Improvement in any sport can be brought about by first concentrating on the simple basics. As regards to volleyball, the drills for strengthening the basics and improvements for capitalizing on them, are presented in this article.
In the game of volleyball, the main objective is to ground the ball in the opponent's half. There are 2 teams and each team consists of 6 players. These 6 players together have to develop skills and devise strategies to achieve this main objective. Before getting into the details of how to improve volleyball skills on the whole, it is necessary to understand that consistency in practicing the right moves is of utmost importance. For example, the ball should hit the same spot on your forearm every time you play a shot. This makes the player better and helps improve further skills.
Improving Volleyball Skills
Performing the various volleyball drills of passing, serving, etc., helps develop habits that prove to be useful for players in the long run. It helps them improve the concentration levels and ability to focus on the game at hand. Here are few useful volleyball drills that may help improve your timing, footwork, and of course, ball control. Let us start with how to take a proper stance.
Stance
You should maintain a stance that allows you to move around more quickly. The distance between the legs need to be slightly greater than that of your shoulder width. You should also bend the knees slightly, which will allow you to react faster.
Shuffling
It is the movement in which volleyball players move by taking small steps. The movement of shuffling is carried out smoothly without crossing-over the feet. To improve the shuffling movement, players need to stay low by keeping the knees bent. The body weight should be transferred onto the toes.
Service
The serving skill can be improved with the following drill. First step is that of tossing the ball in front of the serving shoulder. The elbow of hand with which you are serving should be held back and in a high position. Make contact with the ball by means of the middle of your hand. After hitting the ball, follow through the arm-swing action.
How to Improve Passing
Here are a couple of useful volleyball passing drills, that players can make use of.
Pipeline Passing
This drill helps players improve their passing while moving laterally. A pair of players is needed for this drill. These players have to face each other and stand 10 feet apart. From this position, the first player has to pass the volleyball to his partner. He should touch the sideline on his left immediately after passing, and quickly get back into his original position. After 10 - 15 shuffles, the player should repeat the passing drill on his right side.
Basketball Passing
In this drill, three players should line up in front of a server. Passers and the server should be separated by a net. The passers, after receiving the volleyball from the server, have to pass it into a basket. Points should be awarded for every successful pass into the basket. Conversely, the server should be awarded a point if the passer fails to do his job.
Blocking
The act of blocking makes it difficult for the opposing team to put the ball back into play. The arm and shoulder position play an important role in blocking the ball. The arms, while blocking the ball, are moved in a manner that they slant forward. Raising the hands and then pressing them forward wastes precious time, that can be used for immediate penetration.
Burnout
Our body provides signals and cues that help us understand whether we should continue practicing or just rest for the day. You can avoid a burnout by listening to the body. Taking enough rest to prevent a burnout is therefore, necessary too.
Understanding the subtleties and nuances becomes important after you master the basics. Those volleyball skills mentioned above should be useful for improving the overall game. Volleyball is a team game and it requires great coordination amongst all the players. Once you master the skills mentioned above, creating coordination between team members shouldn't be too difficult.
