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How To Overhand Serve In Volleyball - 5 Steps and Best Tips

Serve up a storm on the court with our tips and tricks on how to overhand serve in volleyball. Practice, persist, and perfect your technique! #VolleyballTraining #AceTheServe #Volleyball #VolleyballTips #VolleyballTraining #VolleyballCommunity

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How to Serve a Volleyball Like a Pro - Best Tips and Strategies

Ace your volleyball game with our expert tips on how to serve like a pro! Check out our latest blog post🏐💪#volleyball #volleyballtips #volleyballskills #winningmoves #winningstrategy

[volleyballmecca]

VB ADDICTION! December 2013: Developing Consistency

Developing consistency

We can all serve a tough ball every once in a while, and hit that perfect corner shot sometimes, but don't you want this every time? How do we develop that consistency to be able to touch a ball over and over again the same exact way? Sure, practicing makes us better skilled for competition, but when we face a comparable team, consistency will earn us that win. 

Keep six lists: Serving, Passing, Setting, Hitting, Blocking, Digging.

In bullet form, outline every step you take to perform each skill. Include what you do physically and mentally. Focus on the things that are in your control: footwork, eyework, and communication. As you grow your skill sets, keep track of the advice you pick up. Your coach will teach you something that will strongly resound and make you better. Add these new ideas into your lists and try to place them in the correct order in which you would perform them. By doing this, you will build a routine list that you can also review off the court.

This list is your game plan. When you compete, ALWAYS follow your routine. The footwork and eyework may be the most obvious parts of your routine. But if you have "call seams" on your passing list, then call your seams before EVERY serve. If you have "take a big breath" on your serving list then take a big breath before EVERY serve. It might seem small, but these little things add up.

Focus on your routine between every rally. Volleyball may be a fast-paced game during the rally, but you have plenty of time between rallies to focus on your lists. If you made an error, quickly identify which bullet point you missed and do it next time. Focus more on what you can improve and focus less on what went wrong. It's better to be too ready than not ready. It's better to over-communicate than not communicate.

Stay positive, work hard, and have fun.

Check out our "Training & Coaching" page for access to more tips and information about volleyball.

[volleyballmecca]

VB ADDICTION! October 2013: Running an Offense

Running a 6-on-6 offense

Strategies for maximizing your team's offensive game

Setters: Get Square

Setters need to be able to set all hitting positions on the court while also being able to slow down the defense on the other side of the net. Setters should face the left antenna every time they set the ball. This is called "getting square" to the antenna.

Have an outlet hitter

Make sure your team knows who their go-to hitters are and feed them. The outside hitters are usually the easiest players to feed. Make your best hitter an outside hitter so that they receive the most sets and make the most offensive attempts.

Know when to hit hard and when to keep it in

Games are not won by which team hits the hardest. Games are won by consistency. Cleaning up errors is the most important thing your team can do to give up less points to the other team. When the passes and sets are good, take a rip on the ball. When the team is scrambling to keep the ball up on the first and second touches, make a smart shot on the third touch.

Know where to place your shots

Take a look at your opponent's base positions and defensive positions. Watch for their individual tendencies. Once you have found a team's weak spots, exploit them. Decide with your team where to place the ball during a scramble play. We are not looking for a termination kill, but we want the opponent to work harder for their offense and increase their chance for errors.

Check out our "Training & Coaching" page for access to more tips and information about volleyball.

[volleyballmecca]

VB ADDICTION April 2013: Defensive Eyework

Understanding how to use your eyes is key to an effective defense. You may have heard the words, "Ball, Setter, Ball, Hitter." But what exactly does this mean? What information are we gathering and when are we making our eyes move in this pattern? Can you juggle? Take a volleyball and hold it in one hand near your waist. Juggle the ball by tossing it above your head, back and forth from one hand to the other. Look straight up and avoid looking at either hands while doing this. Most athletes do not need to watch the ball fall completely into their hands to know exactly where it is going to fall. Instead, we only need to see the peak of the ball's path. Once the ball reaches its maximum height, we know that the ball will fall the same way it went up. Whether backrow or frontrow, when we are in defense, we need to make sure we are watching the ball after every contact until it reaches its peak height. Once the ball starts to fall from its peak, we know exactly where that ball is falling. Then, we can switch our gaze to the Setters or the Hitters to gather as much information out of the opponents until they make contact. Ball - Watch the ball after the first contact right until it starts to drop. Setter - Watch the setter. Figure out what the setter will do based on where you know the ball is landing. Ball - Watch the ball the moment it releases from the setter's hands. React and transition into defense. Hitter - Watch the hitter the moment the set starts to drop. Set your defense based on where you know the ball is landing. Visit our Coaching Page for helpful books, tools, and equipment to improve your team's game. Are our tips helpful? Do you have a request? Want to give us your own two cents? Please Facebook us with your questions/comments and we will be sure to include you into our next VB ADDICTION! digest. #volleyballmecca #volleyballtips

[volleyballmecca]

VB ADDICTION March 2013: Injury Prevention

INJURY PREVENTION

Every year a number of players are sidelined or hampered for the season by injuries, many which can be avoided by following a simple warm-up program. By implementing and adhering to a warm-up program, players can avoid many injuries, which may otherwise cost them valuable time on the court. 

Dynamic Movement Ten minutes of dynamic movement will ensure that your muscles are warmed up, will be far less likely to pull while playing and will help them respond better to stretching. This includes high knees, butt kicks, lunges, shuffles, grapevine, bunny hops, frog jumps, and more. Start with low impact exercises and move up to higher impact exercises as you get more warm. Stretching  Hold your stretches for at least 30 seconds. It is important to begin with your lower back, as this will allow you to perform the rest of your stretches freely. Next, stretch your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves and IT band. Finally, be sure and stretch out your ankles and your shoulder, as these are perhaps the most commonly injured areas for the player. Use a lacrosse ball and a wall to apply pressure on any tight areas in the shoulder and back. Have you heard of the Foam Roller? Shoulder  Be sure to include shoulder-strengthening exercises as part of your regular work out routine to keep your shoulder strong and hitting hard at the net. Use dumbbells or resistance bands to strengthen your rotator cuffs. Ice This is the most important of all the routines. Prevent inflammation which can lead to injury with ice. Ice your joints for 30 minutes after any hard practice or tournament and you will be back on the court playing your best in no time.