Basic Skills of Volleyball

The worst situation that a volleyball team could be in is to show up at a game without knowing the skills they needed to win the game. How to hit, being in the proper position, physical conditioning, and a player's ability to jump can help to be competitive as well as gain confidence for the game. Focusing on the basics for volleyball can position a player to gain the skills needed for victory.

General Playing Skills That Should Be Developed

1. Serving. This is where the game starts and is a necessary skill. There are two basic types of serves. One is overhand; where the player will throw the ball above their head, then hits it on the way down. The second is underhand, where the server cradles the ball in one hand and swings the opposite arm underneath the ball to hit it. Once the one of these basic serves is learned, a player can the practice variations of both of these.

2. Pass or reception. This is usually set up by a player called a "setter". It is used in order to take the ball and set the ball up to the other players on your own team. They will then have the ability to put the ball to the other side in a manner to win the point.

3. Tip. A tip is used as a way to trick the other team into thinking that the ball will go further than it will. The player will hit the ball lightly, making it barely go over the net but not too far into the opponent's area so that they can't hit it back.

4. Dig. This is a player's ability to keep the ball from striking the floor after it has been spiked. A player may often dive underneath the ball and extend his/her arms to make the save.

5. Rebound. This happens when the ball stays on one side (from a block), making the players "rebound", or take the ball back.

Physical Skills That Should Be Developed

1. Quickness. Quickness is often mistaken for "being fast". A volleyball player does not require all out speed, but having quickness is a big plus.

2. Vertical Jump. All things being equal, a volleyball player that can jump higher than an opponent has a great advantage. Being able to jump up to hit a ball prior to your opponent can help to win many points.

Developing the physical skills often leads to the further development of the game skills. Increasing a player's quickness will help them respond more quickly and let them get to more "saves". A player that can jump higher will be able to tip and spike the ball over the opposition easier. And the development of both sets of skills work together to provide the player with more confidence in his or her game.

Tom Beagle is writer for EInfoHound. He does extensive research in many areas to "sniff out" and report the information you are looking for on the internet.

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Winning Strategies For Volleyball - Six Keys to Winning Those Close Matches!

Have you ever noticed that when it comes to crunch time in a game, that there are certain teams that pull it out time and time again? There are certain characteristics that these teams have that help them through the tight games. With volleyball, the situation is no different. There are teams that always seem to win but there are key things that they do. Here are a few of those key things that I have noticed over the years:

1. If someone is having difficulty passing the ball, keep serving at them. As basic as this may seem, you would be surprised how many people forget this simple strategy. Throughout the course of the game, you should be paying attention to how the people on the other team are passing. The whole point here is to find a weakness and exploit it. Even the best passers have bad passing days...

2. Keep your serves and hits on the court. Sometimes success in volleyball is not always about making the best plays. Sometimes it is about making fewer mistakes than the other team. With the game being scored by the rally point system, every mistake costs you a point. Be consistent about keeping the ball in bounds and making the other team make the mistake.

3. The setter must run the offense and identify weaknesses on the other team. Prior to the play starting, the setter should be looking to see how their hitters match up against the other teams blockers. Got a weak blocker going up against your best hitter, you would be foolish to not use this to your advantage during those rotations. Yes, it is important to keep all the hitters involved and distribute the ball so that the defense is guessing. However, when it comes to that late game moment, you must use your best offensive option as that is your job running the offense.

4. Move to see the hitter hit the ball. When you are playing defense, if you cannot see the hitter hit the ball, then you are in the wrong spot for defensive purposes. You must position yourself so that you are taking the angle away from the block, the line down the block, or a seam between blockers. Basically, if you cannot see the hitter as they are hitting, you are not helping your team defensively. In those tough matches, good defense can be the winning factor.

5. Serve to the front row passer. When one of the passers on the other team is on the front row, serve to them. This will force them to pass and hit at the same time. Chances are that passing will either get them out of the mindset of hitting, or that it will move them out of position to be a hitting option. Obviously, this works better with some hitters than others, but try it a couple of times throughout the course of the match. If you notice any success with it, come back to this strategy when you have that need for a crucial point.

