The purpose of this study was to examine how elite volleyball players develop their psychological strategies of learning their skills. Two male and two female former elite volleyball players ranging in age from 35 to 51years old were purposefully selected to participate in this study. The criteria of participants had been “consistent” outstanding performers in volleyball over a number of years. All participants were invited to participate in a series of face-to-face interviews conducted by second author. The qualitative data were initially analyzed by the first author following the transcription of the interviews. The first author independently determined raw data units from participants’ words, phrases, quotes, and sayings and placed similar themes expressed by athletes into set of common topics. The second and third researcher carefully examined all procedures taken by the first researcher in analysis of interview data. The result of qualitative data revealed four major categories to explain how the elite volleyball players develop their psychological strategies for learning higher skills: (a) knowing own physical characteristics, (b) observation and ability to maximize resource, (c) optimal feedbacks, and (d) practice strategies. One major finding of the present study was that elite volleyball players perceived their innate physical characters and attempted to enhance their physical fitness. They believed that when they readied their physical fitness, they obtained exceptional skills. Therefore, they recognized the importance of repeated hard training to obtain skills. The present result related to the deliberated practice theoy in terms of learning hhigher skills among elite athletes. Also, many present findings are related the psychological characteristics of elite athlete. This notion implied that accepting the purpose of practices led to high intrinsic motivation and finally high skills.

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The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the difference in gaze behavior between volleyball instructors and players while watching a game. In the experiment, videotaped parts of a game were used along with an eye mark recorder. Subjects for the experiment were 7 instructors and 8 players. The main findings were as follows: 1. Compared to the players, the instructors tracked the ball less frequently and tended to change gazes in a manner for predicting the subsequent development of play in the game. For example, they showed a strong tendency to focus on players’moves and positions in combination attacks, coverage formations, and so forth. 2. In contrast, the players tended to track the ball position. They also tended to direct their gaze to the direction the ball was heading in and the players trying to touch it. The difference in gaze behavior between these two groups may be explained as follows: Instructors are placed in a position to continually check the harmony in movements for 6 players and consider further tactics and strategies, whereas players, who are not placed in such a position, try to focus on the quality of each play and its consequence.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the playing system used by the international-class men’s volleyball teams that participated in 2006 Men’s World Championships held in Hiroshima, and to provide the scouting information with coaching volleyball. Through all rotation, a libero player and backward left player and forward left player stand in a row and receive a serve. Team Brazil challenges combination, even if serve receive ball was on the attack line. Whether a setter is forward player or not, they attack with four players, one plays quick, the other plays pipe attack, others attack parallel sets from both side. The height of sets used Brazilian combination attack is two and a half balls lower than ever known, so their attack speed rose. About attack receive for quick and pipe attacks, three players receive with a fan-shaped formation. For side attacks, they prepare for the ball from cross attacks. With high sets, three forward players block a ball. It’s useful for players to observe moving image which is the same as the scene used as a data to analyze their tactics. It’s one of the effective way of coaching to prepare for dealing with an opponent.

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The purpose of this study was to get some knowledge for effective coaching of volleyball game. The date was analyzed from fact-finding of the touching action in a volleyball game and made clarify the change of touching contents in the scene which can occur. (1) Approximately 90% of the touching is used with "a hand and a hand". (2) The touching action tended to take a limit to distance between positions, and the touching action had inversely proportional relation to distance between positions and the number of times of the touching, a ratio. (3) There was more score time nearly 2 times, and, at the touching number of times at the time of the scoring average per one dead ball and the number of times in the point given up, judging from the whole, touching was performed. In addition, the touching total number in the score tended to be many it in all games. (4) In the score, an incidence of "the touching to gather to the center" (make a circle) tended to become higher very much. As for the change of the touching number of times, the touching number of times and the touching number of times at the time of the close battle when a wide margin opened did not have a wide margin in particular, and touching when he got a score after consecutive points given up tended to increase rapidly.

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There are a lot of studies about the athlete’s stress in a game. But, there are quite few studies that paid attention to the stress of the coach on a bench during a game. And so, we conducted the present research as a pilot study from the mental management perspective. And we analyzed the data focus on heart rate about　stress situation during the game. The subject was a coach of the Y university men’s volleyball team. As a result, we observed elevation of heart rate when got a score through all 19 sets(ten sets of 2007 Kanto Koshinnetsu meeting three games, two parts of 2007 Kanto university volleyball league fall league match three games nine sets). Moreover, elevation of heart rate was found in a scene when Y university got a scores and close the gap from the defeated situation. In this scene, elevation of heart rate was thought that positive stress such as expectation or excitement. Also, elevation of heart rate was in the scene when Y university lost points. In contrast, the scene when heart rate decreased was after a intake of water and after a time out.

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