May 28, 2010 by jameslucas.

By April Chapple

Volleyball blocking is the first line of defense during a rally and individual blocking and team blocking skills and tactics are important parts of the game to learn. This is part one of a five-part study guide with volleyball terms that will help you become a better volleyball player and hopefully improve your blocking game.

Block - A block is the first form of defense performed against an opposing team’s attack attempt. It’s a skill that requires a player to stand at the net in a ready position at the beginning of a rally.

Ready position - A ready position for the block means that a player’s feet are shoulder width apart parallel to each other and with both feet perpendicular to the net. For the lower body positioning the hips and whole body are squared up and facing the net. Knees are in a slight squat in a ready position that allows him/her to side step along the net either to the right or left quickly. The player should be about half their arm’s length away from the net.

Before the start of a rally, in defense at the net a player’s upper body ready position should be with their shoulders squared up–that means parallel - and facing the net. The starting position for one’s hands are bent elbows with hands and open palms facing the net just at the player’s shoulder level.

The hands need to stay at the level of the shoulders and not below the waist or below the net, so that when the block is performed the player’s hands and arms are in a ready position to just go up and block the ball using minimal additional time and movement, as opposed to having to bring them from a much lower position all the way to above the head.

Outside blocker - There are two outside blockers at the net in defense who are responsible for blocking the opposing team’s outside hitters and/or assisting the middle blocker in defending against an attack from the opposing team’s middle blocker.

Middle blocker - A middle blocker can be compared to a linebacker in football or a center in basketball and is the primary person who specializes in defending against the opposing team’s attack at the net. Quite often middle blockers are the tallest members of their team and are blessed with the ability to learn to move laterally along the net with the primary defensive responsibility of either blocking the opposing team’s spikers directly or covering and taking away as much of the net and court area as possible.

On offense the middle blocker becomes the primary middle hitter who attacks a lot of the first tempo and quick sets.

And now I would like to invite you to get Free video instruction directly from Olympic gold medalists and pro players on how to become a better volleyball player.

You’ll get access to free videos with instructions for indoor and beach volleyball blocking skills that you can use right away!

From April Chapple, creator of the volleyball news hub Volleyball Voices.com and author of the new ebook “86 Girls Indoor Volleyball Tips:How To Gain Confidence On the Volleyball Court.”

Article Source: April Chapple

Volleyball Terms: A Study Guide for Blocking, Part 1

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May 21, 2010 by jameslucas.

By April Chapple

The function of the hand grip you use to forearm pass or bump a ball is to help you keep your elbows straight and to make sure you maintain as flat and as wide a platform as possible. Hand grips come in all forms.

The secret to better passing is to keeping your elbows straight and as locked and close together as possible. Remember you want to create a table top where the only thing the ball has to do is bounce off of your table top and back up to the intended target. The best tip to keeping your elbows straight is to position your wrists with your thumbs always pointing down to the ground in the most efficient way possible.

For some players that looks like placing the fingers of their right hand into the palm of their left so their fingers are turned upward towards them and they are crisscrossed. Now they close their hands together so the thumbs meet, touching side by side. If they are right handed they then should see the first three fingers of their right hand extend past their left thumb.

For others, their hand grip is made by making a fist with their right hand and turning it sideways so they see their thumb on top of their fist. Then they place that fist into the palm of the opposite hand until the two thumbs meet and are lined up side-by-side. The fingers of the left hand should come across the fist and touch the knuckles of the right hand.

Still for others, there are those who modify the fist grip and have their two index fingers pointing to the ground (old school) while a few elite players with out-of-this-world ball control skills, manage to have no grip at all.

Here’s the deal, since you will be passing and serve receiving and diving in this wonderful game called beach volleyball you want to have your own personal kung fu grip to be one that doesn’t break apart easily under pressure and that absolutely insures that you will be able to create and maintain that all important “table top” which we call a platform.

To maintain the most control of the ball during serve receive the number one important thing is to keep a straight flat platform using a grip that doesn’t allow your arms to break apart in mid-action. You want to use both arms to pass, not just one.

Your goal is to be able to put the ball where you want it, whether the ball comes to you as an easy serve or whether you have to dive for a hard hit down ball. Since your platform is where the ball makes contact, it needs to consistently be a flat surface where impact is made above your wrists and below the inside of your elbows on your forearms and with your shoulders angled to your target.

April Chapple, is the “Five Quick Tips” columnist for the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Coaching Volleyball magazine and the creator of the volleyball news hub Volleyball Voices.com, where you’ll find out where to get video instruction directly from Olympic gold medalists and pro players on how to become a better volleyball player.

Article Source: April_Chapple

Beach Volleyball Serve Receive Tips: Are Hand Grips the Secret to Better Passing?

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May 20, 2010 by jameslucas.

By April Chapple

Because you’re playing outside with the wind and the sun playing a huge part in the outcome of your game, its much better for a player to practice serving deep into the opposite court because the wind can blow a ball that seems a few inches outside the baseline, back into the court.

When the wind is up and kicking, players often call a ball that has been served high and deep in the court “out’ when it actually gets blown or drops back in especially when it comes to the high velocity jump serve. That’s why its advantageous to play on the side where the wind is blowing into your face (not away from you) this way, you can spike harder and serve harder into the wind and the ball is likely to stay or blow back into the court.

As I mentioned before the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, especially when you are serving from the middle of the court to the opposite middle of the court. But you can do yourself a favor by serving from one of your cross court corners to the cross court deep corner on the opposite side because not only are you forcing the passer to have to turn their shoulders and eyes off the net to pass the ball, but you are giving yourself more court area to serve the ball into. When you serve cross court you have much more area to serve to, so you can take a bit more risk and really serve much harder while aiming for that far corner.

Is it tough enough? That’s what players ask themselves about their serves. What’s great about serving deep in the court is that if you don’t jump serve, your serve doesn’t have to have a lot of power or force, it just has to be placed well in the court. The deep serve is a tactical serve that with a lot of repetitions in practice you can use to score a lot of direct points with in a game.

When an opposing player has to pass or serve receive a ball that has been served to them above their waist or in their corner, they are forced to move backwards in the court which means they have to

1. pass the ball from a lot farther back,
2. get it all the way up to the middle of the court or to the net,
3. while on the move and
4. with more precision, to their partner who’s waiting to set the ball. Then, they have to
5. cover more of the distance in the court to get back to their usual starting position for their spike approach.

Strategy: If you and your partner pick one person to serve the ball deep to for a good portion of the game, you are putting pressure on that person to cover a lot of court area and I guarantee you (unless that person is in extra good shape) that player will quickly get tired and will start to make unforced errors because they are so tired having to play all those balls. The secret is to stick to your game plan strategy. If you alternate and serve to both players then they both have a chance to recuperate and gain their strength back between plays.

April Chapple, is the “Five Quick Tips” columnist for the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Coaching Volleyball magazine and the creator of the volleyball news hub Volleyball Voices.com, where you’ll find out where to get video instruction directly from Olympic gold medalists and pro players along with more beach volleyball serving tips.

Article Source: April Chapple

Beach Volleyball Secrets and Tips to Serving Deep in the Court

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May 19, 2010 by jameslucas.

By April Chapple

It is spring time which usually marks the preparation for the outdoor sand volleyball season. With the change in the weather temperature and the sport’s growing popularity, you may be among the many indoor players that are preparing to play in beach volleyball games and outdoor tournaments this summer.

If you are new to the sand game, I wanted to prepare you for some of the differences you’ll face and I’ve explained what you may want to look out for while transitioning between these two distinct styles of the volleyball game. Some differences between the indoor and outdoor games of volleyball are very slight while others are more evident.

Volleyball Skills Players Need to Have

One big difference between an indoor player and a beach player is the ability to perform all of the fundamental volleyball skills required to play in the sand or on the court. Many indoor players, especially club and college indoor players (are coached to or choose to) specialize in possessing only a few skills in order to dominate in only one or two positions on the court.

For example, a middle blocker may practice and play only the middle blocking or “their” position, which calls for them to always hit out of the middle, always block from the middle, to only pass the short serves and play the front row exclusively which means in many situations they only play in the three front row rotations and then either before or after their turn to serve they are substituted out of the game for another player who specializes in serve receive, defense and playing only the back row positions.

I would compare this to being an assembly line worker who is only assigned and paid to put one piece of a part on a car door on a car. For hours that’s their only responsibility and it’s the only thing they are taught and paid to do all day long.

So, imagine that for an entire club season or college season many volleyball players specialize in playing one position, hitting only a few types of sets and playing only in several designated areas of the court. This doesn’t necessarily contribute to the development of an “all-around” player.

In contrast, since there are only two beach players per team in the doubles game and they both need to cover a regulation size court, each player has to possess the ability to perform all the volleyball skills well, in order to be successful at the sand game.

