Beach Volleyball Training - Why Change Sides Mid-Game?

This article is to fill you in on some beach volleyball tips, mainly why players switch sides mid-game. Have you ever watched beach volleyball on t.v. and wonder why the teams were switching sides in the middle of the game?

Beach volleyball is a completely different game than indoor 6 on 6 volleyball. One obvious difference is the fact that it is played outside in the elements. So you have many other factors to consider such as wind and sun. These are the 2 main reasons that teams switch sides on multiple of 7 in the middle of games. One side will always have an advantage over the other side because the sun will be in one teams eyes or the wind will be in favor of one side more than the other. So to eliminate these advantages or disadvantages teams switch sides when the sum of both teams points add up to 7 or multiples of seven.
For example, when the score is 8 to 6 the teams will switch sides. Or if the score is 14 to 14 or even 14 to 0 they will switch sides to keep everything fair.
That's not the only difference from indoor to outdoor volleyball, the whole game is different as far as rules go. For example in beach volleyball you can't open hand tip, set the serve, side set over the net or have sloppy looking sets. Everything must be clean and the set should not spin. That is why they allow you to hold the ball a little longer in sand volleyball because they want it to come out clean.

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Volleyball Prospects - How to Get an Advantage Over Your Competition and Play in College

If you consider yourself to be among the thousands of volleyball prospects from around the country trying to make it to the college level, you need to read this entire article. The competition for volleyball scholarships is fierce, and to play the game you love at the college level, you need to give yourself an advantage.

There are many great volleyball players each year who fly under the radar of coaches. In other words, many volleyball prospects who have the talent, skills and size to play in college are simply never known to volleyball coaches. Here are some of the reasons that happens:
1. Playing at a small school
2. Playing on a bad team
3. Playing in an areas not known for volleyball
4. Having a high school coach who doesn't promote the prospect at all
In a perfect world, all volleyball prospects would be recruited by college coaches if they have the ability to play at the next level. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world and some very good players get overlooked each and every year.
If this is happening to you, there is only one way to fix the problem and make sure you get the attention of coaches. If you are one of the thousands of volleyball prospects hoping to make it to the college level, make a commitment right now to do the following:
1. Develop an athletic resume
2. Decide what level of college volleyball is right for you
3. Develop a list of schools to contact
4. Mail your athletic resume to college coaches
5. Stay in contact with these coaches throughout your high school career
Volleyball prospects from around the country are competing for spots on college rosters. Give yourself a big advantage by marketing and promoting yourself to volleyball coaches!

Gary Hawkins is a well known recruiting and athletic scholarship expert and the author of a popular 17-page free report titled:

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Beginning Volleyball Drills

Volleyball coaches often face certain hurdles that are common to all coaches. How do you take a bunch of players who have never played before and teach them the skills necessary to become an effective force? How do you create volleyball drills to erase the bad habits learned from elsewhere and have your players perform the way you expect them to? The good news is that both of these questions can be answered in the same way. You create good beginner volleyball drills. This is not to imply that you have only beginning players on the team, this is more in the realm of the beginning technical drills in the new season. Using these drills will correct bad habits or teach new players just the same.

One of the first beginning volleyball drills you may want to work on will be for passing. A good way to get the concept down is to have the team divided into pairs of players. The first player tosses an easy ball to the second, who then correctly passes the ball back to the first. You will want to set up a set number of correct passes, then the players change out their rolls. This ensures a good rotation, and allows both players in each pair to learn the correct method. Once the basic passing drill is mastered, add some difficulty by having the players pass it back and forth to each other. You can even have contests to see which pair can keep the ball going with correct passes the longest. These volleyball drills will condition the player on the correct form to follow when passing a ball that is coming in a steady and known trajectory.
Volleyball drills that work on setting the ball are crucial to successful game play. Setting is important for players to correctly perform as they can work as a pass and also set up critical kill shots. In order to drill on the correct form required for a good set, have pairs of players stand on opposite sides of the net. The players will then volley the ball back and forth, using only sets. This will reinforce the mechanics of the set, so the performance will become an automatic thing during play. Once the players are proficient with this, you can add a challenge by having the players move around to the court into different zones while continuing to set the ball. Adding these types of variations in your volleyball drills will help ready your players for real game situations.
Serving volleyball drills can be some of the most difficult drills to implement successfully. A good beginner drill is to have pairs of players stand on each side of the net. They will then take turns serving to each other. To start out, they will be standing on the baseline, close to the net. As they get the form and distance down, they will move backwards a small amount, until they can routinely serve from behind the court. Once they show that they have the skills needed to serve, you will have the "receiving" partner move around the court, so the server must hit different areas with their serve. This is one of those volleyball drills that will teach good form as well as precision.
These beginner volleyball drills can be used to help new players and returning players alike. They are simple to run yet have key basic components that can be built on for more difficult plays. They are part of the basic building blocks that are necessary for any player to have in their arsenal. Never underestimate the effectiveness of a good set of beginning volleyball drills.

A Simple Drill to Improve Volleyball Hitting Accuracy

If executed correctly a volleyball attack is one of the most amazing skills in professional sports. Unfortunately for many of us, the volleyball attack is also a skill that can seem very complicated to learn. But nothing is impossible! No matter what your height, with some perseverance and a mastery of the basic skills your kill percentage will go through the roof in no time.

For starters I recommend this drill. It doesn't require anything but a volleyball net and a tennis ball so it can be done nearly anywhere. If you have a partner who can catch the tennis ball it will save you some time and keep you from running all around the gym, but if not just think of it as your cardio for the day.
Players who have mastered their basic approach footwork and are ready to move on to achieving a quick arm swing and wrist snap will benefit the most from this drill. It helps you learn to really put the ball down into the court (instead of making spectators duck with fear).
To begin the drill put a tennis ball in your attacking hand, and move to the starting spot for whatever type of attack you need to practice. So if you're an outside (left-side) hitter, you'd start a step or two to the left of the court boundary and a step or two behind the 10-foot (3-meter).
Execute your approach using whatever type of footwork you're most comfortable with, plant your feet and jump as high as you can. When you're at the point of the attack when you would normally be hitting the volleyball, throw the tennis ball instead. Really focus on your arm swing and watch where the ball is landing in the court. And don't stop your arm swing once the tennis ball has been thrown; you want to simulate your attack motion, so keep the follow through in place. I like to think about "quarters in my hand": if there was somebody standing behind me while I did my approach my wrist should have snapped and my arm should have swung all the way back around by the time I land so that the person could put some quarters into my hand.
This technique helps you focus on a quick follow through with your swing and and snapping your wrist down through the ball.
Practice throwing the tennis ball across the court, down the line, on a sharp angle -- anywhere you want to hit with your attack. Once you're comfortable throwing the tennis ball on your own it's helpful to add a blocker or other obstacle so that you're forced to throw around someone's hand just like in a game.

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High Intensity Plyometric Jumping Volleyball Drills

You have learned that you need to start jumping volleyball drills with low intensity plyometric exercises. This is to help strengthen the muscles and ligaments required for more intense training. Think about blowing up a balloon. Usually, if the balloon is a small, tight balloon, you stretch it out a bit, pulling on it to stretch the elastic. Then it becomes much easier to blow up the balloon, expanding it to larger proportions. The same holds true with plyomtric volleyball drills. You want to stretch the muscles in a working group before you expand them to their full usage.

