To do sports is fun and healthy, but doing it right brings you more joy and satisfaction. This is also the case for volleyball, which I started playing again this summer at a local club - awesome group, thank you guys for having me. With a couple of exceptions it’s been like 20 years ago in high school when I played volleyball “semi-professionally” and memory of the game got a little bit rusty, so I needed a refresh. According to the motto “one picture is worth a thousand words, and one video a thousand pictures”, I thought I checked some youtube videos created by professionals, which show basic but very important techniques in volleyball to refresh my memory. The videos focus mostly on individual game.
Note: You must know the game’s rules and know the positions to fully take advantage of the videos - if you also need a refresh you can check them out here. Also note that I usually play as a setter and opposite right hand attacker, so some videos are specific for these positions.
I want to pay a special tribute to Coach Donny from elevateyourself.org for taking the time to create and put these videos out there.
Table of contents
- Warm up
- Passing / Pass
- Set / Setting the ball
- Serve
- How to Improve Your Volleyball Serving with Olympic Gold Medalist Misty May
- FLOAT Serve - How to SERVE a Volleyball Tutorial (part 1/3)
- JUMP Float Serve - How to SERVE a Volleyball Tutorial (part 2/3) - 7min
- How To JUMP SERVE A Volleyball - How to SERVE a Volleyball Tutorial (part 3/3)
- How to AIM your JUMP SERVE
- Attack
- Jim Stone Talks Developing Proper Volleyball Armswing Mechanics - 26min
- Spiking Footwork (part 1/2) - 3min
- Improving Spiking Footwork (part 2/2) - 5min
- Right Side Spiking FOOTWORK - 6min
- Right Side / Opposite Hitter Spiking TECHNIQUE - 9min
- Spiking from the BACK ROW (10 foot line / 3 meter line) - How to SPIKE a Volleyball Tutorial - 5min
- Block
- Conclusion
- References
- Appendix
I must recognise I wish I knew some of the techniques shown here 20 years ago, but it’s never too late to learn something new, is it?
Warm up
I can’t stress this enough but warming up might be the most important, yet by many considered (including me) most boring, part of the training. It serves mainly two purposes:
- it decrease the risk of injuries
- it improves performance by preparing volleyball specific muscles needed in training or match, and thus have more joy and satisfaction, remember?
In the following exercises I found myself warming up before trainings and matches in high school… Ahh it brings up such nice memories. Really, if you want to do something for your kid make them join a team sports club.
How to WARMUP for Volleyball - 9min
This free instructional exercise video will teach you the effective exercises that Coach Donny has his teams do before their practices and games. You can also do this before playing basketball, jump training workouts, or any other type of exercise that requires jumping, lateral movements, and sprinting.
Upper Body Volleyball Warmup - 5min
Learn how to warm up your upper body for volleyball, which will prepare you body to spike, serve, and block!
USA man’s volleyball team warm up WL-2015 - 15min
What you should take from the following video is the length of it. You should properly warm up at least 15min before touching the ball.
Passing / Pass
A volleyball pass is a done with the objective to move the ball to a teammate called a setter. There are basically two types of passing techniques:
- FOREARM PASS (the most common) - join your arms from the elbows to the wrists and strike the ball with the fleshy part of your forearms in an underhand motion.
- OVERHAND PASS – A pass executed with both hands open, controlled by the fingers and thumbs, played just above the forehead.
Volleyball tips: Passing techniques with John Speraw - 8min
In this video John Speraw, Olympic Gold Medal Volleyball Coach and UCLA Head Coach, goes over passing (forearm) technique. You will learn the secrets of the proper way to pass including how to form your hands, place your thumbs and create a platform with your arms.
Volleyball Passing Fundamentals
Jim Stone breaks down the fundamentals of what he thinks is important in order to become a good passer of the volleyball.
Key takeaways
- Face ball - not target
- Eliminate non-essential movement
- Shuffle Step - Keep Head Level
- Platform Management
First blog post on my personal website, y not be about something I love?
Set / Setting the ball
The tactical skill in which a ball is directed to a point where a player can spike it into the opponent’s court.
Jim Stone Talks Volleyball Setting Release - 5min
Jim Stone breaks down what the hands should be doing before, during and after the release of the ball.
Key takeways:
- Step into the ball
- and then transfer the weight to the right foot at the time of the set
You hear him mention several times heel of the hand - here is a picture of it if, you don’t know what that is.
Jim Stone Analyzes Volleyball Setting Points of Emphasis - 5min
Jim Stone analyzes international setters and all things that he finds important when it comes to what setters should be doing when they are in different situations that they will encounter through out a match.
Serve
How to Improve Your Volleyball Serving with Olympic Gold Medalist Misty May
Olympic Gold Medalist and Sportskool coach Misty May serves up the proper techniques for the jump, float, and jump float serves.
FLOAT Serve - How to SERVE a Volleyball Tutorial (part 1/3)
Learn how to perform the most fundamental serve in volleyball : the float serve. You will learn the starting posture, how to toss, and how to contact the ball.
JUMP Float Serve - How to SERVE a Volleyball Tutorial (part 2/3) - 7min
Learn how to serve a JUMP FLOAT and bring your serving game to another level! Learn the proper footwork, timing, arm swing.
How To JUMP SERVE A Volleyball - How to SERVE a Volleyball Tutorial (part 3/3)
Learn how to serve an effective Jump Power Serve (top spin serve)! You’ll learn effective footwork, tossing, timing, and how to generate maximum power.
How to AIM your JUMP SERVE
Learn how to aim your jump serve in volleyball by watching this volleyball instructional video!
Attack
Jim Stone Talks Developing Proper Volleyball Armswing Mechanics - 26min
Jim Stone talks through and shows ways to train proper arm swing mechanics for a volleyball swing. Though he says at the beginning it might be too late for you if you’re eighteen and developed bad mechanics, as is my case, I still think you can improve
Spiking Footwork (part 1/2) - 3min
Learn how to develop better spiking footwork to maximize your vertical and spiking power!
Improving Spiking Footwork (part 2/2) - 5min
In this video Coach Donny talks about common mistakes people make when they are spiking.
Right Side Spiking FOOTWORK - 6min
Learn how to improve your footwork as a Right Side, Right Wing, or Opposite Hitter!
Right Side / Opposite Hitter Spiking TECHNIQUE - 9min
Learn how to spike a volleyball from the right side (opposite hitter / attacker) by learning about proper spacing with the ball, how to position your body and the most efficient arm swing.
Spiking from the BACK ROW (10 foot line / 3 meter line) - How to SPIKE a Volleyball Tutorial - 5min
Learn how to effectively spike from the back row with power and consistency!
Block
A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitter’s court. It may be a combination of one, two or three players jumping in front of the opposing spiker and contacting the spiked ball with the hands.
Right Side Blocking Technique - 7min
Learn how to block the volleyball as a right front blocker (right side attacker, opposite hitter or setter).
Conclusion
I hope you find this list useful, but in Romania we have a saying: “It’s practice that kills you, not theory”, so go practice. My advice to you is for your next training or match focus on improving one part of your game, I know I will!
References
Appendix
Well now that you know the basics, it’s now time to move it up a notch and start dreaming big:
