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Volleyball Ball Handling Begins With Ball Control and Faster Footwork

Improve your passing skills with great ball control and volleyball ball handling skills along with faster footwork when moving to a served ball on your court.

Improve your passing skills with great ball control and volleyball ball handling skills along with faster footwork when moving to a served ball on your court. (ShakesKCMark ShaikenPhoto)

Welcome to my guide on ball handling in volleyball.

In this article, I will provide a clear definition of ball handling, discuss its essential role in the game, and emphasize the importance of good ball control skills.

Let's dive in!

Definition of Volleyball Ball Handling

Volleyball ball handling refers to the techniques and skills involved in receiving, controlling, and directing the ball during gameplay.

It encompasses the actions performed by players to pass and set the ball, setting the foundation for effective attacks and defense.

Role of Volleyball Ball Handling

Good ball handling is fundamental to successful team play and overall game strategy in volleyball.

It plays a crucial role in several aspects of the game, including:

1. Passing:

Proper ball handling enables players to accurately receive and pass the ball to their teammates. This facilitates smooth transitions from defense to offense and sets up scoring opportunities.

2. Setting:

Precise ball handling allows setters to deliver accurate and consistent sets to the attackers.

Effective sets enable hitters to execute powerful attacks and create strategic plays.

3. Defense:

Strong ball handling skills contribute to efficient defensive play.

Players with good ball control can react quickly to opposing attacks, effectively dig the ball, and transition it to the setters to initiate counterattacks.

Importance of Good Ball Control:

Good ball control is vital for several reasons:

1. Accuracy:

Effective ball control helps maintain accuracy in passing, setting, and attacking.

It ensures that the ball reaches its intended target with the right speed and trajectory, increasing the chances of a successful play.

2. Court Awareness:

Ball handling proficiency allows players to read and anticipate the game better.

With good control, players can assess the situation and make split-second decisions, enhancing their overall court awareness.

3. Transition Game:

Smooth and controlled ball handling facilitates faster transitions from defense to offense.

It enables teams to capitalize on unexpected opportunities and keep the momentum of the game in their favor.

4. Team Cohesion:

Solid ball handling skills promote better team cohesion.

When players can trust their teammates' ability to handle the ball, they can focus on their own responsibilities, leading to better coordination and teamwork.

Volleyball ball handling is a critical aspect of the game that involves receiving, controlling, and directing the ball accurately.

Good ball control skills contribute to accurate passing, setting, and attacking, enhancing overall team performance.

It enables players to maintain court awareness, execute effective transition plays, and promote strong team cohesion.

Dedicate time to practice and improve your ball handling skills to become a valuable asset to your team

Habits To Develop Good Volleyball Ball Handling

Fast footwork helps improve volleyball ball handling skills which you need to be able to control the ball and deliver it to your intended target to improve the accuracy of your forearm pass .

How well you handle the ball and control it to your intended target insures that you become a good passer that enjoys alot of playing time because you are the player who can neutralize a tough serve and get the ball to your setter in serve receive.

Here are two habits that you should adopt

get positioned early behind the ball
use faster footwork

in order to get a higher percentage of better volleyball passing reps to your setter or intended target.

For Better Volleyball Ball Handling
Get Positioned Early
Behind The Ball

If you are late in getting positioned behind the ball then you have to do a better job of moving your feet and quickly moving to get stopped behind the ball, so you have a greater chance of controlling the ball to the target.

For beginner and intermediate level players when you are not positioned behind the ball, in many cases you have to swing your platform outside of your body to pass it.

For those beginner players who are working on getting better volleyball passing technique and haven't yet developed great body control or ball control skills, this usually means

either your body will be off balance or
you will end up using too much of your upper body and arms

to try and get the ball to the target.

Volleyball Ball Handling
How to Pass The Volleyball With Good Body Control

The lesson here is to avoid trying to do two things at once.

Volleyball Ball Handling Begins With Good Ball Control and Fast Footwork: Anticipate fast where the ball is going to land once it crosses the net and move fast to beat the ball to that spot.

Volleyball Ball Handling Don'ts

You don't want to swing you arms when you pass the ball.
Don't run and pass at the same time

Volleyball Ball Handling Do's

What you DO want to do is

anticipate faster where the ball is going to land once it crosses the net to your side
then to move your feet faster to beat the ball to that spot.

