Passion For The Game

Volleyball Blog :)

[abortionado]

I have a very sweet group of 13-14ish year old girls following me so I just wanted to say a few words about safety and grooming really quickly because I’ve been (hopefully needlessly) stressed about this and it’s sometimes more subtle than like. Asking for nudes

• Adults you meet online should not be talking to you about sex. Full stop. This includes smut, their sex life, your sex life, and “educating” you about sex. If an adult is talking to you about sex in ANY context, BLOCK THEM. Once again, THIS INCLUDES FANDOM SHIT. That is still inappropriate.

If you’re curious about sex, which is Totally normal, you can ask a trusted adult or mentor figure you know IN REAL LIFE, and if you don’t have one, there are lots of very straightforward and strictly educational resources at Planned Parenthood’s website and

• As much as I value younger girls as people (this is not a dig at y’all ❤️), it is weird to be an adult and be CLOSE friends with a young teenager. Even if you don’t perceive your interactions as inappropriate, it’s weird.

This is not because you’re not interesting or fun, but because adults really have nothing in common emotionally with eighth graders, and ALL of us know that. Every single one of us. An adult has nothing to gain from confiding in a person in a middle school. If a grown man or woman is telling you their deepest, darkest secrets, messaging you about their problems on a regular basis, or asking you to confide in them, that is a red flag. Block them.

• If an adult is complimenting you on your appearance in any way that you would not compliment an 8-year-old, BLOCK THEM. It’s completely not appropriate for an adult to tell you that you look hot, your makeup is sexy, etc. That’s fucking weird.

• If they talk about how mature you are for your age, BLOCK THEM. You might very well be mature for your age, but you’re not mature enough to change the fact that you’re in a completely different life stage than a grown adult.

(This applies to the 12-14 crowd—not telling you to block your 18 y/o friends if you’re 16 haha)

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If I have never played club volleyball is it a good time to tryout if I would be in the U13 league or is it too late?

It’s definitely not too late! Summer is almost over but see if the club is offering any summer camps that you could go to to get some practice in before they hold tryouts. The club I coach at actually has a mini club season before club season to work on developing players, so maybe your club does something like that too. Clubs are different. There are all different levels at tryouts and there will probably be players that are really good so just don’t let that discourage you. It makes sense for them to be good because they’ve been playing for longer. Try to practice a little bit before tryouts and then show up to tryouts and work super hard and be okay with making mistakes. You’re new to club, you shouldn’t expect yourself to be perfect. Coaches don’t just look at skill level though, they look at who’s working hard and who has a positive attitude so try to give the players around you high fives and always call for the ball. Remember the ball wont always go right to you so play aggressive! Let me know if I can help you with anything!

[passion-for-the-game]

What type of ankle brace should I get I need moderate support

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2065/0741/products/ASO_Ankle_Brace_c6c4b481-3690-4491-966a-a35f00ad4e4c_1024x1024.jpg?v=1507658562

Something like this.

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How do I block out my anxiety on the court and plz give me some tips on hitting

For tips for hitting, try to search through the tags on my blog. I’m not sure specifically what you want from that.

As far as anxiety on the court, that’s a more difficult one. It stems from you not being comfortable with what you’re doing so we have to build up your confidence. Just remember that volleyball is a game of mistakes. You’re supposed to make mistakes. But the good news is, if you mess up a pass, you get another chance to try to do it better. Every point is a learning opportunity and you always get to try again.

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My first practice for club volleyball is Dec3 and i haven’t been playing volleyball ever since the school season ended about 2 weeks ago how do I get ready for practice so I can get better (ps: I have no equipment in my backyard except for a volleyball)

You don’t need equipment. As long as you have a ball, you can work on ball control (see message I responded to before this). If you have a wall, that’s even better. The wall you’ll do the same thing, just pass against the wall instead of to yourself.

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Hi, tryouts are coming up and I'm stressed out. I really wanna be a hitter but I'm just not that good. I want to practice at home but there's no gym, beach court, or even a wall at my house I can pepper against. Also, I have no one to practice with me and I only have two volleyballs so I would prefer to not have to constantly run after them but if that's the only option then that's fine. I was just wondering if you know of any ways to practice at home. Sorry about all of my obstacles. Thank you.

You could always try to find a park or something that has a wall or a net. You could also check local parks and recreation centers because a lot of those offer open gyms that have walls and nets. If you don’t have a wall or a net, you can still practice ball control. You can pass to yourself over and over (make sure you bend your knees and stay in posture), set to yourself, alternative between passing and setting. You can also bounce the ball on the ground so that it moves a little unpredictably, shuffle to the ball, and pass it to a target.

