Here are five tips champion athletes use to improve their volleyball serve receiving skills. Now you can easily adopt these volleyball skills to improve your technique during games and volleyball tournaments.
1. Learning to Read the Server’s Body Position is the first volleyball skill to remember.
When a volleyball player is ready to serve – they usually give you some indication where they are planning to serve. By checking their lower body, their feet and especially their hip position you get some clues as to whether they want to serve the volleyball cross court or down the line.
Also check out where their shoulders are facing and where there tossing arm is – this will give you additional clues. Alot of servers when they want to serve a short ball to the front row hitters on the opposite side – MANY times they step right up to the serving line as close as they can. This is a pretty good indication that a short serve is coming. So when you see that don’t wait for your volleyball coach to tell you, just adjust accordingly by taking a step closer to the net so that you cover any short serves that come in your area.
2. Volleyball Skill Number two is to Stay Low.
Once the referee’s whistle blows DON”T STAND UP! Stay in “shoulders hunched/slightly crouched” ready position in order to serve receive. Why?
a) Because if the server serves you deep or short its easier for you to move forwards and backwards – if you are in a slightly crouched position. b) By standing up, the ball will more than likely hit you in the chest. As the serve crosses the net Stay Low – while preparing your body position and platform to serve receive.
3. Another complicated volleyball skill to remember – Talk!
Be ready to take responsibility for balls that’re served to you or in your area – by calling “MINE” in a loud clear voice so your teammmates know that you WANT that ball and only you will pass that ball. It allows your teammmates to set up early for whatever they need to do next.
Communicate what serve you think is coming. If I see someone “toeing” the line- by this I mean stepping up really close to the server’s line then I will tell my beach partner OR my indoor teammates in a loud voice “Watch out for the short serve!” This mentally helps you AND your teammates to be ready to move quickly if the short serve comes. This way everybody on the volleyball court KNOWS and is aware of the short ball possibly coming.
You’ve also made the server aware of the fact that you know what they are about to do so it puts more presssure on them to concentrate .
4. Volleyball Skill Number Four is to Focus on the Volleyball.
Once you’ve checked out the server’s body position and where they look like they are serving and called it out to your teammates…once the whistle blows Focus on the BALL while its in the server’s tossing hand.
Once the server tosses the volleyball they really can’t change much of anything else so I visibly TRACK that ball from their hands when they contact it across the net and I track it right into my arms. I follow by watching the ball with my eyes right into my serve receive platform. Really Focusing on the ball keeps me from being surprised and moving at the last minute once that ball crosses the net to my side of the court. I am already visibly and mentally following that ball out of the server’s hands so by the time it gets to the volleyball net and then crosses to my side its easy for me to move my feet and get to position to make a great pass.
5. The final volleyball skill is to get into Early Positioning and then Get Stopped!
Don’t do two things at once. Don’t pass and run at the same time! Your passes usually won’t go to your setter BUT instead will go immediately over the net. Get to the spot First on the volleyball court where you see the ball is going to cross the net and land even if this means that you may only need a side step or two or may even have to run to get to a further spot away from you Get THERE first then GET STOPPED -get your Platform out- then make the pass. Make sure you do this in 2 separate movements.
So remember Get to Your Spot Quickly – Beat the ball there – Get Stopped – Make the Pass!
By: april chapple
Posts Tagged ‘Shoulders’
Coaching Girls Volleyball Skills: Top 5 Serve Receive Secrets Volleyball Champions Know
December 18th, 2009Volleyball Sets: How to Make Setting Simple Part 2
December 15th, 2009To coach volleyball setting skills I’ve broken down each part of the setting fundamental by body part so that you can self check and control each part yourself. So even without a volleyball coach you can correct or at least reduce your own unforced errors! This is Part of my Volleyball Setting is Simple article.
The volleyball setting Position for your Upper Body and Lower Body Positioning.
How do you know if you have the correct body position in order to set the ball correctly? You can determine this yourself because ideally you want your whole body to be lined up in a straight line-NOT with your butt sticking out, underneath the ball every time you get ready to set it.Your forehead and your feet will be your guide as to positioning your whole body underneath the ball.
You want to move To The volleyball quickly.