One of the great volleyball drills to include with your intense workout is to revisit the vertical squatting jump. It starts in a squatting position, just like the double leg vertical jump. However with this variation, you will lift one leg off of the ground, holding it at a 90 degree angle so that all of your weight is on one leg, maintaining that squatting position. You then swing your arms back, counter moving your leg to prepare for the jump. Explosively jump straight up, throwing your arms above your head, reaching as highly as you can. The leg that you are holding up should remain in the same 90 degree angle throughout the entire jump. As you come down on your extended leg, you will squat back down, with your full weight still on the same leg. Quickly repeat the exercise several times on the same leg. This will help build a much stronger leg, which is vital to improving your jump. After repeating the vertical jumping volleyball drills on one leg, switch legs and do the same number on the opposite leg.
Some of the most intense volleyball drills to work on plyometric leg muscles is the depth jump. The depth jump should be performed from a height of about 12 inches. When the jumps can be performed perfectly, you can start adding 3 inches of height to the initial platform. Be careful when deciding to implement these volleyball drills on your team, though. Depth jumps, both normal and squatting, are extremely intense plyometric exercises. Because of this, ensure that your team is ready for them.
Exercises that include depth jumps generally include the standard depth jump and the squatting depth jump. Both of these volleyball drills begin the same way. Have your players start by standing comfortably on the edge of the platform. They will step out into the air, as if they were going to walk straight off the platform. The players should not jump down, nor step down, as this will actually change the height of the initial jump, which can make advancing to greater heights that much harder. In the standard depth jump, the players will land on the ground after their step, bending their knees slightly. Immediately have them jump straight back into the air. The squatting version works the exact same way, except that when they initially land on the ground after their step, they will squat down, swinging their arms back. Have them, without hesitation, explode upward, swinging their arms forward and upward, reaching straight up as highly as possible. Then have them land in a standard upright position. Restart from the top of the platform as you continue these volleyball drills, repeating several times during a session.
Plyomtric volleyball drills that help improve the jumping capabilities of your players can be difficult to come up with, and sometimes even more difficult to implement. The purpose behind them is to strengthen the entire set of muscles in the leg, without focusing entirely on a single muscle. As you work on these volleyball drills, you will find that your team's overall jumping ability and height will increase, allowing them to jump higher than their opponents. In volleyball, as in any jousting match, the higher position will almost always win when all other factors are equal. At the very base of these drills is the maxim that the higher your players can jump, the more successful your team will be.

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Top 3 Things To Help You Get Recruited: Volleyball

Many high school athletes dream of one day playing college volleyball, stepping onto the court of a university gym to showcase their skills. The bad news is that there are more people who would like to play college volleyball than there are spots available. The good news is that those spots have to go to someone, and there is no reason one can't go to you.

The process of playing college volleyball is something you can't just dive into, no matter how good you are at digging. While some colleges do allow walk ons, your best bet at playing college ball begins with the college volleyball recruiting process.
This process can seem arduous to some; after all, you need to start thinking about college volleyball recruiting during your early high school years. But, in actuality, it is easier than it looks. In fact, there are three vital steps that can help you get noticed and potentially get signed.
Play Club Volleyball: You may play for you high school team, you may even star on you high school team. But, this doesn't mean it should be the only team you play for. By playing club volleyball, not only do you continue to practice and refine your sport, but you also expose yourself to more people at more games and tournaments. These people may include coaches, scouts, and officials who all have a hand in the college volleyball recruiting process. Remember, you never know who is watching, and taking names.
Be a Good Student: Keeping your grades up is essential, even if you already have recruiters knocking on your door. Many schools, particularly the ones that are harder to get into, have academic qualifications, even if you are a star athlete. Letting your GPA slide can leave you out of luck. Keep your grades high to keep your chances of playing college ball high as well.
Make a Good Volleyball Recruiting Skills Video: As your high school career comes to a close, you will need to start marketing yourself to college coaches. One of the vital ways of doing this is through a volleyball recruiting skills video. This video is a DVD you will mail to coaches and recruiters at the colleges you are interested in. The volleyball recruiting skills video should be professional and to the point without any cutesy or extraneous stuff. It should include things like film tape, stats, and rewards received. In a nutshell, this video should be "the greatest hits" of your volleyball career, both literally and figuratively.

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Breaking Up the Setting Volleyball Skill - Setting is Simple Part 2

In this article I'll be breaking up the volleyball setting skill, by each body part. By learning what movements go with what particular body parts, I'll teach you how to be a better volleyball setter. On your own, or with the help of a parent or partner you'll be able to check to see whether you are performing this volleyball skill correctly.

This way, when practicing on your own without a coach, you can correct or reduce your own unforced errors! This is Part 2 of my Setting is Simple Series.
Upper Body and Lower Body Positioning
In order to set the ball correctly, how do you know if you have the right body position? Ideally you want your whole body to be lined up in a straight line underneath the ball every time you get ready to set it.
You should not be leaning to the ball but squatting underneath it just like you do when you sit in a chair. Your body is erect and perpendicular while your legs are doing the work. Your forehead and your feet will be your guide as to positioning your whole body underneath the ball.
Moving To The Ball Quickly
When the ball has reached its highest height it can only come down. Once you determine a) where the ball will come down and b) the speed of how fast the ball will come down- then you know that's where you, your forehead and your quick moving feet need to be, directly underneath its path.
Then, it's a matter of moving your legs quickly enough to get your forehead, followed by your body underneath the ball in order to get in the correct squatted setting position.
One more thing to remember before contacting the ball. Once you've determined where you need to be in order to set - you need to square your shoulders and face the target you are going to set to - before you contact the ball. This setting tip is especially important for beginners and high school players. First develop into a setter who has greatly improved their technique then you can work on disguising your set.
So, if I'm in the front row setting and the ball I want to set is coming from my back court and I know that I need to set my outside hitter who is in the front row with me I first
1. identify where the ball is going to come down
2. then quickly move my feet to get underneath the ball and beat the ball to that location
3. then I face exactly where I want to set so that all my force and energy is in a straight line and
concentrated on getting the ball to my target BEFORE
4. I set the volleyball. You shouldn't be twisting or setting sideways while contacting the ball. Be sure you are facing your target before contacting the ball!)
Contacting The Volleyball
Once the ball is within reach of your hands, you will lower your body into the squatted position by bending your knees down to almost a 45 degree angle. Remember how you sit in a chair? This means you feel like you are about to sit down in a chair. Don't forget that your right foot should be about a couple of inches in front of your left foot if you're right handed and vice versa if you are left handed.
Once the ball is in your "triangle" -the triangle is the shape you form with your hands in order to make contact with the ball--you come out of your squat by straightening your legs, meeting the ball and directing the ball straight back up into the air in the direction you are facing.
Since you have already squared up and faced your intended target your arms and shoulders should follow through straight up (not out, but up!) staying in line with your body.
When you've finished setting the ball, do a self-check and STOP and hold your position to make sure that your arms are fully extended above your forehead and your hands are only 1-2 inches apart from each other still in the shape of a loose triangle. Your palms are still facing upwards toward the sky with no breaking or flexing of your wrists! Your fingers should still finish in the shape of a "broken" triangle. This is your finishing position for every volleyball set you make. Check your finishing position if your sets aren't getting where you want them to go.
Tips on How To Check Your Own Volleyball Setting Technique
If your arms are fully extended but finish in front of your nose your sets will be too low for your hitter to hit.
If you finish setting the ball and your arms finish on top of your head or behind your forehead your sets will not get to your outside hitter and will likely finish right where you are standing which makes it difficult for anyone else to hit or pass the ball.
Where is your body facing? If you aren't facing your target, then the ball will not get to the target.
Where are your arms once you've finished setting the ball?
Is your butt sticking out? When you set the ball using your legs this produces the force you need to get the ball long distances. If you set the ball with your butt sticking out this usually means you are setting with just the power of your arms which means you won't set the ball as far as you could if you were using the power of your legs.
This is why its important to use your forehead as your guide for correct body position. Once your forehead is underneath the ball, then you use that as a guide for where your whole body needs to be lined up as well. By following these tips, you will be able to tell by yourself whether you are setting the ball correctly.

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Strategies for Effective Use of Volleyball Drills

Face it, volleyball drills can be a real drag, whether you are a coach or a player. The players continually drill, essentially doing the same thing everyday, while the coach watches them to see if they are working hard and doing what they are supposed to. In reality, volleyball drills are not fun, and can cause burnout rather quickly. There are many ways that you as a coach can make these inevitable occurrences a little more bearable, if not downright fun at times.

