Apr 26

Attack!

Like all techniques in volleyball, there are many, many different styles of attack approaches. This video is an example of a beginner move.  An approach. We like to call this move a “Modified 3-step Approach.”

1. She begins by standing slightly outside the court at the 10-ft line-ish with her left foot forward (weight on right foot).
2. First she steps with her left foot (this may feel awkward at first but the key is having her weight on her right foot at the start)
3. Second she steps with her right foot.
4. Last she steps to bring feet back together and close the approach before takeoff.
5. She brings her arms back in the last step to prepare to leap.
6. She jumps.
7. She brings her hitting arm back and puts her “off” out front (to ‘find’ the ball). We call this “bow and arrow.” See the similarities?
8. She swings and simultaneously pulls her “off” elbow into her ribs.
9. BOOM!

This particular attacker is a 12-year-old in her first season of playing volleyball… ever. As you can see, with weeks and weeks of repetition, the approach becomes second nature to an attacker.

Do you teach a different approach? 2-step in the middle? 3-step? 4-step? Please share!

Apr 21

The basic basics of passing and setting

Constant repetition is the key to improvement in volleyball. Here are two basic form drills. The demonstrators (11-12 years old) are in their first season of volleyball.

Passing warmup

Tip: Putting her right leg in front helps her with passing on her left knee. As you can see, it would be impossible to pass on her right knee in this position.

Setting warmup

Tip: Tell the young’un to hold her hands above her head as if she were chugging a 2-liter of pop (you’ll get giggles on this one). Oh, and after she releases: Superman pose (notice her arms straight up as if she were to fly to Smallville and save Lois Lane).

Start each practice with form drills like these to help players get used to the feeling of using their hands and forearms correctly in a controlled environment.

20-30 reps oughtta do it.

Apr 03

What’s Kinesio tape?

So I saw my one of my heroes (Kerri Walsh) wearing this weird black tape on her shoulder in the Beijing Olympics.

I thought (along with the rest of America) “What is that? Is it a tattoo? Is it an intimidation method? Can I get her ab workout?” Ok. Maybe not the last one.

So I Googled it (along with the rest of America) and found that it’s Kinesio Tex Tape – an elastic therapeutic tape was developed over 35 years ago in Japan. Since then, it has become the standard for therapeutic and rehabilitative taping. The tape is cotton and totally latex free and you can wear it for up to 5 days. It’s like a second skin adhered to my “first” skin with a 100% medical grade acrylic adhesive.

And after I read all the details, I had to try it for myself. So I bought some from Amazon (see the link below) for my tournament today. Donnie taped up my poor, pathetic, overused shoulder and also taped his knee (torn meniscus). It wasn’t a miracle by any means, but it was really nice how it did not limit my range of motion. It’s “lifting effect” is supposed to improve circulation. Guess that’s why my shoulder wasn’t throbbing by lunchtime. Donnie also mentioned that he liked the support under his knee.

I totally thought of taking pics of our taped selves but, when I thought of the that, the tape was already in the trash. Here’s a pic from their website. It looks a bit excessive… but it is a demo.

Check out their website. There are videos that show you exactly how to apply the tape for right support.

I bought my roll of tape from Amazon about $5 cheaper than the website. Click here to buy your own
Kinesio Tex Tape.