So you want to know how do you play volleyball?
Let's start with a simple list of the six basic volleyball skills that high school and club players need to learn....
First, you'll have to learn how to serve a ball.
What is a volleyball serve?
1. The ball is sent over the net to start the rally by the player in Zone 1, the right back area of the court.
2. The serve can be made underhand but for high school, club, collegiate and International competition you need to know how to overhand serve the ball.
The overhand volleyball serve is made with contact of the ball by a player when you first toss the ball with one hand in the air and contact it with force with the other hand in an effort either
a) to score a point directly which happens if the ball hits the floor on the opposing team's court with no one able to get it up first or you
b) serve the ball in an area on the opposing side which makes it difficultfor the opposing team to run an offensive attack
Next you'll need to learn how to pass or bump a volleyball.
Passing in volleyball or bumping a ball are two ways to explain the same underhand technique of receiving the serve.
What is passing a ball?
The pass or the bump is used to describe the most commonly used technique to make the first contact of the ball after its been served into your court by an opposing team.
When the ball arrives at just above your hip level you clasp both hands together, one palm inside the other, pointing both thumbs to the ground.
This creates a platform with both arms that you use to contact the ball deflecting it from your angled platform to the person most responsible for making the second contact on the ball, your setter.
What is a set?
A set is a way you contact the ball over your head to get the ball to travel from you to another person or over the net .
Coach April Chapple's Volleyball Passing Tips For Youth Volleyball Players
An attack hit or a spike describes the technique commonly used for the third contact in a rally that sends the ball over the net with power.
A spike starts with an approach of three but most often four steps.
The first two slow and the last two bigger and faster steps that propel you in the air gathering momentum as you go, to lift you above the top of the net so you contact the ball at its highest height to attack or hit it down into the opposing court.
As you become a better spiker and your hitting technique improves, you will learn to spike faster and quicker sets that are lower to the net.
You will also be able to better control the direction of your spikes, propelling the ball either down the line or cross court into the opposing team's court.
A block is the first opportunity for a team on defense to keep the team on offense from hitting into their court.
Once the whistle blows and your team serves the ball over the net, your team is on defense, ready to defend your court.
Your team is trying to keep the opposing team, now on offense, from putting the ball on your court floor.
The first opportunity to do that is at the net.
A dig is what happens when the ball gets past the defensive team's front row blockers who couldn't stop the ball at the net.
Now its the responsibility of the three back row players on defense to keep the ball off the floor.
They do that by "digging the ball". The dig is an underhand technique that describes the first contact of a ball in a rally that's been sent over the net with power.
To "dig a ball" you are in a defensive position, most frequently in the back row, or if you aren't blocking in the front row and you are positioned outside of your front row blockers as they jump to block a hard driven ball.
You sink your hips low to the floor, below the ball before it gets to you and you use your extended arms in your platform to "dig" or deflect the ball up in the air.
If you are the 'digger" or defender your job is to dig the ball up high enough in the air and ideally to the middle of the court close to the ten foot line, so that the second contact in the rally can be made.
This second contact is most often made by the setter who runs to this ball where ever it has been dug up to on the court and sets it up to one of her front row hitters, so they can attack it with the third hit so that the rally continues.
This was a very basic run through of what a beginner player needs to know before learning how to play volleyball to win.
Now its time to dig deeper into all the history of the sport and especially the skills, rules, positions and terminology used so you can take your game playing abilities to the next level.
What you just read was just a warmup!
Just like in volleyball practice, you do a little stretching to warm up your muscles before getting into the real meaty part of practice.
Here you go through a light review of everything before you really begin to dig deep and take each rule, each position, each skill and really explore it, learn to do tons of reps and go over each drill repeatedly until you get it right.
Read... How To Play Volleyball and Win to get started...
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