When the ball has reached its highest height it can only come down. Once you determine where the ball will come down and how fast the ball will come down- then you know that’s where you, your forehead and your Quick moving feet need to be – directly underneath its path. Then, it’s a matter of moving your legs quickly enough to get your forehead underneath the ball in order to get in the correct squatted setting position.
One more thing to remember before contacting the ball. Once you’ve determined where you need to be in order to set – you need to square your shoulders and face the target you are going to set to – BEFORE you contact the volleyball. If I’m in the front row setting and the ball I want to set is coming from my back court and I know that I need to set my hitter who is in the front row with me I
1. identify where the ball is going to come down
2. then quickly move my feet to get underneath the ball and
3. then I face exactly where I want to set so that all my force and energy is concentrated (in a straight line) on getting the ball to my target BEFORE
4. I set the ball. You shouldn’t be twisting or setting sideways WHILE contacting the ball. Be sure to Face your target Before contacting the ball!
The volleyball setting position for Contacting The Ball.
Once the ball is within reach of your hands – you will lower your body into the squatted position by bending your knees down to almost a 45 degree angle. Which means you feel like you are about to sit down in a chair. Don’t forget that your right foot should be about two inches in front of your left foot if you’re right handed and vice versa if you are left handed.
Once the ball is in your “triangle” you come out of your squat by straightening your legs and directing the ball straight back up into the air in the direction you are facing. Since you have already squared up and faced your intended target your arms and shoulders should follow through straight up staying in line with your body. When you’ve finished your set STOP and hold your position to make sure that your arms are fully extended Above Your Forehead and your hands are only 1-2 inches apart from each other still in the shape of a loose triangle. Your palms are still facing upwards toward the sky No breaking or flexing of your wrists! Your fingers should still finish in the shape of a “broken” triangle.This is your finishing position for every set you make. Check your finishing position if your sets aren’t getting where you want them to go.
Self Check
If your arms are fully extended but finish in front of your nose Your sets will be too low for your hitter to hit. If your arms finish on top of your head or behind your forehead your sets will likely finish right where you are standing which makes it difficult for anyone else to hit or pass. Where is your body facing? Where are your arms once you’ve finished setting the ball? Is your butt sticking out? This is why its important to use your forehead as your guide for correct body position.You will be able to tell by yourself whether you are setting the ball correctly.
By: april chapple
A Fundamental Progression to Improve Volleyball Passing at Any Level
December 9th, 2009At our camps we use the following progression to teach passing, no matter the experience level or talent of the players. Of course, how much time we spend on the following is dictated by the passing prowess of the players. However, I have never conducted a camp where the passing fundamentals of even the most experienced players could not be improved with a little more focus on technique. Typically, the better the players pass when we begin, the faster we run the drills, as mostplayers passing accuracy decreases as their speed to the ball increases. This passing progression has improved the passing accuracy of every team I have ever worked with, so here we go:THE STANCE: -Feet wider than shoulders with rt. foot slightly in front of left (big toe on lt. foot lines up to instep of rt. foot)-Ankles flexed or bent forward so that weight is on front of feet and heels feel like they are barely touching the floor. (This will cause their knees to bend naturally-but telling them to “bend their knees” will not guarantee their weight is on the front part of their feet. )-Hands waist high with elbows bent in front of hips, palms facing each other. -Hips up, shoulders forward, so that the back is flat and parallel to the floor. Tip: You do not not want them to bring their heals off the floor in their stance. USA Volleyball did a study awhile back and concluded that if the heals are off the floor in the ready position, the first thing that happens when the player begins to move is that the heals go down to the floor anyway, thus slightly slowing down the start of the movement to the ball. Tip: Each time they get into the ready position, have them lean forward and “swipe” the floor with their right hand with a sideways motion, touching it with their finger tips-this tells them they are low enough and helps to ensure their weight is forward on the front of their feet. Do not let them “squat and poke” the floor, make sure they lean forward and swipe instead. THE RHYTHM STEP/PASSING PLATFORM: -As the all comes in to them, they take a small “left-right” step to the ball. It’s almost a shuffle, as the left foot should never come totally in front of the right foot. -As they are doing this, the arms/hands