Training - Volleyball drills and conditioning at Volleyball Training Ground

Training For Volleyball – Top Tips To Constantly Improve

When you are training for volleyball, it is important to do the right things or you are going to hit a performance plateau. There is nothing more frustrating than working and not improving. These steps will help you continuously improve.

Volleyball Training Formula

When training players, I like to follow the following formula so that they consistently improve over the course of a season:

Use a variety of volleyball drills during practice – This one is so critical. In any sport, when you keep doing the same things over and over, your body becomes acclimated and that is one easy way to plateau. If you want to improve you need to constantly challenge yourself.

Training For Volleyball As a coach, I recommend that you constantly find new drills that will challenge your players while working on the fundamentals that they need for their progression. There are so many places, including this website, where you can find new drills for them to work on.

Use a variety of conditioning when training for volleyball – I see many coaches and players make this mistake too. It is so easy as an athlete to plateau because people usually develop a training “routine” and their body is never pushed outside the comfort zone.

I am sorry to tell you, but you cannot improve as an athlete if you constantly do the same workouts. Not only will your improvement suffer, but you will probably get bored. After all, variety is the spice of life.

Once again, you must do those things that will challenge you. Do various weight training exercises, cardiovascular exercises, and jump training workouts.

Practice hard like it is the last match you will ever play – Players will play they way that they practice. When you are training for volleyball, it is absolutely critical to improve the way that you practice.

I want to see players that are pushing themselves. That perform well day in and day out because they have an inner desire to achieve excellence. I am a competitor and I will do anything I can to help the team win. When you take this attitude to practice you will find it easier to push yourself to achieve.

All of these points really boil down to how badly you want to be successful on the court. If you aren’t working hard, I can promise you that someone else will be.

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Volleyball Workout – Your Key To Preparing Your Body For Competition

A volleyball workout is a key to determining how successful you will be on the court. Your workout is the time for you to prepare for the time you will be competing on the court.

These volleyball exercises are customized to the needs of a volleyball player. The needs of a volleyball athlete are different from other athletes. There are different muscles that are needed and so that is the majority of what this workout will focus on.

This type of volleyball training that is outlined could be used during the season to maintain your fitness level, or it could also be used off season to prepare. In either case, you want to be in the peak physical condition possible. Use this volleyball workout to maximize your potential.

Volleyball Workout Plan

The main needs of a volleyball player are increase flexibility, strengthen muscles, and increase jumping and foot speed. To that end, we have broken this down into sections:

Increase Flexibility

This may seem strange at first, but there is method to the madness. There are two main reasons that we want to focus on flexible muscles:

Volleyball Workout Stretching 1. Athletes that are flexible tend to be injured less frequently – When you have flexible muscles, they are able to withstand more wear and tear that will occur during the season. This does not mean that you are not going to be injured. It simply means that you are putting the odds in your favor.

2. There are links between flexibility and jumping – Some of the best jumpers I have ever seen have also been the most flexible. They tend to focus a good amount of time stretching before and after the workout or game. When muscles are flexible, they will be able to contract faster and harder for increased jumping ability.

So, this is the first fundamental principle for your volleyball workout. Make sure you stretch after warming up and at the end of your workout.

Strengthen Muscles

There are very specific muscles that you want to work out. They are mainly in the shoulders, arms, core, quads, and calves. The shoulders and arms are so that you do not injure yourself by swinging too hard in a game. Shoulder injuries are the most common among volleyball players. I do not want you to suffer going through a season on the bench due to an injury.

Volleyball Workout Pushups Take the time to strengthen your shoulders. Push ups are a great way to strengthen shoulders and arms. I recommend traditional push ups and pike push ups (instead of being in a plank position, your butt is in the air and you do push ups that way) as great ways to increase your shoulder strength.

Your core muscles are used a lot for pulling through your attack on the ball. At the point of impacting the ball, your back goes from being arched backward to snapping forward. This forward snap is all of your core muscles. The stronger your core is, the more you will be able to pull forward and transfer momentum from your body to the ball as you hit it.

Core exercises would consist of crunches, sit ups, or knee lifts. I know I know… I didn’t say this volleyball workout was fun. I just said it would help you be better than the competition.

Your legs are the keys to jumping, blocking, and movement on the court. Regardless of your position on the court, you need these muscles at their peak level. Squats, lunges, and calf raises are my favorites to develop these areas.

