What Skills Do You Need to Play Volleyball?

Have you just begun to play volleyball? If so, you need to start learning basic volleyball skills along with commencing to develop them. Evidently, you will have to persevere a long way before you manage to become a successful volleyball player who demonstrates excellent results on the court.

If you have the impulse for perfection along with the determination to work hard and improve your volleyball skills on a regular basis, then success will come to you over time.

It goes without saying that mastering basic skills is crucial for achieving exceptional results in the sport of volleyball. In order to become a highly skilled volleyball player who can contribute greatly to his/her team’s success, you should immerse yourself in the game and manifest your passion towards it.

In this blog post, we’ll inform you about the skills that you have to implement in order to become a prominent volleyball player. We’ll provide you with the insights into the key volleyball fundamentals while describing them in detail.

Serving

It all begins with a volleyball serve since a serve marks the beginning of a volleyball game. That implies that every volleyball player should know how to serve the ball correctly. No matter what your roles and responsibilities on the court are, you should constantly develop your volleyball serving skills.

Even if you are not going to become a server, you should learn to eventually master basic volleyball serving. A volleyball player can serve the ball in numerous ways however, it’s highly recommended for volleyball players to learn two types of serves: the overhand and the underhand serve.

Blocking

Blocking is another key element in a volleyball team’s defense. Of course, every volleyball player should learn this pivotal volleyball skill.

You should know that timing plays a very important role in blocking. A volleyball player should also be able to rapidly pinpoint the right moment for blocking. When the moment comes, the volleyball player should jump up in the air and make an attempt to block the opposing team’s attack.

If the block is successful, the ball won’t land on your side of the volleyball court. So, your opponents will not be able to get the points since after blocking, the ball often goes in an unpredictable direction on the opponents’ side of the court. So, your opponents will find it difficult to predict the direction of the ball and resist an attack hit. That indicates that a blocker has a chance to earn some points for his/her volleyball team.

Digging

Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to stop an attack on the first attempt. Sometimes, volleyball players need to do more in order to deflect the attack of their opponents. If the block made by a player is not successful, then he/she should take advantage of the so-called digging action.

In order to dig, a volleyball player has to approach the ball quickly. Then, the player has to dig quickly and prevent the ball from landing on the court. When digging a ball in volleyball, you should attempt to pass it to one of your teammates.

Passing

After handling the ball, you should aim to pass it to one of your teammates. Making an accurate pass is a key to organizing an attack hit in the volleyball sport. So, passing is another important skill that volleyball players need to focus on. In most cases, volleyball players choose to take advantage of either forearm or overhead passing.

Setting

Volleyball players should also focus on developing a setting skill. A setter plays a very important role on the court since a setter helps a volleyball hitter organize an attack. The job of a setter is to master the setting motion. A volleyball setter should always set the ball with a volleyball hitter in mind. You need to set the ball in the way that makes it easy for a volleyball attacker to hit the ball. That’s why it’s so important for a volleyball setter to know the preferences of his/her hitter very well.

Hitting

A volleyball hitter (also known as a volleyball spiker) should aim to hit the ball forcefully and precisely. As the hitter, you should do your best to make it difficult for the opposing team’s blockers to handle the attack and land the ball on the opposite side of the court.

If you are going to be a volleyball spiker, then you obviously need to specially focus on hitting. Luckily, there are so many great volleyball drills that make it possible for a spiker to develop his/her hitting skills.

These kinds of drills are usually a part of a volleyball hitter’s training program. Keep in mind that a highly professional hitter can earn a lot of points for his/her volleyball team and of course, this helps a volleyball team win the game.

A High Vertical Jump

It’s fair to say that jumping is another important element of a volleyball game. Every volleyball player jumps many times during their games and practices, thus making it a necessary skill for volleyball players.

Oftentimes, a volleyball player needs to jump high in order to block the opposing team’s attacks or to carry out an attack hit.

Without a doubt, volleyball players need to work on this important aspect all the time and try everything possible to improve his/her vertical jump. There are abundant effective exercises that allow volleyball players to jump higher.

Quick Reflexes

A volleyball player requires quick reflexes as well. Quick reflexes require all of the players to practice volleyball plentifully in order to quicken their response time. It’s crucial for an athlete to react to the game instantaneously as they are always attempting to predict the game to take all the necessary actions in time.

Quick Lateral Movements

A volleyball player should be able to make quick lateral movements on the court in any direction when such a need arises. For example, a volleyball player should approach the ball quickly in order to not allow it to land on the court. An athlete also needs to move quickly on the court in order to take the necessary position for carrying out an attack hit. So, as a volleyball player they are required to constantly strengthen his/her legs as it will help them make explosive movements anytime.

Observing the Game

A volleyball player should be able to observe the game attentively at all times. While observing the game, a volleyball athlete has to pay close attention to the ball, his teammates and the opposing team’s volleyball players.

It’s incredibly important to observe the game the right way. The main question is – how would someone observe the game correctly? Well, it all depends on the volleyball player’s responsibilities on the court.

Let’s assume that you are one of the blockers. In this case, you need to observe the opposing team’s hitters as well as their setter. It’s advised to start preparing for resisting an attack once you spot the opposing team’s hitters as well as the setter start working together.

If you are the hitter, you have to watch your team’s setter carefully along with positioning yourself on the court correctly. In order for you to easily carry out a hit, make sure that a volleyball setter will find it easy to set a ball for you.

Above all, you need to watch the opposing team’s blockers. As a volleyball hitter, you should aim to find the holes in the opposing team’s defense during the game.

Once the moment arrives, you should hit the ball quickly and effectively. Hit the ball between the opposing team’s blockers with power so that your chance for success increases significantly.

You must be prepared to pass the ball to one of your teammates all of the time. That’s why it’s  important for you to know where all of your team’s volleyball players are located on the court.

Thank you so much for reading this article. As you already know, it takes volleyball players some time to achieve great results in the sport. However, you’ll be able to take your volleyball skills to the next level if you work hard regularly. If you stay determined to play volleyball and practice to improve your skills everyday then, success will eventually find its way towards you.