In volleyball, sports and war shaping the mind of your opponent is critical to winning. John Boyd described as the most influential military theorist since Sun Tzu created the OODA Loop combat training system as a better way to attack the mind of your enemy and win. This proven and tested system is the foundation of most military strategy today and has literally been tested in the trenches to win above all others.
 
Yet despite the importance and proven effectiveness of “Shaping the Mind of Your Opponent” volleyball coaching and volleyball strategy has not had an effective system or verbal cues for teaching these important concepts.
 
I created the Modern Volleyball Coaching Blueprint using the OODA Loop as a foundation to change this.

The OODA Loop and my system used for teaching volleyball skills, “Reading the game” and advanced volleyball strategy goes like this:
Observe – What are you seeing on the court
Orientate – How are you processing what you see
Decide – Making a Decision to act based upon what you Observed and how you Orientated that information
Act – This is the final step where you act or perform the volleyball skill.

The critical coaching add-on in my coaching system as it relates to “Shaping the mind of your opponent” is how players view their actions or how they perform the skill on the court.
 
Boyd taught that all your observable actions are constantly being used to shape the mind of the opponent. Yet in the coaching of volleyball skills and what you do on a volleyball court rarely is this accounted for in how the sport is taught. Not only till the much higher levels is this considered.
 
By building it into your coaching model that everything you do on a volleyball court is dual focused, performing a skill as well as shaping the mind of your opponent I feel you are bound to have more success.
 
Over the next few weeks and months I will add specific examples on “Shaping the mind of your opponent” for volleyball strategy but in the meantime if you have read these articles already, please read the related articles:
How To OODA Loop Your Opponent – Advanced Volleyball Strategy (Article 4)
How To OODA Loop Your Opponent Using Hicks Law (Article 6)