Titan Club Volleybal

How to Train For Beach Volleyball

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:00:57 +0000

Whether you are making the transition from indoor volleyball to the beach or you are just starting volleyball, there are some important things you need to know before you take your game to the sand. The first thing I want talk about is moving in the sand. Indoor volleyball players learn how to do rolls on the ground when they dive for a ball. In sand you will never need to roll and frankly you don’t have time to be rolling in sand. Because the surface is much softer you can simply dive and you won’t have to worry about getting injured. You want to stay low when playing defense, but not on your heels. If someone shoots the ball you will get there faster if you stay low instead of standing up all the way and then running over to get the ball. In the time it takes you to straighten your legs to stand all the way up you could have taken one step. Everyone naturally stands up and then runs, so this is something you will need to consciously work on until it becomes habit.

One of the biggest differences from indoor volleyball and beach volleyball is the jumping. When you jump off of a court you can use a lot of your forward momentum and convert that into vertical leap. This doesn’t happen so much in the sand, so the form for jumping is different. A lot of good indoor volleyball hitters play beach volleyball and hate it because they can’t get out of the sand to hit a ball even though they are well over 6 feet tall. In indoor volleyball when you approach to hit a ball you jump forward and end up landing either a foot or many feet in front of where you started your jump. When playing beach volleyball you will have to learn how to jump straight up with little to no forward movement in the air. Because you are jumping from an unstable surface you will notice that your sink a few inches before you take off and this will greatly decrease how high you can get. So when you approach you want to hit harder with your last 2 steps. The idea is to pack the sand under your feet as hard and as fast as possible so you have something a little more solid to jump from which will result in a higher vertical in the sand. This will feel different at first but the sooner you learn to stomp hard before you jump, the sooner you will be able to get your feet out of the sand. Don’t get discouraged if you feel sluggish when starting to play sand volleyball, your legs will get accustomed to it and you will get faster in the sand then you were on the court.

Girls High School & Club Volleyball Skill – How to Use Pepper Warmup to Improve Your Defensive Skill

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:00:25 +0000

Many girls volleyball players don’t know how to use the Pepper Warm up Drill as a way to improve their volleyball game. Below are 5 ways elite volleyball players use “Pepper” as a way to improve their volleyball defensive skill.

1. To Improve Ball Control volleyball skills.

2. To Improve Serve Receive volleyball technique.I think that Pepper is the number one way for indoor volleyball players to improve their volleyball control skills…if they know how to do it. You have to be aware of why you are Peppering in the first place. If not, then it just becomes a way to raise your body temperature…some.

a. When YOU set-whoever sets should be working on proper volleyball setting skill, form and technique.

The Goal- the volleyball should go right to your partner without them taking more than one step in any direction to chase your ball.

b. When Your partner passes back-concentration should be on using excellent form for serve receive and free ball passing-especially now since this is an easy ball.The Goal- first to pass the volleyball so she/he can hit the ball right back without taking more than one step. Secondly, bump setting practice for accuracy so each and every ball goes right back to above the hitters extended hitting arm.

c. When You hit. You hit a controlled 1/2 to 3/4 speed down ball right to your partner. In this instance you have a controlled situation in which to improve your skill and practice the finer points of your arm swing. Concentrate -on “reaching” raising your elbow and hitting high while controlling the ball speed. Don’t hit by your ear just because there’s no net! Hit low in Pepper means you hit low in hitting warm ups and then in a volleyball game. Trust me-it all transfers. Your body is recording every movement you make it do-so pledge to yourself to do the volleyball skill and the movements right.

The Goal- To hit the spot you are aiming for-which in Pepper is right to your partner-so that she doesn’t have to move more than one step UNLESS you choose to mix up your attack and include a tip to your partner. Highly recommended after you have improved your ball control.d. Your partner digs-focus on being down in your defensive position before your partner hits the ball meaning by the time they make contact. Because Pepper partners are relatively close together you will automatically be developing quick reflexes. Here is where you practice combining quick reflex with BALL CONTROL. React quickly…then control the ball. React quickly then c-o-n-t-r-o-l the ball.

The Goal- Learning to absorb a hard hit ball at a close distance and delivering that ball (softly, gently people) in control to your target without making them move more than one step. Fight to perform the volleyball skill correctly and to maintain control of the ball.