Both players are required to know how to serve a ball, serve receive consistently, set the ball with their hands or bump set at varying heights or even back set if the occasion calls for it, attack the ball from different places along the net, block different attackers that have all kinds of timing issues with their spike and transition off the net quickly to play defense.

There’s no getting around it, beach volleyball players have to be great all-around players, proficient at performing all the skills of the volleyball game.

This is the second part of a two-part series where I explain the differences in the skills needed to play beach volleyball versus those used by indoor volleyball players. I also talk about the role “specialization” plays in both styles of the game.

There are only two places where there’s room for specialization in beach volleyball and that’s on offense where a player can specialize in playing on a particular side. There are those who label themselves ‘left-side” players and those who like to play only on the right side. It’s typical for many players to form teams based on the side their teammate specializes playing on.

The other place to specialize is on defense where one partner chooses to be the team’s designated primary ‘blocker’ with a partner who agrees to be the defensive player all the time. A perfect example of this would be the American Olympic gold medalist men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers and Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh.

Of course all four players are versatile enough to play both sides, block in the front court and transition back to either side of the court to play defense. But these elite beach teams made a tactical decision that would increase their team’s chances of outsmarting their competition and would place each partner in a position on the court that allows them to perform the skills that they do best.

In defense on their respective teams, the taller players Kerri Walsh and Phil Dalhausser are front row blocking specialists. After they serve receive or while they are in transition their “job” is to be at or go to the net to put up a great wall and to do as much of the blocking on their team as possible, while Misty May Treanor and Todd Rogers are the back row specialists who have the responsibilities of playing behind their teammates, running down any ball or digging any hard spikes that get past their partner’s big block.

Typically, although this isn’t written in sand (forgive me, I couldn’t resist) and versatility is always important, the taller blocker is the left-side hitter and the backrow specialist plays on the right side.

So, in serve receive Kerri and Phil usually play on the left side while Misty and Todd are on the right side of the court.

As the levels of competition improve, players may switch sides in the middle of a game forcing their competition to change their strategy or in order to participate in a particular tournament players will compromise and agree to play on a different side in order to team up with a better player.

In the indoor volleyball game if a player is particularly weak in one skill, then they have five other players they can rely on to help them cover or mask their weaknesses in one way or another. That player can be taken out of the serve receive and re-positioned to stand on the baseline or behind a stronger passer.

Or in the front row instead of blocking the ball against an opposing hitter that may be much taller they can switch positions with a taller teammate and have the teammate block against that hitter instead. (Or the coach may have that shorter player cover the dinks and not block at all.)

On the beach, there’s no hiding weak skills, players are forced to learn how to do everything. Initially the learning curve may seem steep for an indoor player moving outdoors, but this transition quickly contributes to the creation of a faster, higher jumping, quicker reacting, all-around stronger, smarter indoor volleyball player.

April Chapple, is the “Five Quick Tips” columnist for the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Coaching Volleyball magazine and the creator of the volleyball news hub Volleyball Voices.com, where you’ll find out where to get video instruction directly from Olympic gold medalists and pro players on how to become a better volleyball player.

Article Source: April Chapple

Beach Volleyball Skills: How to Become a Better Indoor Volleyball Player

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May 18, 2010 by jameslucas.

By Misty Walsh

The best jumpers in the world are beach volleyball players and anyone who have ever tried to jump in sand knows how difficult it is. There are some great beach volleyball training exercises that you can do to learn how to jump higher and play better that we will discuss here.

The best training that you can do for sand volleyball is to train in deep sand. You can’t go to the gym and only train on a hard surface and then expect that to convert over to the sand when you play. You have to learn how to move in sand and more important the correct form for jumping in sand. You don’t use all of your forward moment and jump towards the net like you would in indoor volleyball. On the beach you have to plant you feet hard, almost like an over exaggerated stomp.

This will pack down the sand under your feet faster so that you can explode up instead of sinking down. There is no broad jumping when you are in the sand. You have to train the muscles more than any other sport that is played on a hard surface. This is because you have to squat a little deeper in order to jump. I suggest doing deeper squats and training to jump from a seated position. If you are a blocker, you don’t get an approach so you need to be able to squat deep without losing any power along the way. This requires very strong legs that can squat massive amounts of weight without slowing down.

See a complete Jump Manual Review at the number 1 jumping site online, Vertical Jump.

Article Source: Misty Walsh

Beach Volleyball Training Exercises to Jump Higher

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May 12, 2010 by jameslucas.

