Triple Block Heads

Send us Fan Mail Hosts Makani, Marc, and Frank explain NCAA volleyball’s Rating Percentage Index (RPI) and how it drives scheduling, tournament selection, and recruiting. They define RPI as 25% team winning percentage, 50% opponents’ winning percentage, and 25% opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage, noting that 75% is largely outside a team’s control once the season starts, making scheduling crucial. They discuss non-conference preseason tournaments, return obligations, guarantees/pay game...

Send us Fan Mail In this Triple Block Heads episode, Makani, Frank, and Marc discuss the complexities club volleyball players face transitioning into high school season, emphasizing mindset and perspective as much as physical readiness. They break down scenarios for elite, “twos,” and lower-tier club athletes across strong and weak high school programs, including challenges like adjusting to different systems, leadership expectations, inconsistent training, and the temptation to equate self-w...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of “Triple Block Heads,” Makani, Marc, and Frank discuss structuring volleyball training intensity using a red/yellow/green practice model to manage load, reduce injury risk, and peak late in the season. Marc explains that after an off day, practices should start at “yellow” rather than going hard, then cycle intensity through the week (including game-week adjustments), with “green” days targeting about 110% of match output. They describe measuring intensity u...

Send us Fan Mail In this Triple Block Heads episode, Makani, Marc, and Frank discuss Frank’s first season coaching a 12U team while also coaching 17s, including the challenge of balancing eight straight weekends of tournaments. Frank describes how beginners grew socially and structurally, from not knowing gym routines to creating their own games and playing queens, and how his team progressed from basic blocking principles to running slides and a 5-1 with kid-friendly rotation names like “ban...

Send us Fan Mail In this Triple Block Heads volleyball podcast episode, the hosts discuss how club volleyball tryouts shifted over the last decade from fall to summer, driven by competition, national trends, and “peer pressure” as early-offering clubs forced others to adapt. They explain Iowa’s USA Volleyball regional rules, including offer-holding deadlines and a two-wave summer system (mid-July and early August) that helps athletes compare options and clubs build rosters, contrasted with lo...