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Hi, I have tryouts soon and I'm very nervous :( I went to 3 volleyball camps over the summer but I was in the lowest group for each, while most people my age were in higher groups. I really need help on everything. My main issue is serving because my coaches say I shotput the ball. I know what they mean but I just can't seem to fix my problem. I also need a lot of help setting, even thought I'm a hitter. I'm sorry for all the questions. Thank you.

Oops, don’t know why I’m just now seeing this.

For your serve, find a wall. Stand about arms length away from the ball. Toss the ball, and swing like you normally would to serve the ball. But the goal is to trap the ball in between your hand and the wall. This helps a lot with your contact and should help to correct your “shotput” habit. Make sure that your hand is upright (if you’re shotputting the ball, your hand/wrist is probably bent backwards a bit. You want your wrist/hand to be in the same position it would be in when you high five someone). Your toss is also probably behind you which is why you’re able to shift your hand up instead of swinging aggressive forward. Put your toss a little further away from you and then you won’t be able to do that shotput motion.

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Tryouts are coming up, let me know if you have any questions!

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Hi, I'm the person who sent an ask in a little while ago about the varsity coach giving me a setter's ball. Tryouts are at the end of the summer and I just want your opinion. I really want to get on varsity, even though that would mean I wouldn't play as much because there's already a great setter on that team. I'm working on improving my serving and hitting so that I'm well-rounded. Should I make my goal getting on varsity or should I listen to the people telling me it's not smart right now?

I would say that depends on how your school runs tryouts. It's always good to set high goals because it makes you work harder. And while I'm a huge proponent of playing time, sometimes it's better to train at a higher level instead of play all the time at a lower level. You should definitely work to be a more well-rounded player regardless. It makes you more valuable on the court. If there are separate tryouts for varsity and JV, I think you should tryout for the one that your skill level is closest to. But if it's all one big tryout, then go in with the mindset of making varsity and if the coach decides you're not ready, they'll put you on JV. Best of luck!

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Do you have any tips for doing a feint during a game?

What do you mean by a feint?

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How can I get better at hitting at home by myself. I was going to be in a volleyball club but the money cost too much so I'm very worried that I will lose my volleyball skills if that's possible? Any home workouts that I can do that can really help with my spike and my blocking including with good form. I feel left out because while my friend in club volleyball gets better I get worse it feels like so this is my only hope. Any tips for this? 🏐

Hitting is more difficult to do at home than other skills bc you likely don’t have a net that you can jump and hit over. You can definitely practice ball control though, which is super underrated and extremely important. As long as you have a wall, you can do this. Basically just self Pepper against the wall. I initiate with a serve so I can practice serve receive, and then you pass to yourself, set to yourself, and hit a controlled downball at the wall and just keep that cycle going. It’s good bc if your pass is off, you can work on wrist control in order to bring the ball back to where you’ve been working (idk if that part made any sense). I usually do 10 passes (continuous), 10 sets, 10 pass sets, 10 pass set downballs, and then 10 pass one arm pass other arm pass one hand tip to self other hand tip to self set downball. It’s just really good for ball control. After that you can always serve against the wall and practice your serve receive. There’s also “hand peppering” which just takes out the forearm pass part of it. So when you hit the downball, you have to swing high so that way you’re able to pass it with your hands. Blocking footwork can be done in front of a garage or wall. Just block all the way down the line. Pick a spot on the wall and aim to hit that spot with your fingers and little by little increase the height. You can also practice your approach and transitioning out to hit. If you can find a sand court, I’d highly recommend practicing there bc it’s much harder to move in the sand so you’ll build strength. Try to find out if a Rec center near you has any open gyms. Or depending on your age, they may have a Rec league that you can do (although be careful not to develop bad habits). Open gyms are good just so you can practice serving and maybe play a little bit to stay in it. None of this will put you on equal footing with girls who are playing club, but it will keep you competitive. Ball control is soooo important and doing those little drills helps you develop better technique and control, so it’s easier to jump back into the flow of things when you start up your season again. I hope this was helpful! Let me know if there’s anything else you need. Ciara x

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:)

So excited to start this season off with my team :) Coaching has been wonderful so far and I can’t wait to see my players work hard and improve! Is everyone excited for the start of club season????

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I was a setter in my old volleyball team when I was 11 until i turned 14. I had some deep issues with my teammates so i felt like I had to leave. But now, two years later I'm playing again n i can't help but panic every time i make a mistake pls help

Question: Are you playing with the same teammates you had issues with?