Increase Jumping and Foot Speed

Exercises to increase your vertical jump should be part of any volleyball workout. A good vertical jump is a skill that any volleyball coach or recruiter will look for. The more you can develop, the greater advantage you will have on the court.

Usually, these programs also incorporate exercises like jump roping that will increase your foot speed and agility.

If you are looking for the best vertical jump program (there are a lot of fakes out there), take a look at this vertical jump program. It is the highest rated one out there and I highly recommend it. It is the real deal and will deliver fantastic results. It is a great way to increase vertical jump and it should be a part of your volleyball jump training.

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Beach Volleyball History Explained…

Beach volleyball history goes back a little in time. There are some unconfirmed reports stating that it started in 1915 in Hawaii. However, most people attribute the start of the sport to be in the 1920s in Santa Monica.

Women Beach Volleyball History This is roughly 25 years after the indoor version started and the original indoor game was called mintonette (most people aren’t aware of that).

Within a few years, the sport was growing in popularity and was starting to cross overseas. There are reports of the game being played in France among the nudist beaches.

At this time, it was primarily a family sport where they played six people per side like the indoor version of the game.

During the Great Depression, the sport grew largely in popularity due to the fact that it cost virtually nothing to play. People could go to the beach and have a source of entertainment that didn’t cost anything. During this time, we started to see variations of 2 on 2, 3 on 3, and 4 on 4 volleyball.

In the 1950s, there started to be the first beach volleyball tournaments that also included beauty pageants. The sport started to really gain popularity as it was linked with these other events.

The next significant part of beach volleyball history is when the first sponsor came on to sponsor a tournament. This was back in 1975 and Winston Cigarettes was the first company to do so.

Beach Volleyball History One of the signature aspects of beach volleyball happened in 1979 when the King of the Beach tournament started. Over the years, this became one of the most popular events for beach volleyball every year.

As time went on, the sport started to move to locations that weren’t on the beach and could be played anywhere. In fact, this picture is in Denver, Colorado.

There were many great players to play the sport (Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, Ron Von Hagen, Pat Powers, Karch Kiraly) that grew the sport to what it is today.

Now, beach volleyball is an international sport that is also held in the Olympics. You will also find a beach volleyball magazine.

Where to go next?

Volleyball Statistics – Learn how to use statistics to improve as a player or coach.

Womens Asics Volleyball Shoes – The best volleyball shoes are reviewed for you.

Volleyball Techniques – Learn the best techniques for all the fundamentals.

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Beach Volleyball Tips

Usually, the difference between the first place team and the second place team is a very small margin. With that thought in mind, these beach volleyball tips could be the difference between winning and losing.

Beach Volleyball Tips

Communication is key! This communication comes in many different forms. It comes in making sure that you are calling out who is going to be passing the ball on the serve receive. That is one of the easiest ways to lose a point. It comes in the form of letting your partner know if you are going to be blocking the ball, the line, or the angle. You must communicate well to put yourself ahead of the competition.

Beach Volleyball Tips The communication also comes in how well you listen to your partner. When you are hitting, they should be calling out where to hit. They should also be calling out the balls that they are going to play. Remember that communication is more than just talking; it also requires listening.

When blocking on the left side, line up your left hand with the ball. Do the same with players on the right hand side with your right hand. It will make sure that your hands are in proper position for blocking.

If you are playing against someone that is tall, you can serve the ball to them short. This will help take away their hitting approach.

One of my favorite beach volleyball tips is to analyze the other team. Usually, there is one player that is a better hitter out of the two. Serve the ball to the person that is the worst hitter so that you it is easier to play defense and dig the ball.

The same idea goes for the worst passer. If you notice that someone is either a bad passer or they are just having an off day, keep serving them the ball. This will force them to make a good pass in order to beat you.

When you are preparing to dig the ball, there are a few things to focus on. First of all, stay on your toes so that you can make a quick move to the ball. Second, watch the shoulder of the hitter. They will hit the ball with whatever direction they line up their shoulder with. Lastly, listen to where their partner says to hit the ball. This will increase the likelihood of being at the right place at the right time to dig the ball.

If you want some more beach volleyball tips, I highly recommend this book by Karch Kiraly. Beach volleyball is really considered the “bible” of beach volleyball. Not only does he talk about the big picture of being a champion, but there is also a lot of tactical, “how-to” information as well. It is easily one of the best volleyball books available. You can get it from Amazon.com here: Beach Volleyball

Where to go next?

Vertical Jump – Improve your jump fast with these ideas.

Volleyball Training – Get into the best shape possible.

Volleyball Quotes – Some of the best quotes out there for volleyball players.

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Beach Volleyball Drills – Skills to Win

These beach volleyball drills will help you improve your game and be a better player. When it comes to beach volleyball, the skills are a little bit different than those that are needed on the indoor game.

These drills will help you develop the skills pertinent to the outdoor game. If there are indoor skills that you want to improve, then check out these volleyball drills. There are drills for setting, blocking, passing, and more.

Now, on to the drills.

Beach Volleyball Drills

Setting Drill

This drill focuses on practicing to move to the ball being prepared to set the ball. Get used to having the ball come out cleanly and moving to the ball with your hands ready to receive it for the set.

Defense Drill

This drill focuses on teaching people how to play defense on the beach. Beach volleyball defense is much different than indoor since there are only two people. This drill will help you maximize your defensive coverage with just two people.

Court Vision Drill

This last drill focuses on helping you see where the defense is as you are hitting the ball. This is an important skill to develop so that you can read the defense as you are hitting and make the correct play.

I hope these volleyball drills will help you develop as a player on the beach.

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Use These Hand Signals For Better Communication With Your Partner

Using hand signals are important in beach volleyball. It is the only way for you to communicate where you want them to serve and where you are going to block. This communication is valuable when playing beach volleyball.

With beach volleyball being a sport with two people per side, there is a lot of strategy that can be used. Do you want to serve the person that isn’t passing well or the worst hitter? These hand signals can tell your partner that information. Usually the person at the volleyball net will be the one making the signals.

Does one of the players not set as well? Then you can serve the other player so that they are required to set all the time. Use these strategies and knowledge to your advantage.

Now that you have an idea as to why you would want to use these strategies, let’s review the way this works so that you know how to communicate with your partner:

One finger showing: When your partner shows one finger, this means that they intend to block down the line. Since they are going to be taking away the line, it will be your responsibility to be ready to dig the angle away from the block.

Two fingers showing: This signal with two fingers means that your partner is going to block the angle. As a result, you will be responsible for any ball hit down the line.

Shaking the hand: When your partner’s hand is shaking, they are communicating to you which person they want you to serve to. This could be because they have been blocking well against them, or that they haven’t been hitting well, or other reasons. However, that is where they want the ball to go.

Fist: When your partner shows you a fist, it means that they are not planning on blocking and will be dropping back to dig with you. Step over to the other side of the court so that they can drop straight back and play defense.

Thumbs: The thumbs can be used to show your partner what part of the court you would like them to serve to. As an example, watch this video to see how to use the thumbs for this.

That is about it for the hand signals. Make sure that you review them with your partner prior to playing so that you are telling each other the same information. Use this communication tool to your advantage.

Where to go next?

Beach Volleyball Drills – Improve your outdoor skills with these drills.

Asics Knee Pads – Read these reviews of knee pads to see which ones are best.

Sand Socks – How well do they work for beach volleyball? Take a look…

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Use These Basic Volleyball Drills To Warm Up And Get Ready To Play!

Here are some basic volleyball drills that can be done. The main purpose behind these drills is to warm up the body, and get ready to play or practice. These basic volleyball drills work best at the beginning of practice, or before the start of a match.

During each drill, I will show you the key points, how to do the drill, video or diagrams, and the main points. This can be a valuable resource for coaches or players who are just starting.

Let’s get to the drills…

Pass and Run Drill

During this drill, players will form lines across from each other. When they are at the front of the line, they will pass the ball to the other side of the line and then go to the end of that line. This drill works best with five or more players.

If there are too many players in one line, then they will not be active enough and warming up their muscles.

Key Points: This is to warm up. Make sure you stretch before you start doing any of the drills. Pulled muscles are not a good thing. Even though this is to warm up, don’t get sloppy. Use the same passing fundamentals that you learned in the techniques section of the site. Practice doing it the right way.

There is a second variation of this drill where you can have the lines setting the ball instead of passing it.

