Build the body first. The skills and the success will follow
He could hit harder than anyone in his age group. His serve was elite. His footwork? Not so much. He tripped over his crossover step, landed awkwardly after every jump, and avoided lateral drills like they were punishment.
By midseason, his knees were sore. By playoffs, he was benched — not because he lacked skill, but because he lacked movement fundamentals.
What he needed wasn’t more volleyball drills. He needed physical literacy.
What Is Physical Literacy — And Why Should We Care?
Physical literacy is more than being “fit.” It’s the ability to move with competence, confidence, and control in a wide range of physical activities.
It means:
– Jumping and landing with stability
– Running, skipping, and changing direction efficiently
– Throwing, catching, and balancing with coordination
– Understanding body movement in space (spatial awareness)
These aren’t just skills for PE class. They’re the foundation of athletic performance — and they’re often skipped in sport systems focused on competition too early.
The Risks of Specializing Too Soon
In volleyball (and many other sports), kids are training like mini pros by age 10 — focused on technique and tactics long before their body is fully ready.
But without a base of physical literacy:
– They compensate with poor mechanics
– They build strength on top of imbalance
– They burn out or get injured from repetitive strain
This isn’t theory — it’s showing up everywhere. Surgeons, physios, and strength coaches all agree: early specialization without physical literacy is a ticking time bomb.
What Physical Literacy Actually Looks Like
A physically literate athlete can:
– Sprint and stop with control
– Change direction without losing balance
– Land softly and avoid collapsing knees
– Use both sides of the body with coordination
– Understand movement cues in space — essential for team sports like volleyball
They move like athletes — and that shows up in injury prevention, reaction time, and even skill development.
How to Develop Physical Literacy (Even in Volleyball-Focused Programs)
You don’t have to stop volleyball. You just have to build a smarter base.
1. Multi-sport exposure (especially before age 12):
Soccer, basketball, gymnastics, martial arts — all help develop general movement patterns.
2. Warm-ups that teach movement, not just stretch it:
Include skipping, side shuffles, bear crawls, hops, lunges, and reaction games.
3. Weekly “Athlete Days” or dryland training:
Not volleyball-specific. Just athletic movement, games, and challenges.
4. Home challenges for balance and coordination:
Can your athlete balance on one foot for 30 seconds with eyes closed? Hop in a square? Crawl backward?
5. Celebrate physical wins, not just skill wins:
“Great landing!” or “Love how you moved into that ball” should be as common as “Nice pass.”
The Big Picture
If we only train skills, we get skilled kids.
If we train athletes first, we get skilled, resilient, injury-resistant, long-term players.
Because being great at volleyball doesn’t just mean knowing how to spike — it means knowing how to move with power and control, under pressure, for years.
That starts with physical literacy.
Let’s stop skipping the foundation.
Let’s build athletes first.
Coach Luc Tremblay is the Founder and Head Coach of Volleyball Winnipeg & Volleyball Calgary.
Luc has been coaching for over 30 years across all age levels and abilities. He leads the VISION coach development program and designed many of the training methods used in our programs. click here.