By Brandon Richey

If you are wanting to get your volleyball legs strong for game day then you have got to be smart about your training. In order to get the necessary strength for your legs to perform in the game of volleyball you have got to have an understanding of your sport. Volleyball requires you to have a lot of “spring” and “pop” in those legs in order to jump, run, and dive. These are very important traits in terms of the physical requirements for the sport of volleyball.

Strong Legs For Volleyball!

One of the main physical traits of a successful volleyball player is the vertical jump. Even though this particular act involves the act of jumping straight up it is a sign and reasonable measure of one’s leg power. Just like sprinting and distance jumping are all different measures of leg power these are all important traits to develop for the sport of volleyball. So how does a player get his or her legs into volleyball shape?

Well the fact is that there are many ways for volleyball players to develop powerful legs for their sport. The key knows how to cater your strength-training program to benefit you in this way. One way of looking at this understands that the muscles of your posterior chain (glutes, hips, hamstrings, calves, back, and shoulders) are all the “power source” and reason for your measures of leg power. The posterior chain should be worked and strengthened on a regular basis through big core lifts such as kettle bell swings, Olympic power cleans, and dead lifts. These are all great exercises for helping your volleyball leg strength.

Another great option is implementing plyometrics. Plyometrics consist of exercises that involve short burst of high intensity movements. These drills are designed to train your muscles and connective tissues to contract forcefully and quickly by initiating the stretch shortening cycle (SSC). These drills promote explosiveness and have been proven to reduce the incidence of joint related injury. This particular option is fantastic for your training and creates a strong argument for your volleyball training program’s success.

If you haven’t already started to implement the methods that I have just mentioned to improve your volleyball leg power then you are missing out. Take the time to learn more by accessing the rest of my articles on the subject for free. Remember that most any athlete can train hard, but only the champions train smart!

To learn more about Kettle bells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com
To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at: http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_blanksletter.html
I’m Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Article Source: Brandon Richey

Leg Power: How to Get Your Volleyball Legs Strong for Game Day!

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May 10, 2010 by jameslucas.

By Johny James

You should decrease your weight by proper diet routine. Remember that having a light weight is easy to perform exercises. You can hardly do it if you are big and perform slowly. Nevertheless, you will surpass this if you really work hard. Another workout to lessen your weight is power pushup. It is simple and portable alternative to expensive weight drill. You should also build some base strength. Jumping is challenging activity that you need to work out just to improve your muscles. In order to achieve this, you should try exercises that can definitely increase your jumping ability.

Try to do squat jumps. You need to squat as low as you can. Make sure that you maintain your balance and focus on your concentration. Next, jump as high as you can from that squatting position. Your arms should begin low and swing when you jump. Imagine also that you are trying to grab a basketball or catching a bird in the air. This is a good help to focus and may be a sort of inspiration. Another work out is running or “jogging” which is helpful for strengthening your legs as well as decreasing weight.

Improve your flexibility by jumping over a hurdle. It helps you in order to swing your first leg wherever you want it and you can maximize the height of your jump. If you are not flexible, you probably don’t have balance. This may serve as your hindrance in improving your jumping skill. You should be in position. The right position before starting jumping can lead you to the highest jump. Be careful that your knees don’t point inwards in knock knee position. It must be over the second toe. Always have your arms at your side.

Try also the dead lift. Dead lifts are good for strengthening exercise for the glutes and hamstring. It also develops body power by traps and upper back. The split squat is a kind of work out that is basically a single leg squat and the other is elevated behind you. Glute ham raise. Find a partner to hold your feet down while you place your knees on the floor. Then starting from the top, try to bend your back and keep your chest out and slowly exhale. This is a kind of direct hamstring exercises.

If you are looking to add inches to your vertical to increase your athletic performance than make sure to take a look at our exercises to jump higher. We give you detailed exercises you can do to increase your vertical jump and jump higher. Start putting our workouts to jump higher to use and you are sure to see an increase in your vertical leap and your performance on the court will improve as a result.

Article Source: Johny James

Tips for a Jump Higher Workout

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May 7, 2010 by jameslucas.

By James P Frey

As a coach, it is very easy to concentrate on what your athletes are doing wrong. We demonstrate the formation or position or skill. The drills seem endless as we attempt to perfect the players’ performances. After awhile our response is automatic: we see it, we respond “don’t do this” “don’t do that.” We slip into a pattern of correcting our athletes by telling them what we don’t want them to do, often with minimal and or frustrating results. As coaches, we know exactly what we have asked the players to do, so it is very easy to focus on what they are not doing correctly. The more we do this as coaches, the more negative things become. The players always know when they make a mistake, but in the “don’t” scenario, rarely do they know when they are doing things correctly.