6. Winning is mostly an attitude. I have noticed that in those close games, the team that expects to win is usually the one that does win. There are people that when they step on the court, they expect to win and it usually happens. This isn't really achieved by trash talking or putting the other team down. It is a mindset and inner confidence that they are going to believe. Basically, it is never an upset if the underdog always considered themselves the better team. Know that you are going to win and expect it.

I hope these six tips will help you prevail in those close matches. Best of luck to you and your team.

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Volleyball is a Great Sport

Many of my friends were really excited today as it was the opening day of the Major League Baseball season. My friends were ready to cheer on their favorite teams. I have no interest in baseball, so I really thought nothing of it. Then, I started thinking about my excitement for the opening day of volleyball season. As I shared this excitement with my friends, they looked at me a little bewildered and said, "when is opening day for volleyball season?"

I realized that there is a very large awareness issue with volleyball as a sport. Most people are none the wiser about when it starts, or even why it is such a great sport. I started to think about the reasons that people enjoy some of the more popular sports (basketball, football, or baseball) and I realized that the same things that make those sports exciting exist in volleyball as well. Here are some of the reasons I have heard people use as to why they like their favorite sport:

I like the high flying dunks - I understand this as it is really exciting to watch someone do a fantastic dunk. However, I find it equally exciting to watch a hitter smack the ball and have it go straight down. Or, watching them hit another player with the ball. What these athletes can do is simply amazing. Oh, and for the high flying part, you should check out Leonel Marshall from the Cuban National team with the 50 inch vertical. No, the 50 inch vertical is not a typo.

I like the teamwork in football how everyone works together - Volleyball is one of the last true team sports. In a sport like basketball, one good player can take over the game without really using the rest of the team. In volleyball, it requires the entire team since the same player cannot it the ball in two consecutive hits. In fact, when the entire team is playing together and they are capable players, it is fun to watch how well it works and see the beauty of a true team sport.

I like the strategy of baseball and seeing the pitcher/batter duel - When playing volleyball with six players, there are so many hitting strategies and ways for the setter to run the offense that it is more fun to watch. There are the quick attacks from the middle blocker, and there are hitters coming from the back row jumping a good distance just to hit the ball, and the strategy of a front row setter taking the opportunity to dump the ball on the second hit. There is also the strategy of reading the hitter and knowing where to block. Is the hitter going to hit down the line, hit angle, or tip over the block? As you can see, there is plenty of strategy once you know more about this great sport.

As you can see, I realized that many of the things I love about this great sport are similar to the reasons that people love the other more popular sports. Hopefully, this article has sparked an interest in you to learn more about this sport.

In conclusion, most of the articles that I have written have been about the "how-to" of volleyball. In this article, I wanted to share some of the great things about this sport and increase people's awareness of it. Pass it on to those that are looking for another great sport.

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Beach Volleyball Strategy

If you are going to try the game of beach volleyball strategy is key to your success. The strategy is much different than that of indoor because of the smaller court and less people on each team.

How do 2 people cover the whole court?

This makes the importance of a huge block key in winning games. The game of beach volleyball favors the blocker. A tall blocker doesn't have to search much for a partner because everyone will want to play with him.

The AVP is set up in a way that the players aren't under contracts with any sort of team but act as individual agents. This means they can play with whoever they want for each tournament. This means that if you aren't a great player you will not be able to find a partner. It is very hard for shorter players to find partners because everyone wants the tallest blocker they can find.

So how do I know where to play defense?

Your blocker will show you signs that will tell where he is blocking so that you will know which half of the court you need to cover. If he shows one finger it means he is blocking line and it becomes your responsibility to cover the angle hit.

As you can see you and your partner must be able to perform all techniques in volleyball in order for your team to succeed. If one of you can't pass you will get served every time. If you can't set than they will serve your partner so that you give him your bad sets.

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