Posts Tagged ‘volleyball drills’

What do you need to do to improve your hitting?

How do you get past the level of playing “jungle ball” and all the lack of control that implies and become a good, ACCURATE player??  I’m glad you asked, but I think you already knew the answer, practice, practice, practice.  Yes more drills.  Now I hear the groaning, but don’t despair. If you have seen “The Karate Kid” and remember “wax on, wax off” you know how much this will improve your game.  You may not beat up any bullies, but getting in that game winning shot is just as rewarding.

Before beginning any drills make sure to do some warming up and stretching.  You also want to finish with a cool down and stretching, your muscles will be extremely grateful the next day.  Drills tend to be pretty specific to the skill you are trying to improve. One key thing to focus on is getting full extension.  The fuller you extend yourself the stronger your shots and the further your range of motion.  One extra inch of extension from your arm being straight rather than slightly bent can make that shot a winner. 

The “reach and snap” drill is great for two reasons; it works on your accuracy and positioning with your coach observing you, and you are lined up so that you can see other players and what they are doing correctly or incorrectly and learn from them as well.  You line up towards the back of the court with your side facing the net.  The ball is then tossed in the air, you jump and “reach” and then with a wrist “snap” you hit the ball over the net.  You are trying to get as much reach or extension as possible and also put some spin on the ball.  The observing in this drill is just as important as the doing.  Keep your eyes on the ball, even when you aren’t up, you’ll see the difference that just a little elbow bending can make in making your shots less effective.

After you work on getting your form right so you have that control, you want to get your placement down.  The goal here is to put the ball anywhere the opposing team has no one in position, or to hit the ball towards the weakest player.  That may sound mean, but that’s the Darwinism of volleyball.  In a “four corner” drill you are practicing placing you shots in all four corners of the court.  Your coach or partner will toss up a ball to you, set-style, and you need to practice the movements that will alter the ball placement.  As you practice you will see that many times just a small upper body rotation is all that you will need to add.  When you start getting better you can learn to alter your body position so it is more difficult for the opposing team to read where you will be sending the ball, this is good to learn.

So now you are gaining some skills, and it’s time to add in a drill that incorporates everything you have been learning.   The “running transition” drill does just this. You begin at the net, run to the back line, hit a shot, run forward to half court, hit another shot, run to the net, and hit another shot.  This mimics more accurately what you could be moving like in a game.  It helps you work on hitting, of course, but also, your footwork, your timing and your positioning; and turns you into a more well-rounded player.  Drills seem redundant at first, but the best athletes continue to do them, Tiger does, and if it works for him….

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www.volleyballbeginnerdrills.com

Technorati Tags: improve volleyball hitting, volleyball drills, volleyball hitting drills, Volleyball spike

1. Design Volleyball Drills for Appropriate Time of Season

Coaches should create an outline for their practices before the
season starts. It’s important to have created a
practice plan several months before the season that has
guidelines for what the team needs to accomplish.

These guidelines include everything from conditioning to skills
and drills. As the off-season, pre-season, and in-season are
going on, details of what exactly to be doing in practices
should be determined.

The volleyball coach should make an effort to plan each practice
or each practice week considering what needs to be improved upon
the specific time of season. This is called periodization.

A team should be taken through different volleyball
drills for conditioning in pre-season than in-season. In
pre-season, coaches should design volleyball conditioning drills
that train power endurance and prepare volleyball players for
the upcoming season.

When in-season, you want your volleyball players well rested and
playing their best. Conditioning for in-season should be more
focused on peak volleyball performance and less on building
endurance.

2. Design Volleyball Drills for Appropriate Time of Practice

What and when you do volleyball drills in practice is important
for having a successful practice. Technical skill volleyball drills, or
individual player volleyball drills are usually best done near the
beginning of practice. Team volleyball drills or fun volleyball drills
should be done near the end of practice.

Technical volleyball drills are drills that need players to focus for
perfect skill execution.

When performing technical drills, it’s common to rotate players
quickly during the drill. For example, when players are trying to execute a perfect forearm pass using perfect passing form, players can rotate quickly and only have
to focus on skill execution at a time.

With technical drills, each repetition is important. Players
shouldn’t be forced to pass so many balls in a series that will
make it harder to focus.

3. Keep Players Active

Limit each players part in each drill to just 1-3 minutes
because any longer than that players will start losing focus.
Volleyball drills that involve players rotating quickly are good because
they can get a break in focusing on the task then come back and
do the same thing several times again after each rotation during
the volleyball drill. So they are able to get repetition without having to
work several minutes at once repeating the same thing. This is
really important in executing technical volleyball drills.

Also, drills should be designed that keep players
actively participating in the drill. You don’t want to run
drills where many players are standing around watching. The more
players are able to stay involved, the
more they will stay focused and improve.

4. Design Volleyball Drills Specific to Player’s Playing Level

Not all players are for same. Coaches shouldn’t
design volleyball drills that are so advanced that players won’t get
anything out of doing them. Also, players shouldn’t be doing volleyball
drills that they’ve already mastered.

Coaches should look at individual players and determine what the
weakest link is. For example, if a player’s weakest skill is
passing, they need to spend time working on passing.

On the other hand, if a player’s strongest skill is hitting,
they shouldn’t be working on hitting all the time. Often, what
skills player’s like to work on are ones they are already really
good at doing.

5. Be Aware of What Current Events are Affecting Your Volleyball
Team

A volleyball player’s mood, stress level, and lifestyle have a
major impact on their volleyball playing ability.

They should be design with current events
in mind.

For example, if a team just experienced a long weekend from an
emotionally draining tournament, volleyball drills for the next
practice should be adjusted accordingly.

Also, day to day events such as exams and other events that
cause stress in school should be considered when designing
volleyball drills. Drills for practice often need to
be adjusted on the fly because of such a busy lifestyle.

Many teenagers have very busy lives and are often stressed.
Players may sometimes show up to practice and what you as a
coach had planned just aren’t going to work that day. Coaches
need to pay attention to how players are feeling and adjust
practices accordingly.

Author: Dennis Jackson

Dennis Jackson is a volleyball expert that provides advice on volleyball training. For more tips on volleyball drills along with volleyball strength and conditioning, visit his volleyball drills website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Jackson

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ACU Wildcat Sports: First week of volleyball practice in the books

You could read an article with several quotes from head coach Kellen Mock about the first week of volleyball practice, and you could read a story describing some of the drills.

Rebel Volleyball To Host Spring Tournament This Weekend …

Volleyball Coach’s Corner with Joe Getzin 09.23. Volleyball Coach’s Corner with Joe Getzin 09.17. Volleyball Coach Speak with Joe Getzin 09.11. Volleyball Coach Speak with Joe Getzin 

Technorati Tags: volleyball drills, volleyball practice

Breaking Up the Serving Volleyball Skill: How To Become A Serving Sensation

The volleyball serve is the first form of attack. It’s the first attempt you have to make a direct point against the opposite team. By breaking up the serving volleyball skill by body part you will learn how to effectively put the opposite team in difficulty.

You will learn quickly that what you do with your feet and lower body determines how well you will perform all volleyball fundamentals. That’s why alot of my advice and tips focus on the correct positioning of your feet and lower body.

Feet In order to begin the serve we first start with your feet positioning. Right handers place your right foot behind your left foot so your Right foot is perpendicular to your Left. Your left foot should be pointed Exactly in the direction of where you want to serve. If you want to serve down the line then your Left foot ,hips and upper body should be pointed straight ahead. When serving cross court your left foot , hips and upper body should be turned and facing cross court. All your body weight should be on your back (right foot. The only lower body movement needed when you serve will be a shift in weight from your back (Right) foot to the front (Left) foot. Upper Body – Left Arm Extend your Left arm straight out in front of your palm facing up. Place ball in the palm of this hand.

Toss – The toss is one of the most important elements of the serve. Make sure the starting position for your Left arm is straight out in front of you – not down by your waist. With a straight Left arm Toss the ball no more than 2 feet in the air. For practice, while learning, let the ball fall to the ground. A correctly tossed ball will land about 10-12 inches – Every Time. Your toss should be the same EVERY TIME. Two feet up in the air and 10 inches in front of your LEFT foot. If you Toss to the left or right of your front foot

1. you will be forced off balance.

2. you will be forced to chase your toss – which will force you Not to serve in the direction you want to. Believe it or not the TOSS is where many serving errors start. RIGHT ARM Right arm is fully extended with fingertips and palm facing downward lightly covering the top of the ball. After the toss – you step forward shifting your body weight from back foot to front foot to meet the ball. At this moment you begin your arm swing. Start your RIGHT arm swing by pulling your arm straight back – palm facing outward – keep elbow high your elbow should pass Over the level of your ear – in slow motion you should be able to turn your head slightly to look underneath your elbow as you pull your arm back – use the same movement you would use to pull a bow and arrow. Once you’ve pulled the arrow (your elbow) as far back as it will go, keeping the elbow as high as possible -raise the forearm above your head – palm facing the sky – bring arm forward to make contact with the ball. Contact should be made squarely in the center of the ball with the flat upper palm portion of your hand.

Establish a Serving Rhythm

1. Assume the Start Position with your feet in the "2 o’clock" position – your weight on the back foot, prepare to toss with the Left hand.

2. Take a step shifting your weight from your back (Right) foot to the front (Left) foot towards the ball.

HIPS 1. Start arm swing (just like pulling the bow of an arrow) as you step forward (shift weight) to go contact the tossed ball.

2. Contact the ball squarely in the middle of it – with the upper part of the palm of your hand. Don’t "Shot Put" Your Serve. Shot putting occurs when your elbow is too low during your arm swing. When your elbow is low the server is forced to try and lift the ball over the net just by using the force of an open palm which doesn’t produce enough force or momentum to get the ball over the net. Don’t Disguise Your Serve Let everyone in the gym know where you are going to serve – especially whoever you are serving to. This often puts pressure on the passer. With practice and repetition you will be able to serve tough enough so that your target will have difficulty passing your serve.

Also, when you try to show that you are serving in one direction then serve in another direction- it usually forces you to add more movement than necessary in your serving technique. When this happens more often than not you will

1. miss the timing of your toss, or

2. Contact the ball on its side or

3. Be forced off balance which all contribute to a possible missed serve.

So Remember you want to …

0. Face your target

1. Aim

2. Toss

3. Shift your weight

4. Step to the Toss

5. Contact the ball squarely

6. Serve Tough.

7. Become a Fabulous Serving Sensation!

April Chapple is a former USA National Womens Volleyball Team member and Volleyball Professional who created the first virtual volleyball mentoring community with volleyball skills coaching and information sites where females learn how to play better volleyball.

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MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Serving errors lead to Cardinals’ downfall – SPORTS

The Ball State University men’s volleyball team did not start off the way coach Joel Walton wanted it to in serving, which led to the team being swept by George Mason University. 

Put the Punch in Your Volleyball Top Spin Serve

How do you put that maximum impact into your volleyball serve? Everyone has a style that works for them, and it’s going to be up to you to discover ways to influence your preferred style 

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