Here is a video of this drill being done:

Two Player Pepper

Of all basic volleyball drills, this is the most common and simple to do. Two players will face each other from 10-15 feet away from each other. As they are facing each other, they are going to practice three hit volleyball.

So, the main point is to learn to bump (pass), set, and spike. One player will pass it to the other, that player will set it, and then the other player will spike it at the other player. This cycle will continue until they are warmed up.

This drill is to warm up and practice all of the basics of volleyball. In this one simple drill, players will practice passing, setting, hitting, and digging.

Key Points: Remember that our purpose here is to warm up. When hitting at each other, it is best to start with slow controlled hits. As you both get warmed up, you can start progressively hitting harder. Do not sacrifice control just to hit hard. Our purpose here isn’t to hit the other player. It is to work on the basics.

Here is a video of people peppering:

Butterfly Drill

In order to do this basic volleyball drill, you will need both sides of the court. It is great to do at practice to move around and get the blood flowing.

As this drill is a little difficult to describe, I am going to include a diagram to show how this drill flows. Here is the diagram:

Diagram of Butterfly Volleyball Drill

Position one is going to serve to two. Position two is going to pass the ball to position three. Position three is going to catch the ball and run to position four to serve the ball. Positions four through six work the same as one through three.

After the person has served, position one will run to position two, two will go to three, and three will go to four. Four through six works the same way on the other side of the court. The drill works best if there is line of extra people split up between position one and four.

Key Points: This basic volleyball drill focuses on warming up the muscles, and working on passing and serving. A great drill to warm up.

Any drill can be turned into a fun volleyball drill. What can you do to make them more interesting for your practices?

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Use Beach Volleyball Strategy To Win More!

Proper beach volleyball strategy can be the difference between losing a close match or winning it. Beach volleyball is a different game than the indoor game and so the strategy is also different.

Use the ideas on this page to increase your chances to win.

Here are some strategies to consider:

Serve to the person that is the worst passer – If a person cannot pass the ball well, their offense will struggle from the start. Serving to someone that is a weak passer will result in some quick and easy points.

Serve to the person that is the worst hitter – This beach volleyball strategy focuses on the concept of playing defense to win the point. If there is a weak hitter, that means that it will either be easier to block the ball, or to not block at all and just dig the ball. The point is if they cannot get the kill, then it will result in some easy points.

If one of the players is not a good setter, serve to their partner – Force the weaker setter to set the ball. It will result in a weaker offense and a ball that will be difficult for the hitter to hit.

When I first started playing beach volleyball, I was a better hitter and passer than my partner. However, my setting skills were very below average since I had spent all of my time playing volleyball as a middle blocker. I didn’t set the ball hardly at all. So, when people would play against us, they would use this beach volleyball strategy to serve my partner all the time. This forced me to set (which usually was a bad set on top of the volleyball net) and it forced him to hit whatever ball he got. They got a lot of easy points until my setting game caught up to the rest of my skills.

Communication with your partner is a must – Does your partner know where you want them to serve it? Do they know if you are planning on blocking line, ball, or not blocking at all? When the ball is served in the middle of you both, you have to communicate to make sure that the team is running smoothly. Do not assume that they know, or that they are going to play the ball. Call it out and be clear about it.

You can also use hand signals to handle some of this communication. This is a MUST for your beach volleyball strategy. If you need a refresher on how to use hand signals, click here for the hand signals explanation.

When playing as the back row player that isn’t blocking, read the hitter’s shoulder and arm swing – In most cases, the hitters are going to power the ball through the direction that their shoulder is facing. Watch the hitter when they are in the air and line up to play defense in the path that their shoulder is facing.

Also, you must watch for the roll shot. Since open handed tipping is not allowed, watch for the roll shot over the block. Usually when the hitter is doing the roll shot over the top of the block, they will slow down their arm swing to control the shot. When you see this, start moving to get back behind the block.

Every now and then, it is a good beach volleyball strategy to serve the ball in the middle of the two players – If a team is not communicating well, it can be a very easy point to serve the ball between the two of them. Every now and then, they will both assume that the other person is going to pass the ball and it will result in a service ace.

These beach volleyball strategies can be the difference between winning and losing. Make sure you stay focused on the fundamentals that will help you win the game.

Where to go next?

