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Checklists
Passing
Technique
- Feet slightly more than shoulder width apart
- Right foot slightly in front of the left
- Knees flexed
- Head and shoulders just in front of toes, so heels are just off the ground
- Arms out in front of body with hands in neutral position and open
- Platform at a 45 degree angle toward the ground
- Round shoulders forward to create a strong frame
- Pause before contact
- Push the ball to the target area
Tips
- Always move to face the target!
- Always call the ball and move to it aggressively!
- Call in and out for your teammates, loud enough for everyone on your team to hear
- Pass with a medium trajectory, a few feet off the net, to the setter's hands
- Keep your body in front of the ball, use a step-and-surround or single-knee drop if necessary
- Don't be afraid to step up and take a first ball with your hands, particularly useful for line drive float serves
- The closer you are to the net, the lower you may need to be, but keep your hands up higher
Serving
Standing Floater Serve (for right-handed players)
- Hold ball in left hand extended in front of right shoulder
- Position left foot forward and pointed toward target
- Draw right arm back with hand above the head and elbow fully back, opening up the body
- Toss 1 to 2 feet high, keep the left hand up and pointed toward the ball
- Hitting hand should be fully open and rigid on contact
- Follow through with arm straight and pointed toward target
- Power comes from hip rotation, then shoulder rotation, then arm and hand follow-through
- Consistent serving starts with a consistent toss
- Toss - Step - Swing - Follow Through - Hold on Target - Get to Position
Strategies
- Understand your serving strengths and weaknesses, practice to improve
- Serve aggressively, but make sure the ball goes over the net
- Attack weak passers until the team adjusts
- Attack disruptive zones, e.g. serving to zone 2 can make it tough for the setter
- Serving deep and high, or inside the 10' line, or to seams between passers is effective
- Be able to mix up the depth and speed of your serve
- Avoid serving to the libero
- Use proper fundamentals at all times
Blocking
Technique
- Forearm's length from the net
- Feet slightly more than shoulder width apart
- Knees flexed so can jump instantly
- Hands at shoulder width, even with or slightly higher than your head
- Hands should be open with fingers spread, rounded as if holding a bowl
- After jumping, press palms of the hands forward across the plane of the net
- Shrug shoulders forward and lock out elbows at the peak of the jump
- At contact, flex all muscles from hands down through the abdominals
- Keep elbows locked until landing on the ground
- Keep eyes open and fixed on the hitter throughout movement and jump
- Land balanced on two feet and ready to transition to attack
Tips
- Good, fluid footwork is essential to good blocking; Use shuffle or crossover steps as necessary
- For the crossover step, the first movement is with the leg that is on the side of the direction in which you wish to move. Step slightly angled away from the net, followed by the second step across the body. For the final step "close the door" with a hip pivot back to the net, landing with your feet parallel to the net and shoulder width apart. Try to compress as you land for an explosive jump.
- Practice in front of a full-length mirror to ensure proper body positioning throughout the block
- Make sure that you are jumping straight up and down in order to avoid hitting the net or colliding with another blocker
- If you think your timing is off, jump earlier than you think you need to
- The OH or RS sets the block and the MB must move to close the block
- When setting the block, remember that you should be setting it for a double block
- Remember that the block's primary job is to channel the ball to the passers, not to get a stuff block every time!
- When a ball is overpassed and you have the opportunity to play it, the safest play is a sweeping block
Conditioning
Cardio
Aim to do 15-20 minutes of cardio work, which can be any combination of:- Burpees (drop to push-up position, bring knees to chest, block jump)
- Mountain Climbers
- Jumping Jacks
- Running, Treadmill, Elliptical
Upper Body
If you are unable to do a regular push-up, try to do modified (from the knees) or reverse (lower yourself slowly and try to hold) push-ups.- Push-ups
- Reverse Push-ups
- Tricep Push-ups
- Pull-ups
- Dips
Lower Body
- Squats
- Lunges
- Box Jumps
Core/Abdominals
- Crunches
- Plank
- V-ups
- Flutter Kicks
