium is listed as low as $10.83 a month, with a two-week free trial advertised. Per the homepage, Premium includes:

• Training videos from top coaches and position training series
• Online coaching courses
• Printable practice plans, worksheets and handouts
• Sharable playlists

Another spot on the same homepage advertises membership from $12.99. Confirm the price at checkout. Prices change, and the site's own numbers don't fully agree with each other.

Worth knowing: Your club or region may already hold a free membership. The Badger Region gives a limited number of its coaches a free Premium membership (a $130 value). In 2018, the JVA announced free Premium memberships for member clubs under a three-year agreement. Ask before you pay, and ask what the current terms are.

How Coaches Use It in Practice

The most useful evidence is how organizations curate the library rather than how AOC markets it. The Badger Region's recommended playlist (badgervolleyball.org) pairs "Developing All Around Players with Karch Kiraly" with "Scrimmage vs Wash Drills" and "Mental Training: Setting Process Goals Fosters Positive Emotions." Its separate "Getting Started" list serves new youth coaches. It covers establishing core values, 11 tips for the first-time coach, 5 ways to build confidence and sticking with a struggling player.

The live side matters too. On April 26-27, 2025, the Badger Region hosted AOC's Milwaukee clinic at Marquette University, with Rose, Liskevych, Amanda Berkley, Mike Schall, Marie Zidek and Tom Mendoza presenting. For 2026 the homepage lists in-person, virtual and on-demand clinics for Charlotte, Chicago, San Jose, Dallas, high school and middle school, plus a Club Season clinic dated November 14.

Common Mistakes When Starting Out

• Binge-watching with no plan. With thousands of clips, you can lose an evening and change nothing. Pick one problem, such as serve receive, and save two or three videos to a playlist that feeds directly into your next practice.
• Skipping the beginner path. New coaches often jump to advanced systems. Start with the Getting Started material on values and teachable moments, then add X's and O's.
• Paying before checking your affiliations. Between regional partnerships and club deals, a free route may already exist. Use the two-week trial before entering a card.

If your problem is positioning on serve receive, the serve receive formations are a good primer before you hunt for drills.

Things to Know About Art of Coaching

Does Art of Coaching Offer a Free Plan?

Yes. The Free plan gives access to a set of free coaching videos. It also runs a newsletter that sends its best videos on Tuesday and Friday.

What Discounts Come With Premium?

The homepage lists 50% off coaching certifications and 10% off coaching clinics for Premium members. Through the JVA partnership, AOC also became the JVA's Official Certification Program.

Does It Cover Anything Besides Volleyball?

Yes, a little. AOC says it has run softball clinics alongside its volleyball ones, though the video library is marketed as volleyball first.

Is It Aimed at Beginners or College Coaches?

Both. The homepage sorts content for high school and club, youth and beginner, and college coaches. You filter by level instead of getting separate products.

What Does the Member Dashboard Include?

Member accounts organize everything into My Playlists, My Courses, My Training Series, Practice Plans, Worksheets and My Downloads. The practice plan and worksheet sections are the ones that turn watching into planning.

Pick Your First Click

If you are new to youth coaching, open the Getting Started playlist and save the confidence and teachable-moment videos before anything technical. If you already run a club season, go straight to Scrimmage vs Wash Drills and compare it with your current practice blocks. Either way, ask your club or region about a free membership first, and use the two-week trial before paying.