One way to relieve the boredom of volleyball drills is to make a competition of them. Throw in some friendly competition, and you will notice that your players seem to work just that little bit harder. Faster runners, harder hitters, higher jumpers, all of these can play into the overall game. A good way to promote this is to provide a grand prize that your team can shoot for. Perhaps find a way to have a weekend stay at a nice hotel at the end of the season. For every competition that a player wins, they can have their name put in a raffle. After the season, at the awards dinner, the winner is drawn from all entries. You could even have second, third ad so on winners. This gives a tangible goal for players to shoot for. To keep everyone interested, you might even have intermediate drawings for smaller prizes throughout the season. Before you know it, you will see your players working extra hard to improve in their volleyball drills.
Because your players know that they are going to be doing volleyball drills for every practice, it will be easy for them to burn out. Instead of letting them burn out, take a few days each season "off". Rather than doing drills on a hot day, take the team to the community pool and let them just splash around and have some fun. There is no greater exercise than being in the water. Every movement is met with resistance from the water around you. This is actually a really good physical workout, disguised as a day of fun. In keeping with the sport itself, feel free to toss a ball in the pool with them to hit over the net. This can also serve a secondary purpose. Because of the resistance of the water, the players' moves will be slowed down more than normal. Watch them and take note of little things that may need to be worked on. That will give you something to work on the next day, when you return to volleyball drills. After all, improving form and skill is the reason you practice your team in the first place.
A favorite way to make volleyball drills more enjoyable is to have the players teach them to younger players. It is a well-known fact that you can't teach something if you don't know it well. Teaching a set of drills to a younger player is a great way to see if your players understand exactly what the purposes of the drills are. Your players will find themselves looking at the volleyball drills from the same point of view as you are. You will shortly find that they are able to grasp the reasoning behind them much quicker when you start teaching them new and harder drills. If your players know why they are working on a particular set of drills, they will be able to understand the best way to get the most out of them. You may even find that your players begin to offer suggestions on how to make certain drills better for the team that you have missed.
In the end, the volleyball season will consist of a long stream of volleyball drills, repeated over and over. They will become second nature to your team. That doesn't mean that they have to be boring and repetitive. Using just a little bit of creativity, you can make your volleyball drills more enjoyable and less work. Since they are more enjoyable, your team will have less reluctance to try their hardest. Before long, you will find every member of your team improving, and chances are, they won't even realize it until their next game. When they win their next game, and see the ease with which they did it, you will find the biggest factor in making the incessant drilling more bearable: Your team's sense of pride.

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Serving Volleyball Drills

Serving in volleyball can be a tricky skill at times. There are many volleyball drills that you can run as a coach to help build this important skill in your players. While extremely important, volleyball drills aimed at serving can be some of the most fun drills you can run.

In order to get the basic skill of serving down, one of the volleyball drills you can run is the serving relay. In this drill, divide the team into 2 equal lines, at the left and right corners of the court. The first person in each line serves the ball over the net. The server then runs over and retrieves their serve. If the serve was good, that is if it was within the court, then they hand the ball to the next person in line who then serves the ball. If the serve was unsuccessful, the server must serve the ball again until they complete a successful serve. The first line that has everyone complete a successful serve and returns with the ball is declared the winner.
Using volleyball drills to work on the accuracy of a serve is a piece of cake too with the around the world drill. In this drill, you divide the team into equal lines. The receiving team has one player sit in an area of the court (back-right, back-center, etc). The server then serves the ball to that area. If the target can catch the ball while sitting down, the server then moves to the next area on their side of the court, and the target goes to the line to serve. The lines rotate until each team has successfully served a ball to each area of the court.
Some of the best volleyball drills are competitive, timed serving drills. A good example of this is the dead fish drill. In this drill, you divide the players into 2 equal teams, one on each side of the net. For two minutes, both teams continually serve the ball, ensuring that they concentrate on every serve. If a player misses a serve, they must go to the other side of the net and lay down, becoming a "dead fish". If a server from their team hits them with a serve, they can then go back to their own side of the court and begin serving again. They must remain a dead fish until they are hit with a serve, however. At the end of the 2 minutes, the team with the most "dead fish" is declared the loser. Allow the winning team to decide what the penalty for losing is.
When training for games, there are many volleyball drills that you can run to condition and train your team. Knowing how to run a good set of volleyball drills aimed at serving will help your team become a successful serving team. Since this is the first play of any set of exchanges, the serve can often set the tone of the current exchange. Train your team to control this potential advantage, and watch them become a dominate force in their division.

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Four Volleyball Free Ball Tips

A while back we covered passing the free ball when you get one from your opponents. Today we're going to go over what to do when you're on the giving end of a free ball instead of the receiving end.

Free Ball Basics
To recap slightly for those of you who may not have read my earlier article, when a team is unable to attack the ball and is forced to pass it over, we call that a "free ball."
When you're receiving it, a free ball is a gift to be cherished and exploited. You've probably heard a team yelling "FREE!" at the top of their voice -- this is the cue for everyone to get ready for a nice easy pass that will hopefully lead to an awesome kill.
But, what to do when your team is the one who's having trouble and must give a free ball to your opponent? There are a few little tricks that you can use to make the free ball a little less of a gift.
When to Attack
It's sometimes hard to decide when a free ball is your only option and when you might be able to get away with a "down ball," a.k.a. an attack executed with both feet on the ground. In a nutshell, go for the attack whenever you can. Even if jumping is out of the question, a hard-driven ball is always preferable to the free ball.
The faster the attack, the less time your opponent has to setup their offense, and the more likely it is that they'll have a communication problem or otherwise mess up the pass. So even if you're deadly accurate in placing a free ball, it should never be a go-to play. We're talking extreme worst case scenario here.
Practice hitting any and all types of sets from any and all spots on the court so that you can have the confidence to hit even in a bad situation. Use the tips we're going over here if needed, but in a perfect world you'd attack every ball.
Disrupt the Offense
The first thing to think about when giving up a free ball is that you still want to make it as hard as possible for your opponent to execute their strongest attack. You can achieve this in a few ways:

1. Send your free ball to their primary hitter. If the hitter is a poor passer, this is an even better strategy. Hopefully s/he will mess up the pass just enough to force a less than stellar set; if you're lucky s/he'll take him/herself out of the play entirely.
2. Aim for the setter. If the other team is running a 5-1, the setter should transition from the defensive spot near position 1 to the setting target at the net. If you can put the free ball right into that path, you'll have a good chance of causing confusion by placing the ball in the setter's way. Then s/he either has to pass it or try and communicate with a nearby player that they should pass it. Either way your chances of putting a kink in the proceedings increase.
3. Aim for the corners. Along these same lines, a shot into the deep corners can create errors and help throw off your opponent's offense. Go as deep as you can without going out, and be sure to practice this shot from time to time so you can accurately gauge how much force you need to put behind your pass to reach the corners.
4. Lower is better. You're already giving up a gift - don't make it any easier than it has to be. Pass as low and fast as you can, and make sure you pass with purpose. Don't just throw the ball up into any old part of the court.

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Volleyball Warm-Up Drills

Loosen up in the warm-up

The warm-up is a critically important part of volleyball practice. It allows the players a chance to get their muscles ready for the impending workout while giving them an opportunity to ease back into the skills they'll be developing throughout the practice session. A typical warm-up consists of a light jog, a full-body stretching session, and a series of volleyball warm-up drills.
Remember, these volleyball warm-up drills shouldn't be too intense. They are not designed for athletic conditioning or muscle strengthening. Rather, they have been developed to reawaken everyone's muscle memory and get them accustomed to the basics of the game like serving, setting, and bumping.
Pass the Pepper!
Pepper is one of the most useful volleyball warm-up drills since it covers a variety of skills in a fast-paced manner. This variation of Pepper involves 4 players. To begin, divide the team into groups of 4. For this drill, player 1 is the hitter, player 2 is the setter, and players 3 and 4 are diggers, and they stand in a circle facing each other.
At the start of the drill, player 1 has the ball. They toss it up in the air, and hit it towards one of the two diggers. The digger pops the ball back up towards the setter, who sets it back to the hitter, who hits it towards one of the diggers. Play continues in this manner until the coach blows the whistle, signaling a change in positions.
If one of the players misses the ball and it falls to the ground, each member of the Pepper team must drop and do 10 push-ups or run to the nearest line and back 3 times. This will lead players to become more accurate with their hits, sets and digs, and prevents laziness when reaching for the more difficult shots.
Serves and Bumps
A good serve can make or break a volleyball game. Since serving is one of those key skills in volleyball, it's important to include a volleyball serving drills or two in the volleyball warm-up drills. This serving drills focuses on developing accuracy.
To begin, have the players stand in a line at the serving area. The player at the front of the line starts a bucket of balls. The purpose of the drill is to serve the ball into each of the 6 areas on the opposite side of the court. Area 1 is the back right of the court, area 2 is the front right, area 3 is the front center, area 4 is the front left, area 5 is the back left, and area 6 is the back central area of the court.
While serving, the player keeps track of how many serves it takes for them to complete the circuit and serve to all 6 areas on the court. If running this drill as a mini-competition, the player with the lowest score at the end of the drill is the winner.
Finally, here's a simple drills that focuses on bumping called the "Two-Line Bump". Divide the team into 2 groups, and have each group stand in a line facing the other group approximately 10 feet apart.
The player at the start of the line has the ball, and they bump it to the player facing them on the other line. That player bumps it to the next person on the line across from them, and so on. If the ball falls or is bumped to the wrong player, play starts over from the beginning of the line.