Volleyball Ball Handling Begins With Ball Control and Faster Footwork

Volleyball Ball Handling Begins With Ball Control and Faster Footwork: For better passing players should anticipate where the ball is going to land and move quickly to get to that spot first.

What happens when you run and and pass at the same time?

Your forearm pass becomes less accurate and it'll be harder to get the ball to your target, which is usually your setter.

In most cases, because you're moving towards the net your forward motion will help deflect the ball immediately back over the net, which gives an easy free ball to your opposing team.

Something you don't want to happen.

Players should anticipate where the ball is going to land and move quickly to get to that spot first.

The passing action should be performed from a balanced position with both feet on the ground whenever possible.

Wherever it looks like the ball is going to cross the net and land in your area, which may be only a side step or two steps away from you, you want to beat the ball to THAT spot.

Then you want to try to be stopped so your momentum is not moving you forward.

Ideally, you want to stop moving by the time the ball contacts your platform.

You'll experience better volleyball ball handling and passing accuracy when you pass the ball making two separate and distinct movements.

Better Volleyball Ball Handling
A Quick Review

Volleyball Ball Handling: When you pass stay focused and concentrated on the ball when it's in the opposing server's hands all the way to your platform (Jaroslaw Popczyk)

A quick review..

when you pass you want to stay very focused and concentrated on the ball starting when it's in the opposing team's server's hands and ending when it's bounced off of your platform and is heading to your setter's hands.

Stay light on your feet so that you can run, shuffle or side step to get quickly to where you anticipate the ball is about to land.

Then your feet should be stopped, planted and balanced underneath you with your shoulders and body squared and parallel to the net.

Volleyball Ball Handling Begins With Ball Control and Faster Footwork:.You want to stay light on your feet so that you can run, shuffle or side step to get to where you anticipate the ball is.

Quickly clasp your hands together, keeping your elbows and wrists pressed together and your thumbs pointing to the ground in order to form your platform.

Remember, to pass a volleyball, you want to get to your spot quickly, beat the ball there, get stopped, form your platform, then make the pass.

Volleyball Basics:
Where Do You Go From Here?

Where do you need to go now?

Your three options are:

You can learn more about Passing in volleyball by visiting the Related Links below.
Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
Or visit the pages in the How to Play Volleyball section in the drop down menu at the top of the page to get started.
Before leaving this page Say "Hi" to Ms. Resee the Kangaroo, wearing the #11 jersey below. She's a left side hitter with precision passing and a member of the VolleyBragSwag All Beast Third team.

Meet Resee the Kangaroo and Passing Specialist on VolleyBragSwag's All Beast Team

Reese the Volleybragswag Kangaroo

Explore More Volleyball
Passing Information

If A Server Scores A Point From The End Line Its An Ace In Volleyball
An ace in volleyball happens when a server serves a tough unplayable ball from their service line which results in a direct point for the serving team.
Basic Volleyball Skills for Beginners: Six Essential Skills to Learn
Trying out for varsity? There are 6 basic volleyball skills, you need to learn beforehand: setting, passing, serving, hitting, blocking and digging
The Volleyball Toss How Consistent Is Your Ball Toss Before You Serve?
The volleyball toss for the overhand serve needs to consistently be two feet up in the air and one foot in front of front foot which puts the ball in front of your serving arm.
Volleyball Serve Use A Float, Jump Or Overhand Serve To Start A Rally
The overhand, underhand or jump volleyball serve is used to start a rally after the ref blows the whistle for the player in Zone 1 behind the service line.
Tips And Help On How To Develop An Ace-Scoring Good Volleyball Serve
I spend alot of time with my clients, club and college players teaching the correct technique needed to develop a good volleyball serve to score regular aces.
3 Volleyball Forearm Pass Cues On What To Do With Arms, Feet And Hips
There are three volleyball forearm pass cues you should use to improve your passing skills, keep your arms together, feet grounded and hips behind the ball.
How To Master The Volleyball Passing Platform: Techniques and Tips
A volleyball passing platform is with forearms clasping your thumbs together and pointing them to the ground so ball contacts above wrists and below elbows.
Learn 3 Important Steps To Improve Your Volleyball Bump Pass Skills
Players use these three steps to improve volleyball bump pass ability to get the ball to a player holding their wrists together forming a forearm platform.
What's The Correct Volleyball Ready Position for Passing in Volleyball
Learn the volleyball ready position for passing where clasped thumbs are pointed to the ground to form a platform with forearms to pass balls in a rally.
Volleyball Spike Approach Master The 3 and 4 Step Approach For Hitting
The volleyball spike approach for hitting is also called the spike approach and is done by a spiker taking 3 or 4 steps to a ball in the air before hitting it.
Volleyball Spike: The Basics For Attacking The Ball Hard For Points
A volleyball spike is the way a hitter attacks the ball after a spike approach sending it over the net to score a point in the opposing court with force.
The Volleyball Dig: What Is It, When To Do It and How To Dig A Ball
The volleyball dig or digging a volleyball up in defense means that you are able to keep an attacked ball by the opposing team off your court floor.
The Underhand Volleyball Serve How Should A Beginner Serve The Basics
Here's a ten step check list for beginners who can easily learn in ten steps how to perform the underhand volleyball serve.