Basic Volleyball Drills – Master the fundamentals and improve your game.

Indoor Volleyball Net – Read the reviews and find the best one for your needs.

Volleyball Links – Check out these additional resources.

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Don’t Let The Volleyball Scoring Systems Confuse You…

Volleyball scoring is done in several different ways. I want you to understand the scoring systems that are used. Since there are different methods, it is important to understand the volleyball scoring systems so that the team can adapt as necessary.

Basically, there are two different scoring methods. The first one is the older method of scoring called side-out scoring. In side out scoring, the team that was serving was the only team that could score. If the serving team won the rally, then they would get a point. If the defensive team won the point (side out) no point would be awarded and the other team would serve.

In this format, sets were to 15 points and the matches were either best of 3 or best of 5 sets.

Setting Ball If there was a violation (net violation, out of rotation, etc.) then it followed the same rules as with the points. If the violation was against the non-serving team, then the serving team would get a point. If the violation were against the serving team, then it would be a side out and the other team would serve.

Every time a rally was won by the serving team, the same player would continue to serve until there was a side out. Once a side out occurred, the team that won the serve would rotate one position clockwise and a new person would serve.

The other method is rally point. This is the most common method that is used today. Rally point is where a point is scored every time the ball is served regardless of who served the ball. Very simply put, every ball served is a point.

A match usually consists of 5 sets with the winner being the team that gets to 25 points first. The winner would be the team that wins 3 out of 5 sets. If the game goes to the final set, the set is typically played to 15 points. A team must be ahead by two points when they get to 25 or the set continues until a team is ahead by two points.

One of the reasons that volleyball scoring changed from side-out method to rally point is to make the game faster and more enjoyable for spectators.

Under the rally point method, your team MUST be careful on their serves. If they serve out of bounds or into the net, it is a free point for the other team. Serving accuracy is much more important for this type of scoring.

That is about it for volleyball scoring. Make sure that you know the rules of these two different systems.

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What Is Your Passing Points Score For Your Offense?

This passing points system is a very efficient way to understand how well your offense is running. Many times, people think that if the ball s passed to the general area of the setter, that the offense is running well. By using this system, hopefully you will have a better understanding of how the offense is doing.

The point system is based entirely on how well the pass is for the setter to run the offense. So, you have to realize that the passing points system does not indicate how well the setter is setting, or how well the hitters are doing. Here is how it works:

The points will show how many offensive options the setter has based on how well the ball is passed. When you have accurate stats, you can help players use this information as they compete for volleyball scholarships.

A zero would be no points. This means that the ball was passed so poorly that the setter cannot set it to any of the front row options. Their only choice to set the ball is to a back row hitter or they may not even be able to get to the ball to take the second hit like they should.

Picture of passing the ball

One point would be a pass where the setter only has one setting option for the offense. This would be to the outside hitter and it would usually be the normal high set. This type of a pass severely limits how the offense can run and what you setter can do with the ball.

Two points means that the ball was a pretty good pass and the setter can set to two of the front row hitters. The two offensive options are usually to the outside hitter and to the opposite or back side hitter. Yes, the setter can still deliver the ball to a back row hitter, but the passing points system is to show the number of front options they have from the way the ball was passed.

Three points is the best kind of pass. This would allow the setter to run the full offense and have all offensive options available. The setter could set the ball to the outside hitter, the opposite or back side hitter, and the middle blocker for a quick attack in the middle. This is the best kind of pass and it helps the setter run the whole offense. The setter can only be as good as the passes they receive.

Passing points in volleyball explained

Now that you understand this volleyball passing points system, here is how you can use it. During the match, keep statistics on two things: the number of times you have received serve, and then add up the total number of points for the match. Once you know both of these numbers, you can divide the total number of points be the number of times you received serve. This will give you the average points per pass for that match.

Here is an example:

Times received serve: 20 Total Points: 49 Average points per pass: 49/20 = 2.45 points per pass

This would mean that on average, your setter had at least two offensive options per pass they had to set. The big picture is that you want this number to be as high as possible. If you notice that your average passing points are below 2.0, then you will want to focus more on passing drills and techniques during practices. This is one way of knowing what to spend your practice time on.

Speaking of volleyball practice, you might want to check that page out for additional tips on how to practice effectively and efficiently.

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