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How Did It Start: The History of Volleyball

The sport of Volleyball was originally started in 1895 when William G. Morgan, an instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association in Holyoke, Massachusetts, wanted to take elements from popular sports such as basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball to create a new kind of sport for different classes of businessmen that would be less physically demanding than the game of basketball. The result was volleyball, which he originally called Mintonette. Morgan took the kind of net used in tennis and raised it to 6 feet 6 inches above the court, which was just above the average men's height at the time. The naming for volleyball came when, during a demonstration game of the new sport, an observer remarked about the back and forth volleying action of the play.

Volleyball then continued to advance. On July 7th, 1896, the first game of volleyball was played at Springfield college. Later, in 1900, a special ball designed specifically for volleyball was designed, and the YMCA continued expansion of the game outside the United States into Canada, Asia, and the Southern Hemisphere. The sport was able to reach communist Cuba in 1905, and in 1907 the sport was presented to the playground convention and was touted as being the most popular sport there. In 1913, Volleyball was held at the Far Eastern games, which was a large sporting festival of the time. A major step that volleyball took came when in 1919 American expeditionary forces were able to successfully distribute sixteen thousand volleyballs to its troops and allies. This action had the far reaching consequence of spreading the game of volleyball and growing it in foreign countries.
Volleyball continued growing until in 1957, the international Olympic committee designated Volleyball as an Olympic sport. This marked a major recognition and turning point for the growth of the game itself. The first Olympic Games that contained Volleyball were the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Olympic competition fostered the creation of many different levels of competition, ranging from youth sports to high school to college and even professionally. There are millions of children playing volleyball every year and it is a popular sport particularly among young women. There are many different types of materials that are needed to play volleyball, from the ball itself, to shoes, to uniforms. There are specialty kinds of every type of uniform, especially volleyball spandex, which can be purchased from many retailers, particularly online retailers, which offer consumer friendly prices.

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Beach Volleyball Serve Receive Tips That Will Help You to Improve Your Game

For indoor players experiencing the beach volleyball game for the first time, its challenging enough to learn how to walk and run in the sand much less perform advanced volleyball skills. For those of you that are in the process of "getting your sand legs" here is a serve receive tip that will help you improve your game.

You Want To Keep The Ball Off The Net When Passing
This was one habit that took me a little time to break when I went from indoors to sand volleyball. Since we are trained to pass the ball as close to the net as possible indoors it only comes naturally to want to do the same on the beach. The problem is that the passer who received the ball needs to allow plenty of time for their partner to get into position to set the ball.
The setter is moving forward at a fast pace to get into position, and before stopping they need to turn and get perpendicular to the net. Since beach volleyball players (tall ones especially) are departing all the way from midcourt in order to get into position they need time to make all these movements without risking the chance of becoming a tuna fish caught in the net.
Ideally you want to serve receive the ball so the pass is four to five feet off the net, a little over midway between your serve receive starting position and the net, which leaves plenty of room for your partner to get into position and give you a great set that should put you about two or three feet closer to the net.
As you and your partner's ball control skills improve, then both of you can make adjustments to your ideal serve receive target area.
Another reason you want to keep the pass off the net is that depending on what side you are on, the wind will become a factor. If you pass the ball too close to the net, the wind will take it and blow it over the net into the hands of the opposing team's blocker who won't be able to thank you enough for giving them such an easy point.
One more thing before I go, the concept of passing the ball with your feet becomes really really crucial when you start to master the serve receive skill on the beach. As an indoor player coming to the sand, you want to avoid becoming a "Tower of Pisa" that leans over to pass the ball, which will be easy to do anyway since the sand is there to stay. I know this is one of the hardest things for indoor middle blockers to have to learn since middle blockers are usually not the primary passers on their indoor volleyball teams.
The best part and the worst part of the game is learning how much you need to use your legs to
a) stay on top of the sand,
b) move you to get you into position behind the ball, and
c) to help you stay low to deliver a low pass to your intended target.

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Volleyball Training - A Great Way to Improve Your Skills

People these days are busy with volleyball training so that they can enjoy the summer sun. Volleyball is indeed a popular sport especially during the summer season. Summer is marked by the hot sizzling sun, the pristine beaches and of course people enjoying the season under beach umbrellas or playing volleyball. If you have tried to spend your summer season at the beach then you will readily understand what I am saying. Summer would not be as fun without the waves splashing in your face and the sun tickling your skin and making you tan. If you enjoy the waves and the beach, other than swimming, would you miss to learn how to jump higher and dunk that ball?

Summer is indeed a great time of the year wherein everyone appears to have a great time and spending the last happy moments of their lives. Summer would be more fun if you spend it along with friends who have been you through the years or spending with acquaintances you have just met. Summer would also be fun if you spare some time in having some volleyball training with the kids. Perhaps, learning volleyball together would serve as a good bonding moment for you and your family. Remember that all the other times of the year except on holidays, you can seldom spend time quality time with them because you are out for a business trip or you could not join the family for dinner because of overtime at work. To this end, this summer is perhaps the only time of the year wherein you can spend additional time with them. It would be fun to fall on the sand because you fail to get the ball tossed to you or to have that dunk that caused your victory. There can be a lot of things you can do with playing volleyball together at the beach along with people you enjoy spending time with.
Indeed, volleyball training will allow you to enjoy the summer sun while being active. This year, you need not be bored with the usual swimming and lying on the sand to be tan but you can recreate this year's summer to make it a whole lot fun for you and the people you will be spending the season with. The idea of sportsmanship can also be developed in this sport as well as it will allow you and your team to develop teamwork and cooperation. There are lots of benefits you can obtain by playing the sport this summer.

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What I Learned Coaching Volleyball

A few years ago, I volunteered to coach a second and third grade volleyball team through my local parts and recreation department. I'd never coached before and went into the experience a little blindly. Don't get me wrong, I've been a pretty serious volleyball player for 10 years, but I'd never coached before, and definitely not such a young group!

I checked out coaching books from the library, looked up drills online and tried to prepare myself the best I could, but in the end, I just had to go with the flow. I found that second and third graders were much smaller than I remembered, so many of the drills I had thought of were just physically impossible. Then there was the added emotional elements of having all these beginner players together. They got sad when their teammates had a triumph and they did not. At some times it seemed like my job was a mix of coaching and babysitting.
As I got used to coaching these girls, I got better and better. I realized that I had to listen to them more and adapt to their skill levels and I couldn't come into a practice with everything planned. They absolutely hated some of my favorite drills, so I completely scrapped those and adapted their favorite drill to teach them almost every skill. (If you need a good drill, they loved "dead fish" - originally designed for a serving drill, but it can teach accuracy for passing, setting and hitting).
The season progressed and I started to notice things. During the first game, all the points were scored from serving, there were no rallies. Then eventually, they were able to return the ball to the other team. Finally, a real rally got going. I literally jumped up and down and gave out so many high-fives at that moment! They were looking like a real team and I was so proud.
By the end of the season, they had visibly improved and seemed to genuinely enjoy playing the game. I can only hope that I was able to instill a passion for the game in my team and hope that they will continue to play in the future.
I did learn some major lessons that were not in any of the coaching books I checked out from the library. Hopefully they will help you out if you are going to be coaching a team this fall.
Attitude - A good attitude can be very undervalued. Volleyball is a team sport, so teammates feed off each other. If one player pollutes the waters, you can b e sure the others will follow. The same goes for the coach. Positive reinforcements, the ability to laugh at your own mistakes and the ability to have fun will create a good team atmosphere. Yelling, getting angry and overreacting will fuel a negative environment and can cause your team to lose respect.
Be Vocal - this tip is twofold. First, any team sport requires communication, so make sure your players are talking on and off the court. Second, ask for input. Find out which drills are your players favorites, what drills they don't like and be willing to adapt. They will learn better if they are doing things they like.
Plan - It is always a good idea to have a plan in place before a practice or game. Once you read my next point, you'll see that I don't mean a strict, minute-to-minute plan, but rather, have an idea of the skills you want to work on. For example, plan to spend X amount of time warming up, X amount on serving, X amount on passing and X amount on their choice. Then you can be flexible with each activity, but you will not have to spend time trying to decide what to do next.
Adapt - Your players will come to you with different skill levels, expectations and commitment levels. This can make it difficult to plan initially, but be prepared to tweak drills and practice schedules so they are effective.
Make Mistakes - This goes for players and coaches, you get better by learning from your mistakes. Beginning players make mistakes all the time, so constructively help them see how to correct them. Coaches make mistakes sometimes too, maybe a drill you had planned was totally ineffective. This goes back to adapting, learn something and move on.
Have Fun - Don't work your players so hard that they are not enjoying themselves. I found that younger kids just like to play around, but at a more competitive lever, the players like challenging workouts and conditioning exercises. Make sure you are giving them drills and activities that match their playing level. Find the balance between working hard and having fun.
I also think back to the best coaches I had and they were they ones that truly enjoyed the game and made it fun. The most memorable are the coaches that we could laugh with, joke with, but still totally respect and learn from.
And in the end, remember it really is just a game. After 10 years of playing, the games I remember are not the losses or the mistakes, but are the challenging ones, the hard-earned wins and my individual bests.
How to play "Dead fish":

1. Split your players into two, have one team on each side of the net.
2. Each team sends one member to the other side of the net, where they lay on the floor.
3. The rest of the team serves, trying to hit the "dead fish" on the other side of the net.
4. If a player serves a ball out or does not make it over the net, they also become a "dead fish".
5. Once the "dead fish" catches a ball, they come back to life and rejoin their team.
6. The "dead fish" must stay completely on the ground - no jumping up to catch the ball.
7. The team left standing at the end wins!