I always felt more comfortable playing club volleyball than I did playing at my high school. The girls were nice-ish but there was just a lot of attitude and it wasn’t really my thing. And I let that psych me out. But the thing to remember is it’s JUST volleyball. And I know that sounds kind of lame so don’t take it the wrong way. Volleyball is awesome and it’s so much fun, but at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter if you set the ball too low or mess up a serve. The world will go on. Volleyball is supposed to be FUN. So have fun with it. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work to be better, but we can work hard and still enjoy the sport. 

Try to build relationships with your team, that always makes the game a lot easier. Mistakes are actually good in a way because they give you something to learn from. Instead of dwelling on setting the ball too far off the net, just give yourself a friendly reminder to square your shoulders next time. That’s the beauty of volleyballl: there’s always another opportunity to try again. 

Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help!

Ciara x

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Ok I was just so excited and I had to share this with my fav volleyball blog. So I was on the freshmen team at my school and I was the main setter, along with being one of the only captains. And so today my sister was coming back from school late bc she had soccer practice and so once she gets home she comes in my room and hands me a setters ball and tells me that the VARSITY COACH told her to give it to me!! And it has his name on it and everything! What do u think this means for next year?

Oooo that’s cool! And I’m so happy you decided to share that with me :) It definitely means the varsity coach has noticed you. I say keep working hard and you’re definitely on a good track for next year! Just don’t stop giving effort and putting the work in! You’re doing great, but there’s always more we can do to better ourselves. Congrats though, that’s super awesome :)

Ciara

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I want to play volleyball but I've never played before. Any tips on how I can train in a year's time? How do I overhand serve? How do I set? How do I pass? Thanks

See this for serving and this for other stuff. I would recommend watching youtube videos to get the techniques down. 

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Hi! So I've read a lot of your answers on your blog and this was the first place I thought of going to ask some of my questions. I'm a freshman in high school and I'm one of three captains on the freshman team. I'm (according to my coach) the best setter but most of the time I don't feel like I'm that good. Do you have any tips for working on accuracy for setting? Also what can I do to be the best on my team? One of the other captains has a concussion and the other one is a good player overall.

Once again Tumblr didn’t notify me of a new message, so I don’t know how long this has been sitting in here. I apologize for the probably very late response. 

I’m not the best setter so I don’t really know any setter specific drills for you to improve your accuracy, but just like any skill, you’ll improve the more you practice. Set up a target on the outside, bounce the volleyball on the ground really hard (that way it moves with some unpredictability), chase the ball down, and set to the outside. You want to do this from various points on the court because in a game situation, the passes aren’t going to be perfect so it’s best to practice with that unpredictability. 

I don’t really like the mentality of “how can I be the best on the team”. That’s not what volleyball is about, or sports in general. You want to be the best that YOU can be, and you can use your teammates to help drive your desire to improve, but it shouldn’t really be comparative to the rest of your team. Plus it’s so hard to say who your best player is because everyone brings something different to the table. For self-improvement, I’d recommend picking one skill at a time (not necessarily setting or hitting, it could be something like communication or reading the other team’s offense) a focusing on that. 

I hope this helps and I hope I got this back to you in time for you to do something with it. I apologize for the late response.

Ciara

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I have tryouts tomorrow. I made the team last year and I'm going Into sophomore year. I'm worrying because I'm not the greatest on the team... And there are freshmen coming up that have to possibility to bump me off the team.. Any tips so I can feel more confident going into tryouts to do my best?

Just keep in mind that you’re familiar to the coaches and familiarity is usually preferable to unpredictability. With that in mind, don’t become complacent. You still have to go out and work hard just like everyone else. Make sure you go for every ball and bust your ass no matter what. I think I’ve mentioned her before, but my favorite libero that I ever played with wasn’t the most consistent or the “greatest on the team” but she was my favorite because she never gave up and I’d rather play with someone who has that much heart than someone who’s just really good at the game. It really depends on how you define “great”. Volleyball is a team sport so there’s something different that everyone brings to the table. I was never the greatest on any of my teams, but I’m a super consistent player so my coach could always depend on me. Someone else may have a killer serve, or may be an awesome blocker, or may just be a really positive source on the court that makes everyone work together really well. Find whatever it is that makes you awesome and play to that strength. Of course you want to work hard to develop all your skills, but if you ever get down, just remind yourself that you’re super good at ______. I always told my teammates if they made a mistake serving, to just make it up with a good pass. Or if they made a bad set, I’d tell them to make it up with a nice block, etc. Try to remain positive and encouraging (mind you, without overdoing it. I’ve played with people who thought they were being positive but were really just being annoying) and to work your butt off. It’s honestly the most respectable thing.