defence

Question
Hello Sir,

We are a amateur team that has been playing volleyball for some years now.The only problem in our team is our height.
Our heights are 6',6',5-9'5-8',5-8'5-7'

Yesterday we were playing against a team whose spikers had heights around 6-3',6-4'.We couldn't understand where to get our defence to postion themselves on the court and we lost badly.

It would be helpful sir,if you can tell us about some tactics that can help us to atleast be competitive in the future.

And one more question:-
I have seen videos where spikers when jumping they fold there legs behind them .Is that done intentionally with an aim of jumping higher?
If so can you please suggest some drills that will make us jump higher when spiking.

Thank you

Regards
Sourav  

Answer
Sourav-
 I'll answer your questions in which the order you sent them.  For starters, Without knowing each of your teamates jumping abilities, it's difficult to help you position a better defense without that info.  Not to mention, which of you have better defensive skills with digging.  All that aside, Keep in mind, blocking isn't all jumping ability.  Timing is just as important, along with positioning.  Most hitters have a tendency to hit one of three hits consistantly.  Line, seam, or angle.  That's not to say they can't hit all three, but a lot of hitters have a favorite one.  Your job, in defense, is to determine a hitters strengths and set your defense around that.  For instance.  If you have a weaker blocker at the net, and you don't expect him to block a lot of balls, have him play to the hitters weaker shots, and channel block to your defense.  hopefully, you've got strong defensive players behind weaker blockers and vice versa.  this way, you utilize your strengths against the offense.  

As for the legs when jumping.  Do me a favor, next time you jump, try doing so keeping your legs straight once you're in the air.  You'll see it's much more difficult to do so.  It's not a technique, more than it is just natural.  The best way to jump higher is to practice it.  A person can run through jump training, which takes a lot of work, and the results tend to favor longevity in jumping rather that height.  You notice increases in both, but at the end of the day you'll see more results with jumping better for a longer period without fatigue than anything else.  

I hope this helps you out.  If you have any other questions, don't' hesitate to shoot me with more questions.

Matt