3. To Increase Your Range in your Defensive Volleyball Skill.

Advanced players can challenge their partners (you both need to agree to make the drill work) by tipping the ball further and further out of reach – the more of these balls you get in pepper-the more you will get in the game. It all transfers. Or by hitting a 1/2 to 3/4 speed down ball a foot or 2 to the right or left of the defender will increase your range of harder hit defensive balls that you dig up around you.

4. To Narrow Your Focus and Concentration

Many times Pepper warm ups take place in a crowded environment. Either with 25 teammates on either side of you, or near that net divider that separates the courts in a volleyball tournament, fans that walk up and down the aisles, team benches, believe it or not this is a great practice opportunity- to narrow your focus and increase volleyball concentration skills so that it doesn’t matter what happens around you…the world can come to an end but your focus is only on the volleyball.

5. To Increase Your Reactions and Reduce Fear of the Ball

As your ball control gets better then you and your Pepper partner should agree to challenge each other to make each other better players. I had fantastic pepper partners in college (Beverly Robinson) and in Italy (Paula Weishoff, Elaina Oden) who would run me ragged, pushing me and peppering all over the court in pre game warm ups. This was how my defensive volleyball skills improved tremendously.

When you get to the point when you are exchanging 10-12 pass,set,hit combinations in a row Stop and both of you commit to hitting harder at each other. About 3/4 the speed of your regularly hit spike-BUT YOUR GOAL is to still work up to as many pass-set-hit exchanges as you can while Controlling the ball. Your digs should still be going right to each other.

Always work on improving your individual volleyball skills, remember the ball is in Your hands.

The Serve In Volleyball Explained

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:00:24 +0000

In volleyball, the serve is the act of putting the ball in play by a player sounds simple, but actually it describes one of the most important plays in the game of volleyball. The underhand and the overhand serves are described below.

Underhand Serve

In executing the underhand service, the server should be back of the end line and within the extensions of the side lines. This is the service area as described in the rules. The server should stand with his knees flexed, and, in the case of a right-handed player, his left foot should be slightly in front of the right.

The ball is held in the left hand to the front and right side of the body so that it will be directly in line with the right hand. A high back swing should be made with the right arm, and the forward swing should be made directly under the shoulder and the ball. The elbow should be kept straight.

The ball is hit off the left hand similarly to the way a golf ball is hit off a tee. A good follow-through is essential. The right hand should be held like a claw and the ball should be hit with the heel of the hand. Some players use a closed fist and hit the ball with the heel and flat surface of the fist, but it is difficult to have the control with the fist that one has with the open hand.

As the swing is made, a short step forward should be made with the left foot, shifting the body weight to the left foot. Special care should be taken to keep the foot from touching the end line, which would constitute a foot fault and result in the loss of serve.

Overhand Serve

The overhand serve is a very effective serve and with practice may also be very accurate. This serve is accomplished by tossing the ball easily to a position just above the level of the head and just slightly in front of the frontal plane of the body.

The ball should be tossed in front of the right arm and shoulder. The right arm should be in a position so that the upper arm is parallel to the floor and to the frontal plane of the body. The hand should be held in a clawlike manner, close to the head and behind the ear.

In the tossing sequence, Odeneal suggests that the valve of the ball be placed toward the receiving team. This small amount of weight in the valve causes the ball to dip and slide after being hit.

The ball is hit in much the same manner as a spiker would hit a volleyball or in the same manner as a catcher might throw a ball to second base. Wilson recommends that the ball be hit or batted with a motion similar to a serve in tennis. The ball is hit with the heel of the hand and slightly capped with the fingers. There is very little follow-through on this service.

Capping the ball with the fingers after hitting it with the heel of the hand will give a top spin to the ball, causing it to go at a fast rate similar to a spike. The ball may also be hit in the center and not capped with the fingers. This creates a floating ball that jumps and slides because it has no spin. The floater travels fast over the net and dies quickly, making it difficult to judge in receiving. Both the capped and the floater serves are very effective and can be used interchangeably.

The most common stance of the server is with his feet in close proximity to and equidistant from the end line. However, some servers prefer to stand several feet behind the end line and/or with one foot forward. It is not necessary to take a step with the overhand service. Here again, this is a matter of preference with the individual player.

Serving is an important part of the game of volleyball, and should be practiced accordingly. Have fun!