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Spicing Up Your Volleyball Drills

Any coach will tell you that running repetitive volleyball drills over and over again can get, well, repetitive and boring. The best way to combat this is to try to add a little spice to your drills, make them a little more enjoyable. This can come in many forms you just have to use a little imagination to figure out fun ways to teach the same or similar skills. Here are some variations to other volleyball drills that may help spice things up for your team and keep it interesting.

There are literally hundreds of different volleyball drills for setting the ball. You can liven things up just a little bit by running this variation. Have your team circle up, leaving about an arms-length of space between each other. Stand in the middle of the circle with the ball. When you give the signal, choose someone to toss the ball to. This player will then set the ball to the person to their right. Once the ball has left their fingertips, the setter then runs around the outside of the circle in a counterclockwise manner. The ball continues to move around the circle, with each setter running around it back to their starting position. The object is to get back into position and set before the ball reaches that player's position again. This can be a lot of fun, especially when over half the circle is running at the same time. Volleyball drills such as this can take the monotony out of standard setting drills.
Most volleyball coaches know that in order to get their team to work hard, they should offer incentives to do their best. In most cases, this is in the form of penalties for not doing their best. There is another option that will help make the drill more fun. You can offer a fun incentive for a good performance. One of the best ways to do this is to give the team a chance to get even with the person they hold the most resentment toward at the time, namely their coach. If they perform well with whatever drills you set for them, give them the opportunity to hit you in the face with a pie, or soak you with a barrage of water balloons. This will help your team get more enjoyment out of even the most repetitive volleyball drills, and will help build teamwork as they cheer each other on to do their best. After all, the whole team wins if they do a good job.
As you can see, there are many ways to convert ordinary volleyball drills into fun and exciting routines. If you use your imagination, you can come up with many different ways to make your practices more enjoyable. You will also be sure that your team will enjoy coming to practice more than they might normally. This is because you keep them on their toes, surprising them at every turn. Spicing up your volleyball drills is one sure way to remind your players why they started playing in the first place: because they had fun doing it.

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Beach Volleyball Strategies For Blocking

1. No Block

If your team is not real tall or skilled at blocking, you may decide you have a better chance of winning by not blocking. If you aren't going to block, it's best to at least stay at the net and be ready for a tight set or overset. You don't want to cheat early off the net and allow the opponent to get a set right on top of the net with no block up. So always have you or your teammate stay near the net ready for a tight set, and then drop off in time to make a defensive play.
2. Block Angle
The strategy for blocking angle involves the blocker taking away the angle (crosscourt) attack. In this situation, the blocker is attempting to block the hard crosscourt attack while the teammate is ready to dig the hard driven attack down the line. Players new to blocking tend to make the mistake of trying to read the hitter and block the ball. The purpose of blocking angle is to make it easier to play defense. For example, it's much easier to just focus on taking away angle and not worrying about whether or not the attacker is actually going to hit the ball angle, line, etc. The signal for blocking angle is two fingers.
3. Block Line
The strategy for blocking line involves the blocker taking away the line attack. The line attack is the ball that's hit hard down the line on the same side of the court as the attacker. This is basically blocking the opposite side of the court as blocking angle. The blocker signals with the index finger to block line.
4. Block Ball
Blocking ball means the blocker is going to attempt to read the hitter and try to block the ball. Obviously, it can be much harder to get blocks using this strategy because to successfully read a hitter is difficult if you aren't an experienced blocker. Many times a blocker will elect to block ball when blocking angle and blocking line isn't working. Also, if the hitter is easy to read, the blocker might attempt to block ball while defender tries to also read the hitter while playing defense.
5. Spread Block
The spread block is attempting to block the ball while spreading the arms wide. With the spread block, the blocker is essentially taking away both line and angle. The spread block is often used to surprise the hitter. For example, if you are up against a hitter that is consistently hitting the ball hard past your block, then you might attempt the spread block.
6. Wait for the Shot then Swat
The swat technique is used against hitters that like to shoot the ball. To successfully swat the ball, start by standing at the net like you are going to attempt to block. As the hitter is taking an approach to hit, watch carefully if the hitter is going to hit the ball hard or shoot the ball. As the hitter is jumping up to shoot the ball, jump up and swat at the ball with one hand. This blocking technique is especially useful for when a hitter likes to hit a short cut shot into the angle or a low cut shot over the blocker down the line.
7. Fake Drop then Block
Faking a drop off the net can result in the setter setting the ball tight to the net. For example, stand at the net just like you normally would, ready to block. As the ball is being passed to the setter, take a step off the net as if you were going to drop back and play defense. Just step off the net so far that you'll have time to get back to the net to block. Blockers that are quick can effectively deceive hitters into thinking they have dropped back when in fact they are up there ready to block the ball.

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Off-Season Volleyball Drills

Volleyball drills are important for conditioning your players during the volleyball season. Unfortunately, the season only lasts for a few short months. That leaves sometimes 9 months between training that a player can become rusty and lose those skills that you have worked so hard to instill. That is where developing a good set of volleyball drills that your players can work on during the off season comes into play. Since they won't be around the team as consistently during this time, it is best to create drills that they can work on alone.

Jump skills are an important part of developing volleyball drills. The off season is no different. A good way to have a player wok on their jump skills is to have them stand on a chair next to wall. Have them mark the wall above their head with a piece of chalk or something, essentially giving them something to aim for. Have them then move the chair back and run and jump at the wall, slapping the mark with their hand. As they become more efficient at slapping the mark they made, have them then raise the mark by a few inches, but no more than 4. Then have them repeat the process. The player will begin to notice a definite improvement in their jumping skills and it will make your regular season volleyball drills easier to work with, since they will have the skills down fairly well.
Volleyball drills for setting are another rather easy thing to set up for the off season. The player can simply toss the ball into the air, and set the ball to them selves several times. You will want to have them stress two variations in this, however. You want the player to be able to set the ball in such a way that the player should not have to move from the spot they are standing through the whole set. For another set, you will want them to set the ball slightly away from them each time, so that they have to move in order to accomplish the next setting of the ball. These volleyball drills will help keep setting skills and hand-eye coordination fine tuned throughout the year.
Another set of volleyball drills to have a player work on while not playing will help with digging the ball. Returning to the wall in the first exercise, have the player stand back several paces from the wall. Have them toss the ball into the wall so that it bounces back to the player in an arc. The player will then dig the ball, passing it back to the wall, causing the whole cycle to repeat. They should do this for about 20 times each time they work on it. They can vary the drill by trying to cause the ball to not arch so much, making them dig the ball from many different positions in the air. Using volleyball drills like this will help keep your players flexible and alert in the off season.
A good volleyball coach knows that there are many different distractions in the off season which makes working on the standard set of volleyball drills nearly impossible. With a little thought, you can develop a routine that each player can work on in their own time, alone, and still keep their skills honed and sharp. Ensuring that the players keep at the volleyball drills you assign them will be difficult, but you will be able to tell which players have been working at them when it comes time to start the new season. Working hard in the off season will definitely pay off during the regular season.

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All Volleyball Players Should Be Good at Peppering

I always say to my players that I have never met a good volleyball player that is bad at peppering. The best volleyball players in the world are really good at it. It is essential that players understand that they must become great at peppeing. I wish I had a dime for the amount of times that I have players putting minimal effort into the pepper and really just are not good at it. Though not a real volleyball rule, I believe that knowing how to pepper is definitely one of the unwritten volleyball rules.

