Approach touch, standing reach, etc.

Question
Hi I've been playing volleyball for 3 years now and I basically LOVE IT!!But I still don't know a few important details like what is exactly an approach touch and standing reach? Please & Thank You!

Answer
Good morning Jasmine and welcome to www.allexperts.com!   

Here's what you want to know:

Standing Reach/Touch:  with your feet on the floor, and both arms stretched up the air (like you're blocking flat-footed), how high can you reach?  Average for a high school vball player is probably 7'.  If you're a MB, maybe 7'6" (that's about 1" over the net)

Block Jump Reach/Touch:  Now, do the same as above, but bend your knees then JUMP as high as you can.  How high can you reach?  The average for a high school vball player:  probably 8' 6".  If you're a MB maybe 9'.  Most girls do the standing and block jump up against a wall where the inches have already been marked on the wall prior to jumping.  

Spike Approach Reach/Touch:  Now, you get to SOAR!!!  Now, do your spike approach and measure how high you can jump.  This should be the highest of the three.  You can try to do this against a wall, but be careful!!  Average:  8'10".  For a tall girl:  9'.  For a freak of nature haha:  10'.....yeah, some girls can grab the basketball rim!!  

Many girls know a coach who has a "vertec".  Do you know what that is?  If not, google it.  It's a safe, easy (and expensive haha) way of measuring jumps.  

OK, what else can I do for you?  Maybe I'll meet you some day at a STAR volleyball camp.  The past 2 summers, we've done nine!  The business just keeps on growing.....Alaska, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, etc.  We can't wait for next summer.  You can see all about us at www.coachhouser.com.  

Coach Houser