Volleyball Tips

When it comes to Volleyball, we've been there, done that, now serving 447 tips in 16 categories ranging from Beach Volleyball to Scholarships.

What can I do during the offseason?

Offseason Conditioning

Objective:
This tip will help you stay in shape or get in shape for your upcoming season that will be here before you know it.

Course of Action:
1. Play in at least one league all of the time.
2. Do not play only indoor volleyball. If you spend most of your time playing inside, try and get involved in an outdoor league or beach volleyball.
3. Play 2 person beach volleyball whenever possible, this will help every part of your game.
4. Begin a running schedule, if you do not have one already. Training is not just for the off-season.
5. 2 key exercises to do are running at least 8 – 10 miles a week and getting involved in a jumping program or plyometrics.

Focus On:
1. The more you play the better, but do not do more than your body is capable of handling.
2. Cross-train when time permits. Getting involved in other sports is good because it will help you develop muscles that you may not use during the volleyball season.

   
How can I improve my vertical leap and quickness at the same time?

Bleacher Sprints

A good way to improve quickness and jumping ability is to utilize bleachers for running. This can be done on a small set or a large set.

Beginners - may want to start on a small set and run up and done 3 times.

Intermediate - needs to try to complete a large set of about 15-20 bleachers 3 times.

Experienced - players need to complete a large set of bleachers of about 20+ bleachers, skipping every other step.

Every level should take 30 second break and complete at least 3 sets.

   
How can I improve my defense?

Defensive Hand position

Once you learn where to position yourself on the court and the correct defensive stance, don't forget about hand position. When a split second can make the difference between a dig and kill, good hand position can make all the difference. You should have your palms facing up when the hitter contacts the ball. When that ball rockets through the block, your hands will be ready to slide under the ball and pop it up. This seems like a trivial gesture, but really does make a difference.

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How can I help team focus?

Focus on the competition

Here is a simple tip I picked up from an Italian pro team to help focus your players on the competition.

When your team is going through its pre-game stretching don't line them up in a circle facing each other. Instead have them all face their opponent across the net while they stretch. This helps them focus and get familiar with their opponent. In some cases it will intimidate the other team.

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How do I jump serve?

Jump Serve and a Golf Swing

Very few coaches teach players technique when it comes to a jump serve.

A jump serve is like a golf swing in that regardless of which club you use you want to use the same swing every time. Unlike a spike where there are many variables to consider before and durring the attack a good jump serve limits your variables.

It is common for a beginning player to practice variables which is O.K. but only for the initial learning phase(less than 100 swings). You should explore which approach, toss, armswing, etc feels comfortable to you before you settle on a routein.

Once you have the general feel for the skill your approach, toss, jump, armswing, tempo and contact should be the same every time. Perhaps the most important variable is the point of contact. Regardless of what else is happening if you have the same contact point every time you will have success.

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How can I work on playing quicker defense?

Soto Drill

I learned this one from Eric Soto who had lightning quick defensive reaction time. This one is only for the serious digger.

Here goes.
You grab a ball and put yourself about 5-10 feet from a wall. Next toss the ball in the air and spike it hard against the wall so it launches back at you. Dig or deflect the ball into the air or at a simulated target on the wall.

After getting the hang of it try hitting the ball harder(or stepping closer to the wall) and at different spots so you get to work at deflecting the ball in different positions or with various body parts.

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