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Lady Vol volleyball legend and record holder Coach April Chapple a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hall of Fame Inductee, 3-time All American, 3-time SEC Champion, SEC Tournament MVP, 2-time All SEC Team is celebrated with her 1984 SEC champion teammates at Neyland Stadium during Champions Weekend on November 1-2, 2024.

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Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee, Coach April Chapple is

the first First Round Draft Pick for the first American pro indoor women's league
named to the first First Team All-Pro team for Major League Volleyball in USA volleyball history
former USA National team member
one of the few American women players named as an Italian Pro League D-I Championship Finalist, Italian Cup Finalist and Cup of Cups Tournament Finalist

April Chapple The first First round Draft Pick For Major League Volleyball the first American Women's Pro League Honored At Athlete Unlimited Pro Volleyball Match

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Invest in your improvement while preepping for your next level and college goals while working hard and training smart.

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Serving slang is not just about individual techniques; it also relates to overall game strategy. A coach might instruct a player to serve a "short serve" or a "deep serve" to target specific areas of the opponent's court or exploit weaknesses in their serve receive formation.

Ari, my private training client and I are working specifically on serving on jump float cross court serves ...short to Zone 2

There's so much we work on to get to this point where she can contact the ball with

the same toss height and same toss location
the same armswing speed
the same timing for when her serving hand contacts the ball
the middle of the hand contacting the middle of the ball every single time
getting use to watching her serving hand contact the ball at the highest point of her jump ...before she starts to land
and finally contacting the ball in the precise spot on the ball so it goes where the coach wants the player to put it so in this case ..a short serve in the farthest short right corner on the court also called Zone 2.

kamiminerpac12setteroftheyearformercoachaprilchappleprivateclient3years

Tommi Stockham All Big West Conference sophomore former Coach April Chapple private client 3 years

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Dear Vegas Parent

Read my open letter to Las Vegas Jr high/high school volleyball parents about my predictions on individual and small group volleyball training trends for 2019/2021

Improve Your Passing Tips: Press both wrists together when passing no matter what...

Improve Your Passing Tips: Move your feet first to position yourself behind the ball.

Improve Your Passing Tips: Present your platform after you've stopped running.

Improve Your Passing Tips: Focus on the ball in the opposing server's hands not on the server's face. Its the ball you have to pass.

Improve Your Passing Tips: Keep your eyes on the ball. focus early on the ball before it comes to your side.

Improve Your Passing Tips: Anticipate where you need to be. Get there BEFORE you start to pass.

Improve Your Passing Tips: Keep your eyes on the ball. Visually track it from the server's hands to your passing platform.

Click to read Passing in Volleyball: Fundamental Skills For Receiving The Ball Better

Improve Your Passing Tips: Pass with both feet on the floor. Avoid the jump bump.

Improve Your Passing Tips: Work on speed and agility drills so you can move quickly to get to balls in serve receive.

Tennessee Athletics Honors April Chapple at Champions Weekend for Legendary Volleyball Achievements

From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Produces Powerful Passionate Players...is that you?

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Congratulations to my seven Boys-18s Vegas Volley club players who played in two state championship finals yesterday, the 3A and 5A State champinship finals at Sunrise Mountain High School.

TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!

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In It To Win It Tournament

May 2 - 4, 2025 Tournament

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Making A-1 Vegas Volleyball history as the very first TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS! In the In It To Win It Tournament, May 2-4, 2025 Tournament, A-1 Vegas Volleyball Club Gold Medalists, 18s Premier Division