Madisen Skinner builds power to unleash explosiveness

Madisen Skinner: Most of my early memories of volleyball start with my sister, Avery. She was always playing volleyball. When I decided to transition to the sport, Avery was the one getting me ready for tryouts and practice and peppering on the side of the house with me.

It helped make me very competitive. Anything we did, whether sports or playing games, my family and all my siblings all wanted to win. But when it came to knowing what it was going to take to excel at volleyball, I don’t think we had a lot of those conversations. It was more about showing up every single day as best you can, taking it one day at a time, and wherever that lands you is where you are meant to be.

I remember being a sophomore in college - whenever I decided to transfer - and having the opportunity to pick any school I wanted to go to, which was not the case when I was first recruited. Realizing people genuinely saw my talent, saw me as a teammate, and wanted me to join their school was a big moment for me. I realized if I invested myself in the sport, I could really make something out of it.

It’s a lot of lower body strength and stability training. I lift three to four times per week, so making sure I’m strong and stable allows me to be explosive. I know I can jump as high as I want to, but if I don’t have the right mechanics to manage myself and the strength to withstand the load, it’s not going to last. Right now, the focus is on my plyometrics, making sure I’m landing correctly and building as much muscle in my legs, core and glutes as I can.

Absolutely, and I can tell when I haven’t been lifting. If there’s a stint where we’re playing a lot of matches and not loading ourselves in the weight room, I don’t feel as explosive, and it’s definitely important for me to feel strong whenever I’m jumping and training as much as I am.

The Lord has blessed me with very athletic parents which I’m super grateful for. But I also pride myself in the way I eat, train, sleep and take care of the things I can control. All of these things allow me to do what I do to the best of my ability.

A big focus for me right now is isometric exercises and being able to be in a position like a squat or single leg for a long period of time and adding weight to it. We do jump training, but for the most part, our jump training is what we’re doing on the court. We then use time in the weight room to get stronger and take care of our muscles to ensure we can manage the load. Just being able to be stable helps so much with my landing mechanics and prevents me from getting injured.

I typically drink it during the middle of practice. We usually start out with more controlled drills of peppering and some over-the-net stuff that’s a little slower paced. After about 2 hours or so, we separate into sixes, which is when the big heavy load starts to hit. That’s when I crack open a can of Red Bull, and it’s honestly the best part of my day. It’s so refreshing and gives me that last final push I need to get through sixes and perform at a high level.

Pre-match is centered around sleep and fueling. I do a lot of band work and activation work before I get on the court to make sure my muscles are turned on and ready to fire. Post-match is a lot of stretching and treatment with my trainer and whatever I can do on my own like contrast therapy, sauna, red light, and using Normatec boots. I basically have my own wellness studio at my house that I’ve built over the years, which is great.