Indivisual Tactics | Volleyball 101

Techniques to improve your game.

Improving Fitness and Sport training tips

To begin with, fitness is very important in any sport and in volleyball the focus is on the lower body entirely or majorly because the game requires higher jump.

Since volleyball is a sport where your lower body needs more training, some exercises like jumps with different weights, jumps on one leg, agility and running can help improve the lower body strenght. Next for the core you can do push ups, plank, crunches, and also other core exercises with different variations. For the upperbody practice with body weight, triceps and biceps and then some variations for the shoulders. Cardio is also very important so please make sure that one training session is dedicated to it.

Improving denfense and reaction time.

In volleyball the game is really fast just like tennis or badminton that is why every player needs to have sharpened reflexes and the ability to reach the falling ball and recive it before it touches the ground. Not only the libero but every player should have them to take points and coupe up with the speed of the game.

In order to improve your defensive skills it is important to regularly practice the art of controlling the ball and for that drills like doing underhand and overhand defense with the wall. The objective is to continuously play with the ball and hit the ball on one spot. The variations for the same can be increasing the distance from the wall. Next, doing it without the wall wherein the ball has to be played at the same spot on a specific height and the variations for the same can be controlling the ball after it is hit high and mix variation of both underhand and overhand hits. For improving the reflex practice this with another team mate and spike the ball alternately or at random intervals.

Improving Serving skills

There are many serves that can be used in the game: Under hand serve: For the hand keep your wrist closed and the ball is to be hit with the back of your wrist just where the joint is. The ball is to be hit without a toss so keep it close to the body and just like a badminton serve do the hand movement and the wrist should contact the ball from below so it would go higher and also make sure that it is pushed forward.

Tennis serve: For the tennis serve the first thing to practice is the toss. Just as the name suggests the ball is to be tossed straight like how it is done in tennis and making sure that you stand properly the ball is not too close and not too far and the height should also not be too high or too low. With the position practice the toss and after the toss is perfected keep your hand straight and toss the ball then with your power hand which is dominant hand do the hitting movement which is to be done from over your head so your arm doesn’t lock and the power is maintained. In this serve the ball will go parallel to the net and will have more speed and power scope compared to the underhand serve. After the ball is served make sure that you make a followthrough to enter inside the court.
Float serve: In the float serve which looks just like a tennis serve but the only difference is that the ball doesn’t spin. For that the ball can be held in the palm of the non-dominant hand and make sure that the air valve of the ball is facing down in the center of the palm. Now toss the ball straight without giving it a spin which means that the toss will be a bit lower compared to a tennis serve and for the dominant hand the movement is to make sure that you push the ball ahead. For that to happen the fingers of the palm would have the least contact on the ball and the palm would have to be contacted equally to make sure that the ball doesn’t spin. This can be practiced on the net in a shorter distance and then on a wall and finally it can be practiced on the court. The way to identify a float serve is that the ball when served doesn’t spin and it moves a bit from right to left and hence it is harder to receive it.
Jump float serve: If you know the float serve then for the jump float all you need to do is practice the spiking approach with the toss in mind. For that first you need to do is measure your 3 steps. On the first step the ball was tossed with both hands so it doesn’t spin. Practice this approach a few times to know how high the ball is to be tossed, and how far it needs to be tossed. Then practice the full approach and it’s okay if you miss the ball a few times. Make sure that your approach is fast and your jump is high which would help you generate power. After doing this at the wall practice it on the court daily to ensure that your serve is powerful and precise.
Russian serve: For the Russian serve you need to do a tennis serve toss with one of your hands in a way that it falls on the way where you are going to hit it. Then practice your approach. Just like a float serve, the ball is to be tossed at the first step. Your hands should be behind and your knees should be bent at the second step and then the third step is your high jump and that is when the ball is to be hit. For this to serve daily practice is required.

Improving BLocking and spiking skills

Blocking and spiking both need intense practice and also play a major role in gaining points. Moreover every player should know how to spike and block because as the team gains points they rotate their positions which means that each player should be familiar to play from every position.

For the blocking skills practice footwork with the other mid blocker with different formations by the net and to improve the jump focus on leg related workouts to improve lower body and have a more explosive jump for blocking and spiking. Now to practice spiking practice by taking steps towards the net from outside and inside the court at different positions to make sure that you are used to all types of approaches. Next shadow spike with full step work everyday then move by the net and do the same at different spots, (From position 2, 6 and 4 and 3 for mid- blockers). Now with the setter do spiking drills which include continuous spiking, spiking on targets and with different heights of the ball set by the setter. By practicing everyday you can improve your blocking and spiking skills.

Why every player should know how to set

Finally since rotation happens and the follow of the game can be disrupted mid-game and it may happen that the second pass is not reachable by the setter so it is important for each player to know how to set.

For the overhead pass the position of your hand should make a triangle and your elbows should be inwards but not too straight. For that practice overhand with the wall standing in passing position close to the ball, another thing that can be done is doing the same but with one hand. Next so the same above your head the objective is to make sure that every time the ball that is released is at the same height and you receive the ball from your eye level. After that do this by the net and some more drills for the same can be sitting and passing, fingering(overhead pass) with the ground.(Tapping on the ground with the hand position maintained and making sure that the tips of all the fingers touch the ball at the same time.)