Use your time wisely and invest much of it into peppering. Have them do variations and different types of act ivies to get them better at it. In this article, I am going to point a few things that players can do to become better at peppering.
Tip Peppering
Start off the players with tipping instead of actually spiking the ball. This way they will start with some control in the pepper. In my experience, most girls cannot control the ball because the spike is usually out of control or one player is consistently hitting the ball too hard. Have them start off with easy tips then work to aggressive tips. They should always be sure that they control the tip and allow the other player to dog the ball.
Quick Pepper
This is how I warm-up my liberos before volleyball matches. Have the players stand very close to each other and pepper as fast as they can. Quick pepper literally means a quick bump, a quick set, and a quick spike. If done correctly and under control, this warm up gets them much better at peppering and also gets them ready for the game. Players should practice this drill often and it will certainly help in increasing their reaction times.
Far Away Pepper
In my opinion this is the most difficult way to pepper. Have each partner stand on opposite sidelines facing each other. Tell them to begin peppering. The goal here is to get them to pass the ball long, hit the ball long, and set the ball long. This drill is outstanding for getting players to control their spikes. This is obviously very important.
Keep on Eye On...
When peppering there are few things that you should be conscious of. To begin with, make sure that you are always in the athletic position. A player should never be standing straight up. Be very careful to stay on the toes, not flat footed. Another important thing is for the players to constantly be moving. Once they stop moving, they will get stuck and will not be able to play a ball correctly.

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How to Serve a Volleyball

Volleyball serving is probably the most essential skill in volleyball. Anybody is capable of doing it. You don't need to be tall or abnormally powerful. Just about all you have got to do is practice (you will also find out that a strength is necessary too,. Do some push-ups.).

Volleyball is good in terms of practicing because you can learn a lot of the skills on your own, including serving. Simply find a gym, get a bunch of volleyballs and practice like crazy. If you are able to become an expert in the skill of the serve and keep your opposition guessing, they won't have the ability to come up with a great pass. When they can't make a perfect pass, they are going to probably not get a perfect set. A bad set is going to lead to a poor hit that will not result in a kill for the other team, thus setting up your team for a good bump, set, spike. It all begins with the serve.
This is why you must master it. The subsequent directions are for a right-handed server. Lefties, like many things in life, you do the opposite.
Feet and Body Position
The left foot should be slightly in front of right foot.
Weight is on back foot
The only foot that moves is your left foot. Take a step with the left foot, while tossing the ball with the left hand, and contact the ball
Your shoulders should be open to the sideline, meaning you are looking over your left shoulder at the net
Hand position
Open hand fingers spread wide
The toss and the Arm swing
Start with ball resting in left (tossing hand) with hitting hand on top. Hold you arms out in front of your with the ball resting in your left hand and your right hand on top of the ball, at about chin level. The toss should be about 18 inches in the air and should be even with the shoulder of the hitting hand. The toss should be slightly in front of the body (toward the net). Players should draw back their hitting arm with elbow parallel to the floor and wide open hand even with the ear. As the player pulls back, the shoulders ought to open slightly.As the ball reaches the highest point, the player ought to swing the hitting arm forward (keeping an open hand) and hit the ball at the top of their swing with the heel of the open hand. The shoulders and torso should rotate toward the net. One tip if you are really struggling or you feel that you are not strong enough: Work out a little. Perform a few push-ups to get your arms stronger. This should really assist you.

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3 Types of Volleyball Drills

Drilling your volleyball team is one of the most jobs you as a coach has. Volleyball drills are designed to take a group of individuals and forge them into a well tuned team. Your drills should foster trust, respect and teamwork. It is important to be flexible in your drills, however, since you may find that some drills work better for your team than others. If you find a drill not working the way you think it should be, don't be afraid to change it in order to get the most impact out of it. There are ultimately 3 main types of volleyball drills you will be using for your team: technical, tactical, and conditioning drills.

Technical drills are usually used at the very beginning of the season to help build the basic skill sets needed to play volleyball. This set of volleyball drills are designed to teach your team basic hitting, footwork, and movement skills. You probably won't have to use these drills as much as the other types, since the basic skills are easy to learn, and are generally easy to carry over from season to season. Most team members will try to play for as many seasons as they can, so they will already have their basic skills drilled into them. However, this is not to say that you should neglect the technical skills. It is a good way to get the body to remember the movements required of it after a long off-season.
Conditioning volleyball skills are most often used in the off season. These drills are designed to help keep the body in shape for the upcoming season. They are designed to build endurance, strength, and speed. During the off season, you will probably use these drills almost exclusively, so you can make them a bit harder. If you work the team to the point that they aren't able to play, it won't matter as much since it isn't even the right season. However, conditioning drills will help train the body to be in tip top shape for the season. By the time the season starts, if you have had your team follow a strong set of conditioning drills, you will find little, if any need to continue them. It can be beneficial to run a few of these drills during the season to test the team's physical readiness, however.
During the season, the most common type of drills you will run is the tactical volleyball drills. Tactical drills are designed to work on specific plays and build teamwork. They can be drills that are as simple as passing, setting, and spiking the ball as a cohesive unit, or as tricky as that new play you want to try out. Working together as a team, you can teach your players to respect each other and trust that their teammates will know what to do, and be ready to do it. Teamwork building skills are the backbone of any good training season.
Knowing the best set of volleyball drills to use will often be a practice in trial and error. Even if you have been coaching for years, you will find that your drills are continually changing and evolving to include new elements or fix things that weren't working. It is important, however, to remember that these drills should always focus on teaching and training. With the right set of volleyball drills, you will be able to mold a virtually unbeatable team.

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Beach Volleyball Tips - What the Hand Signals Mean

If you were one of the millions of people that tuned in to watch beach volleyball in the Olympics you probably wondered what the hand signals meant.  Lets take a moment to go over what each hand signal means.  When playing 2 on 2 volleyball you are either the blocker or digger.

Naturally the taller player will be the one that blocks and the shorter player will play defense to dig any ball that make it by the blocker.  Since there is only one blocker he won't be able to block every ball so what he does is block a certain spot of the court so that his teammate knows where to stand.
A hitter can either hit straight, which is called line or across the court at an angle, which is called angle.  So, the blocker is either going to block angle or line.  If the blocker is blocking line than his partner will stand at the hitters angle to dig the spike.  The only person to show signals is the person on offense that is not serving the ball. 
The signs are help behind the back of the person not serving and the right hand represents what he will block on the opposing player to his right and the left hand represents the left player.  One finger extended means he is blocking line on that person.  If he shows 2 fingers extended then he will block that players angle.  An open hand means he is going to try to block the ball no matter where it is hit.  And a fist means he is not going to block so he will just pull off the net and play defense.

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Beach Volleyball Net Height and Court Dimensions

Here we will cover the height of the net for men and women in sand volleyball as well as how big the court size is for both indoor and beach volleyball. Beach volleyball is played with only 2 people on each side of the net so it makes sense that the court size is much smaller in sand volleyball.

But about 9 years ago the beach volleyball court size and the indoor size was the same. This gave an advantage for the smaller beach players because they could shoot the ball into the deep corners where it was almost impossible to dig. But people quickly realized that a large court size favored the worse players because they could make more mistakes while having the ball still land in. So the FIVB and AVP changed their court dimensions from the indoor size of 9 meters by 18 meters to what it is today at 8 meters by 16 meters.
The smaller court size makes for longer rallies because there are more digs and it produces better volleyball players. The small court should be used in all level of play if you only have 2 people on each side of the net, whether you are playing in sand or on grass.
The beach volleyball net height is the same as indoor for both men and women. This means that for men it is 7'11" and 5/8 and for women it is 7'4" and 1/8. This is measured with the sand smoothed out and from the top of the sand in the middle of the court.

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Volleyball Drills for Offense

Volleyball drills are used to help strengthen the team, raise team confidence, and build a sense of trust. These drills are designed with those purposes in mind. One of the strongest ways to achieve these goals is through the use of offensive drills. Offensive volleyball drills can help the members of your team trust in each other when it is seen that the players know where to be, how to move to get there, and how to control the ball. These drills are often precise in nature, and teach strong movement and ball control skills. Here are a couple of more advanced drills that will you can use in your own training.