What’s a coach to do? How about approaching your athletes by telling them exactly what you want them to do. How we expect them to execute a specific skill. This approach can be very difficult, especially if you have coached for a few years and fallen into the habit of pointing out what you don’t want. You will find that your mind is programmed to say “don’t”, and being able to articulate what you want them to do is a challenge. This approach forces you to think before you speak. By working from the “what you want, what you expect”, you can provide positive feedback. “That’s solid forearm passing!” When your players execute what you have asked them, you can praise them. You will find that the team starts to respond more to your exhortations.

To help you along your conversion from don’t to do, here is a game I play with my team. If, during a practice, they catch me saying “don’t” when I’m trying to explain something, I instantly drop and do 5 pushups! Try it, you’ll like the results.

Jim published his first book in 2009, “101 Youth Coaching Tips”. The book is available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Article Source: James P. Frey

When Coaching Young Players: Emphasize The “Do” Versus “Don’t”

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May 6, 2010 by jameslucas.

By Andrea Fryrear

To be a good defender you have to genuinely want the ball to be hit your way, and you should delight in digging a hard-driven ball and frustrating the opposing attackers. You should be confident that you can get almost any ball that comes over the net.

But this zen-like attitude won’t happen overnight, because only with a solid foundation of defensive moves can you be sure that you’re going to be the amazing defender that you want to be. So in a nutshell, the libero’s fearless attitude comes from his/her knowledge that they’ve done the work, put in the time and have the skills to dig anything.

To achieve this confidence, here are some things you can work on:

1. Court awareness: Get comfortable with the court size and your position on it. This will help you let balls go that are heading out and will also allow you to help your teammates by calling the ball in or out.
2. Quickness and agility: There are tons of resources on plyometric drills, which will vastly improve your quickness if done regularly. For something simpler go for jumping rope or sprinting.
3. Ball control: Above all else a libero must have outstanding ball control. Be the first to arrive an the last one to leave practice while having your coach or friends throw/hit balls to you all over the court. No matter what kind of drill you’re doing make sure you have a target position in mind and that you are driving yourself to improve everyday.
4. Touch everything: Don’t give up on a ball, no matter how far out of reach it may seem. Your goal should be to touch every ball in your vicinity. As you get faster you’ll be amazed at the saves you can make.
5. Learn to dive and roll properly: Most liberos dive, roll, sprawl and fall frequently, so it’s vital that you know how to fall correctly and without hurting yourself. Most defensive players prefer the shoulder roll for a quick recovery, and the pancake is a must-have move for all liberos!

If you’re looking for a more in-depth guide to libero success, check out my volleyball skills newsletter. You get a year of volleyball instruction (one e-mail per week) absolutely free!

Andrea Fryrear is the Managing Editor of Volleyball-Life.com and a 17-year volleyball veteran. She’s played high school, Junior Olympic, NCAA and international volleyball and loves to share her knowledge and experience with other players.

Sign up for our free newsletter and get weekly recap e-mails, members-only promotions and more!

Article Source: Andrea Fryrear

The Volleyball Libero Attitude

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May 3, 2010 by jameslucas.

By Misty Walsh

Since you play volleyball you know how important it is to jump high. Colleges don’t recruit people that aren’t either tall or able to jump really high. So if you love volleyball and you are not 6′9″ you have to learn how to increase your vertical leap if you ever want to be good enough to play at the collegiate or professional level.

Jumping is so important in volleyball because it is a sport that favors taller players. Don’t worry though, there are jump programs out there for all the short people that need to get a few extra inches on their vertical jumps.

But which program will work the best for volleyball?

Jumping is pretty universal and once you learn how to do it well, it will help in any sport that you play. So don’t worry so much about the program being tailored for volleyball instead on basketball or vice versa. The workouts are the same, they teach you how to strengthen your legs and increase vertical leap.

Some key factors to look for in any program are:

• Can you trust the creator?
• Can you contact them before purchasing?
• Do they offer a money back guarantee?
• Do they have any sort of credentials to be training?

If the program passes those questions, you can be assured that it will work and if not you just get your money back. Don’t ever pay over $90 dollars for any program, I don’t care what promises they make or what it comes with, that is too much money.

See the best jump program and vertical jump program here.

Article Source: Misty Walsh

Jump Program: Increase Vertical Jump Program for Volleyball

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