"Tooling the block" is the term for when you purposely ricochet
the ball off the block and out of bounds. This is something much more
easily said then done, but if you can master it then you'll never
approach a block in fear again.
To
accomplish this useful but elusive feat, it's vital that you time your
approach correctly. If you're too late on your approach you'll be coming
down as you hit, which will make pushing the ball off the blocker's
hands much more difficult.
While you're in the air, you need to either:
1. Push the ball against the blocker's hands toward the outside boundary of the court. You need to try and hit the farthest part of the blocker's hands rather than the middle so that they don't have a chance to push it back in bounds.
2. Try to roll the ball off the tops of the blocker's hands so that it goes out of bounds.
The second one takes a lot more precision, because it's easy to miss the top of the hands and hit the ball out of bounds. The first one is easier to pull off, but it does take a whole lot of practice.
My favorite way to work on this is to have a friend stand on a chair or other stable platform and hold their hands up as if blocking while you attack. This is a good way to practice because they're even more strong and stable than a real blocker -- who is up in the air with no support -- would be, meaning if you can tool them you can definitely tool a real blocker.
Practice both the "wipe" -- pushing the ball out of bounds off the blocker's hands -- and the "touch" -- rolling the ball off the tips of their fingers - until you're comfortable with both.
While you're in the air, you need to either:
1. Push the ball against the blocker's hands toward the outside boundary of the court. You need to try and hit the farthest part of the blocker's hands rather than the middle so that they don't have a chance to push it back in bounds.
2. Try to roll the ball off the tops of the blocker's hands so that it goes out of bounds.
The second one takes a lot more precision, because it's easy to miss the top of the hands and hit the ball out of bounds. The first one is easier to pull off, but it does take a whole lot of practice.
My favorite way to work on this is to have a friend stand on a chair or other stable platform and hold their hands up as if blocking while you attack. This is a good way to practice because they're even more strong and stable than a real blocker -- who is up in the air with no support -- would be, meaning if you can tool them you can definitely tool a real blocker.
Practice both the "wipe" -- pushing the ball out of bounds off the blocker's hands -- and the "touch" -- rolling the ball off the tips of their fingers - until you're comfortable with both.
Andrea Fryrear is the Managing Editor of Volleyball-Life.com and a
17-year volleyball veteran. She's played high school, Junior Olympic,
NCAA and international volleyball and loves to share her knowledge and
experience with other players.
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