A tricky drill that will work on both movement and precision is a pass-set-spike volleyball drill. In this drill, have the team line up in three rows on a single side of the net. The lines should start close to the net and continue back toward the serving line. The first person in each row begins by lying down on their stomach. You will stand in the middle of the opposite court and throw the ball over the net. When the ball is released form your hands, the players must stand up and run to position themselves so that the middle player passes the ball to the setter on their right. The setter then sets the ball to the spiker on the left side of the court. The spiker then spikes the ball over the net. They then rotate to the back of the line, and the next three people lie down to start the drill over again.
Another precision volleyball drill is to have the setting accuracy drill. In this drill, the team will form a setting line on your right. One team member will stand on a chair, with their arms raised above their head. You will then throw the ball to the setter, who will set the ball to hit the hands of the person standing on the chair. You should throw 5 balls to each setter, having each ball come from a different angle, speed, and height. This teaches your players to be able to set to the same spot no matter how the ball is passed to them.
Accuracy is an important factor in any game of volleyball. A volleyball drill to help with hitting accuracy is the 4-corners drill. In this drill, you will mark off for sections on the opposite side of the court. The players will line up next to you, in a single line. You then throw the ball to the first player and call out a section that you want them to hit the ball to. This will cause the players to think of the best way to hit the ball to accurately get it into the section you have called. To further build on this skill, you can place an object, such as a box or a chair in the middle of each section. The player will get extra points for hitting the object with the ball.
Volleyball drills that teach offensive skills are a must for any team to succeed. As shown, these drills are a bit more advanced than most of the basic tactical drills are though. It is important to be sure that your team is ready to successfully execute these volleyball drills before beginning them. Remember though, that you can always modify these to suit your team's skill level. If need be, you may want to scale back on the difficulty level a bit when you begin them, and as your team becomes more successful with them, make them harder. Good volleyball drills always work to the strengths of the team.

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Beach Volleyball Bump Setting Tips For Indoor Players

So you are a pretty talented college player who has a lot of years of learning how to improve your setting while training on your club volleyball team, right? You may not be the setter on your team but you're good enough to run down a ball that your setter can't get to and set the ball to any of your other teammates.

Now, you want to start playing sand volleyball and you see that your first challenge is to coordinate your upper body setting mechanics with trying to learn how to run in the sand and all of a sudden you seem to be getting whistled for double hits and lifts every time you touch the ball.
As a competitive athlete that can initially seem rather frustrating because it feels like you are just giving away easy points to the opposing team by committing errors while trying to use your hands to set which of course is something you've been training to do for years.
The good news is that everybody and I mean everybody including Olympians and very experienced indoor pro players who come out to learn how to play in the sand experience two things a) the initial frustration of deciding when not to hand set and b) realizing that bump setting is not for sissies.
I know this for a fact because it happened to me.
While training with various beach volleyball champions Nina Matthies and Elaine Roque and expert coaches like Pat Zartman and Mark Barber, I had to learn that until I got my "sand legs" (which happens when your leg muscles are strengthened by consistent exercising and playing in the sand) if I set the volleyball on the run while trying to use my hands, I was increasing my chances of being called for a throw or a lift because I hadn't developed yet, the speed or the strength needed to have my body completely positioned underneath the ball to deliver a clean overhand set.
Since developing that leg strength takes time and consistent sand training, I needed to be able to perform beach volleyball skills in a way that would allow me to gain maximum control of the ball. So, instead of overhand setting I learned to bump set.
As soon as I got my ego out of the way and realized that bump setting was not a cop out but was one of the most important skills that almost all of the most experienced beach volleyball players used to control the ball, especially when the wind was a factor, the faster I was able to regain confidence in my playing ability and deliver a decent set to my teammate on a consistent basis, even on a windy day.

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Choose a Volleyball Camp Wisely

If you are interested in becoming a knowledgeable and skilled volleyball player, it is vital to attend volleyball camps. Not only do volleyball camps offer a player a look at the fundamentals of volleyball, but they are almost always instructed by former players. The majority of the camps that I have worked were run by people who played the sport in college.

As opposed to going to practice and running around, a camp will slow the method down and give players a solid base to work from. The participants will learn the exact methods and skills such as setting a volleyball and passing a volleyball.
So What Should You Look for When Deciding on a Camp?
If you want to get the most out of a volleyball camp, then you must choose wisely. You have to be sure that the proper amount of technique, skill, and method are being taught at the camp. You absolutely do not want to hear from people attending the camp that all they are doing is scrimmaging.
Finding volleyball camps in your area is much easier now that most camps advertise on the internet. My advice would be to go to Google and search volleyball camps in your area. When making a decision, here are the things that you should look at.
1. What organization is running the camp? Likely the best volleyball camps in your areas will be offered by volleyball clubs. Visit their websites and get the low down on each one. Are they a good club? Do they win a lot? How long have they been around? The longer they have been around I would bet the better that their organization is. Besides clubs, you will find random individuals or park districts that run camps. Again, do your homework.
2. Who is running the camp? Is the person a charge an All-American or a camp counselor? You will definitely find these types running camps and everything in between. Speak with the leader and determine if the knowledge is there.
3. Where is the camp located? Do not feel like you have to drive 4 hours to a good camp. That should not be necessary. There are so many camps to choose from that you really should not have a problem finding one in your area.
Be sure, that when choosing a volleyball camp, you follow the suggestions above. Believe it or not, there are really good volleyball camps out there, but there are also terrible ones. Take action and call, ask questions, or even visit the camp before committing. You will be happy that you did.

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Girls High School Volleyball - Top 5 Ways to Get the Varsity Coach to Notice You

Okay some freshmen girl volleyball players CAN rely on pure physical raw talent when it comes to being considered for the Varsity team but there are some things you can do if you are a little less physically endowed to get the volleyball coach to notice you. Just check out these tips and apply them to your next volleyball practice.

1. Come Early, Leave Late to Practice.
For girls volleyball practice I use to come to my high school gym one half hour before practice and lay in the middle of the gym and just visualize that the court was mine. Seriously, I convinced myself that anything that happened on that volleyball court, any ball that came on my side I was personally going to be responsible for. Nothing was going to fall in defense and no one was going to dig my hits.
I think something worked because we made it to the California State Championships for the first time my senior year. I chose to to come early and/or stay late to exercise my mental skills but I also did it to practice serving and perform individual wall drills for setting and passing as well.
2. Become the most effective server on your girl's volleyball team.
Read the article the "Girl's Volleyball: Top 5 Places to Serve After a Team Timeout" to learn how to become your volleyball team's most effective server.
3. Okay its not a movie about girl's volleyball but still GO rent the DVD movie "Rudy" starring Sean Astin...Watch it...then adopt his "never quit" attitude. Period.
Yeah, it's a football movie - but it's the best one you will ever see AND you'd be surprised how many conditioning drills in football are similar to the ones we do in girls volleyball. Just watch the movie.
4. Go After EVERY volleyball in defense.
For your girls volleyball practice adopt the "Rudy" attitude in defense and make any ball in defense YOUR ball. Decide that nothing falls around you or in your immediate area. Take pride in TRYING to get every ball up so your team has another chance to play it and make a point or side out. You may not get it the first or second time but you'll get closer and closer each time and most importantly your coach will notice your effort.
5. Become the backrow quarterback for your girl's volleyball team.
Talk to your teammates before, during and after the game and give them valuable information about what you see happening. Direct traffic by calling out plays you see developing.
This isn't difficult because many times a backrow player - if she's concentrating can see a play developing just like the front row player or sooner. So if you see the Right Front player sliding over to run the "X " Don't keep this information to yourself! Call it out "Watch the X" Watch number 15 coming around" Say it Loud enough so everyone can hear it. If you see the fake "X" developing which is what a lot of setters call after running the X "Call it out" out loud..."watch number 15 coming around for the fake X".
Let the blockers here you, let your defense hear you...just commentate. Secrets?
There are no secrets on the volleyball court. Let your teammates know what to expect.
If a player goes through the front row rotation and all the points she made were by wiping off the block or hitting cross court, the next time she rotates up to the left front YOU go up and out loud and tell YOUR front row blockers in a LOUD voice "Hey that #15 the last time hit everything Xcourt. Be ready for her Xcourt attack."
Besides this being a very good way of "getting inside" your opponent's head it let's your coach know that you are a smart volleyball player, making yourself aware of what is going on in the game and you're doing what it takes to help your team win.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/366993

Great Volleyball Drills For Beginning Players

Doing volleyball drills may not be your favorite way to spend your afternoons, but the volleyball training will make you a much better player! Volleyball is one of the most enjoyable sports, especially for those who like to hit the beach. Playing indoor or beach volleyball can be fun, though many people take it seriously and spend a lot of time practicing. If you want to improve your skills and become a great volleyball player, it is important to spend time doing volleyball drills and getting volleyball training.