are extended straight out from the body. -Hand position: lay the right hand across the inside of the left hand so that the first knuckles of the right hand are just outside of the pinkie of the left hand, then bring the base of the thumbs together and rotate the wrists so that the thumbnails are pointing toward the floor. Tip: This hand position guarantees that the fleshy part of the forearm will be exposed to the ball. This leads to more control of the ball upon contact than if the ball were to contact the bony part of the forearms-which is what is most exposed to the ball if the old “make a fist and wrap your other hand around it” technique is used. THE PASS: -Keep the ball between their hips-Point their passing platform at their target-Watch the “bottom-half” of the ball into the fleshy part of the forearms. -If the ball were to somehow pass right through their arms it would hit them right in the mid-to-upper thighs. -Hold the platform to the target until the ball reaches the target (or gets far enough away from them that it misses the target) 
Tip: After they pass, have them stay low and again lean forward and swipe the floor with their right hand. This keeps them from bringing their shoulders up, and thus producing too much arm motion on their follow through, which produces too much force on the ball. PRACTICE: -Start them with the “Stanford Passing Drill”-Pair them up with a ball for each pair. -One girl from each pair is 15 ft. off the net, the other is at the net as the tosser/target. -Give them a goal of so many good passes in a time period, and make sure to define for them what counts as a good pass. Tip: As their passing level progresses, move the passers to the ten foot line. (The closer they are to the target, the harder the drill becomes. ) Next go to “Short/Long Passing Drill”: -Same alignment as “Stanford” to start-First ball is tossed so that the passer has to shuffle three steps minimum to make the pass-Passer then holds that position until the tosser tosses the next ball at least three steps minimum to make the pass-Passer holds that position until next toss is made in front of them like the first toss of the drill-Go for 30 secs with a “total good pass goal” and make sure everyone goes twice. Next use the “Passing Footwork Progression Drill”:-A coach stands at center net on the same side as a single fileline of players on the endline at middle back. Two players are to the left ofthe coach at the net. One serves to hand the next ball to the coach and oneis at the target. The drill starts with the coach rolling a ball to either corner. The first player in linemust shuffle to the ball in their passing stance and let the ball roll through thecenter of their legs (mid-line of the body) while keeping their hips and shoulders square to the net. The player then turns and runs to retrieve the ball and moves to the target position to the left of the coach. The player serving as ball hander gives the coach the next ball and runs to the end of the line at middle back. the target player moves to the ball hander position, and the drill continues in rapid fire fashion. Progression:-After a few times through the line, the coach moves to bouncing the ballon a low and quick path. -After a few more times through the line, the coach moves to tossing the ball andthe player passes the ball to the target. -After a few more times through the line, the coach moves to the opposite side ofthe net about twenty feet back and throws the ball overhand to the corners, andthe player passes the ball to the target. Tip: Stress “beating the ball to the spot”. This gets the players to focus on movingquickly enough to be in correct passing position when the ball arrives. This is a great drill for teaching shuffling to the ball while staying in the passing stance and square to the net. The progression allows the players to apply the footwork and body position to actually passing a ball immediately. Next use the “Triangle Passing Drill”: -Groups of 3 girls/two balls-aligned in a triangle formation with the two tossers about 10 ft. apart and the passer about ten ft. away and in the middle of them. -One tosser tosses ball directly out in front of herself and passer must shuffle over and make pass back to her. -As soon as the pass is made, the passer starts shuffling to get in front of ball tosses by the other tosser, who tosses it as soon as the first pass is made. -Go for 30 secs. and the score is the total of the good passes to both tossers added together. More Tips: -During this entire progression, periodically have them take off one knee pad and place it between their shoulder blades. This keeps them from bringing their shoulders up, because if they do, the knee pad falls off. -With each of these drills, be sure to make sure they remember their scores and then set a goal to beat that score the next time the drill is run. -Any time the ball is more than three shuffle steps away, they need to break down and run to get behind the ball and then quickly get back into their stance to pass the ball. Make sure they focus on “beating the ball” to the spot, not “meeting the ball at the spot”. -As you move into drills that are more of a combination of skills, make sure to demand they continue to focus on their passing fundamentals. Usually the more involved the drill is, the more they let their basic passing fundamentals drop off. Good Luck!