Volleyball Drills: Drills for Beginners
For those looking to improve their skills as beginners, there are many volleyball drills you can try. Here are a few of the best volleyball training drills for beginners picking up a volleyball for the first time:
Wall Hitting
For those who have yet to develop their skills with passing the balls with their hands, hitting a specific spot on the wall is going to be a challenge. You can draw a circle, hang a cloth, or mentally picture a spot on the wall to hit, and bounce the ball off the wall. This drill will help you to not only work on hitting the ball with your fingers, but will help you get just the right angle as well.
Toss and Pass
This drill needs two people standing face to face. One person throws the ball to the other person, and they pass it back and forth. Practice passing with your hands and fingers, as well as hitting the ball with the forearms. This will help to improve both accuracy and the ability to gauge the power needed to set or pass the ball.
Wall Blocks
Many beginners have a hard time blocking the ball without hitting the net. This drill basically involves you jumping straight up and touching a spot on the wall with your hands, but without any part of your arms touching the wall. Make sure to use good form for your block, and it will help to improve your ability to block without hitting the net.
Line Passing
This volleyball drill requires a lot of people, at least 4 to a side. Have all the players line up in two lines facing each other, and have the first person pass the ball to the first person of the other line. Once the ball is passed, the passer runs to the back of the line. Continue this drill for at least 10 minutes to get all the players accustomed to quickly hitting the ball and moving.
Volleyball Drills: Three Types of Volleyball Drills
Now that you have gotten some of the beginner volleyball training out of the way, it is important that you understand the three types of volleyball drills for the more advanced players:
1: Strategic, Tactical, and Systematic
These volleyball training exercises focus on working together as a team, using tactics and strategy to outthink the players on the other team. The drills usually involve a combination of skills used during the game, and they use each player's individual skills to improve the team as a whole. Try these drills:
Two vs Six
Sounds unfair, but pitting two players against six will help the players to learn about playing defensively as well as working together effectively.
One vs One
Have one player take each side of the net, and have them volley off against each other in a limited space. They can only hit the ball once with their forearms, and this will help them to work on their stamina, running speed, and ball placement.
Two on Two
Divide the team into smaller teams of two players, and pit them against each other. The team that wins stays playing until they lose, and the teams change after each loss. All of these drills will help your team work together and understand each other's strengths and weaknesses.
2: Movement and Skill Specific
These volleyball training drills work on specific skills and movements that each player needs to develop, such as serving, diving, blocking, setting, and spiking. All of these drills just go through the motions of developing the skills, and they are usually the beginner exercises (see above). A few more movement and skill specific drills to try include:
Progressive Serving
Line up all the players in two lines at the back of the court, and have them serve to each other. The person who serves the ball runs to the back of the line on the opposite side of the court.
Setting Drills
Place a player on each side of the net, and have them set the ball to each other over the net. This helps improve accuracy and height estimation.
Spiking Practice
Have two players on each side of the net, and have them take turns setting up and spiking the ball over the net.
3: Volleyball Conditioning
These volleyball drills are designed to improve your overall physical condition, thus helping to provide you with the strength and stamina for volleyball training. Here are a few drills for volleyball conditioning:
Consecutive Attacks
This drill helps to teach players how to attack the ball at every hit, no matter how tired they are. One person is placed to set the ball, and the hitter spikes as many balls as necessary until he has placed 10 spikes within the court boundaries.
Rotating Triangle
Set three players in a rough triangle on the court, and have them pass the ball to each other. Once the third player hits the ball, they all have to rotate to the next position without letting the ball touch the floor.
Pop Ups
Have each player lie on their belly on the floor, and make them jump to their feet and pass the ball when the whistle blows. This helps to improve the speed they can recover from a dive. These will focus more on speed, reflexes, strength, and stamina, all of which are needed in a game of volleyball.
Volleyball Drills: Volleyball Practice Tips
Are you getting into volleyball training doing volleyball drills? Here are some tips for you:

• Warm Up - Failing to warm up causes sore and tired muscles the next day.


• Practice Daily - Spend at least an hour practicing every day to see your skills improve greatly.


• Repeat, Repeat - Repeating a drill helps your muscles to store the movement in the muscle memory, making it easier to perform without having to think about it.


• Perfection Matters - Only by practicing the perfect movements will "practice make perfect".


• Study - Learn as much as you can about the mechanics of the human body, how you move, and how you have to think when playing the game.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6971407

Beach Volleyball Serve Receive Tips - Are Hand Grips the Secret to Better Passing?

The function of the hand grip you use to forearm pass or bump a ball is to help you keep your elbows straight and to make sure you maintain as flat and as wide a platform as possible. Hand grips come in all forms.

The secret to better passing is to keeping your elbows straight and as locked and close together as possible. Remember you want to create a table top where the only thing the ball has to do is bounce off of your table top and back up to the intended target. The best tip to keeping your elbows straight is to position your wrists with your thumbs always pointing down to the ground in the most efficient way possible.
For some players that looks like placing the fingers of their right hand into the palm of their left so their fingers are turned upward towards them and they are crisscrossed. Now they close their hands together so the thumbs meet, touching side by side. If they are right handed they then should see the first three fingers of their right hand extend past their left thumb.
For others, their hand grip is made by making a fist with their right hand and turning it sideways so they see their thumb on top of their fist. Then they place that fist into the palm of the opposite hand until the two thumbs meet and are lined up side-by-side. The fingers of the left hand should come across the fist and touch the knuckles of the right hand.
Still for others, there are those who modify the fist grip and have their two index fingers pointing to the ground (old school) while a few elite players with out-of-this-world ball control skills, manage to have no grip at all.
Here's the deal, since you will be passing and serve receiving and diving in this wonderful game called beach volleyball you want to have your own personal kung fu grip to be one that doesn't break apart easily under pressure and that absolutely insures that you will be able to create and maintain that all important "table top" which we call a platform.
To maintain the most control of the ball during serve receive the number one important thing is to keep a straight flat platform using a grip that doesn't allow your arms to break apart in mid-action. You want to use both arms to pass, not just one.
Your goal is to be able to put the ball where you want it, whether the ball comes to you as an easy serve or whether you have to dive for a hard hit down ball. Since your platform is where the ball makes contact, it needs to consistently be a flat surface where impact is made above your wrists and below the inside of your elbows on your forearms and with your shoulders angled to your target.

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Spiking Volleyball Drills

Spiking the volleyball is one of the most fundamental yet important skills that any volleyball player can have. That is why volleyball drills that center on spiking the ball are so important. The trick to having a good solid set of volleyball drills for spiking is to ensure that all of your players know the basic parts of the actual spike itself. This includes who should be the player spiking the ball, how to approach the ball, and the best way to make contact with the ball. When designing your volleyball drills, make sure that you stress each of these points so your team will perform each function without any conscious thought.

When working on your volleyball drills to teach the basics of spiking, you will want your team to know who their spikers are. In general, the players that spike the most often are the players in the front row. These players usually play on the 10 foot line. That isn't a hard and fast rule, since the ball can technically be spiked from just about anywhere on the court, but most of the time you will get the best results from your front row players. This is because the front players will have a greater speed and angle to attack the ball. Your volleyball drills should include all positions on the court but concentrate on the 10-foot line players.
The approach is another important aspect of the spike and all of your spiking volleyball drills should teach your team the best way to approach the ball. The way to approach a spike is to generally get a bit of a running start, but it is the last two steps that are the most important. The second to last step should always be on the same foot that the player will hit the ball with. So a left handed hitter will take their second to last step on their left foot. This means that the final step, which is the jump step, will be taken with the opposite foot. This will give the spiker a slightly diagonal profile while they are in the air. This jump is used to transfer the coiled energy of the player from forward and upward momentum to a forward and downward motion. This will add an immense amount of speed to the ball, making it extremely hard to block. You can design volleyball drills that work only on approach to train this as a separate component.
The final part of your volleyball drills for spiking should concentrate on the actual contact with the ball. The arms should be straight, with the elbows fully extended. Visualizing this in your mind, you will see that the ball should be fairly high in the air. The ideal position for the strike is to hit the ball above the body, while keeping it just slightly in front of the player. When actually contacting the ball, the wrists should slightly snap in order to help with the same transfer of energy. This will give the ball a much faster downward speed than would otherwise be attained. Ensure that your players are snapping their wrists at all times when working on your volleyball drills.
A properly performed spike will ensure that the ball can be put away on almost every play. Volleyball drills that concentrate upon the 3 basic parts of the spike will help your team automatically perform the individual pieces of a spike as a single, well-performed move. These simple volleyball drills will ensure that your team knows exactly what a good spike should feel like, and give them the confidence to perform them flawlessly.

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