When the fans come out to watch a volleyball match, they are ooh and ahh at the quickness of the passers and the aggressiveness of the hitters as they slam the ball down for a kill. They are excited by the movements of the setter and on their feet when their team gets an Ace. They don’t see what’s behind the scenes, the specific and detailed technical aspects of the sport.

 

At its core, volleyball is broken down into six body placement and motions: passing frame, setter hands, approach footwork, arm swing, serving form, and court transition steps. These are the foundations of the sport, the platforms upon which all skills are built.

 

Let’s break them each down so that you, as the athlete or coach, can ensure you are learning and teaching these skills correctly. If done accurately, the sky is the limit for your future all-stars!

 

Passing Frame

– Start with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart

– Bend your knees to about a 45-degree angle

– Hold one arm out straight; elbow locked, and make a fist with your thumb laying straight on top

– Straighten your other arm out and wrap that hand around the other fist, placing your thumb parallel directly next to your other thumb.

– Lean slightly forward with your weight on your toes

When passing the ball, the ball should make contact with your open forearms halfway between your elbows and your wrists.

 

It’s imperative to take every pass with your body low to the ground. Rarely will a ball ever come perfectly to your passing platform, so you must move your feet to position yourself slightly under and behind the ball.

 

Ensure your weight is forward by taking a slight step in the direction you want the ball to go as you contact the ball. A ball passed on your heels will usually go straight up above you or, if hit hard enough, could bounce off you and spin backward.

 

Setter Hands

– Hold both in front of you, palms facing out, all ten fingers spread wide

– Bring your thumbs and index fingers together to create a diamond

– Elbows out

– Position your body under the passed ball

– As the ball starts to drop, bring your hands in the diamond pattern towards the ball, contacting it around where your forehead meets your hairline

– Push the ball up, using only your fingers: extending your arms and locking your elbows

– Ensure the ball is fully supported and cradled by both sets of fingers so that the outcome is a ball that is not spinning

Successful setters use their legs to drive the ball high into the air so that the hitters can attack it

 

Tips for becoming more comfortable setting: Set against a wall, lay down on your floor or bed, and use a heavier “setter’s ball” to practice.

 

Approach Footwork & Arm swing

– If you are a righty: the footwork is Left, Right, Left. However, some will say it in the cadence of Left_____Right Left or Left_____Right, Together. For Lefty arm swingers, start with the right foot.

– The first step is what we call a “directional step”, meaning you step towards the set. Some sets sail wide; some are short, some are high, some are tight to the net, etc. It’s important that the hitter waits to see how the ball leaves the hands of the setter in order to know which direction to place the first step

– The next step is a LARGE right step where the heel should dig into the court. The reason for this is so that we stop our forward momentum and begin the vertical jump

– The last step is what we call the “closing step” this step should land parallel to the right foot, essentially “closing the approach” as your arm swing drives your body up into the air, ready to swing and hit.

– To jump high and complete an aggressive contact with the ball, the arm swing is an important aspect.

– Timing of the arm swing: As you launch your body into the heel-digging right step, throw both your arms back. As the left foot closes the footwork, swing your arms up above your head and ready your hitting arm to swing at the ball.

The best tip to remembering this footwork is to say it in your head every time you complete the motion until it becomes muscle memory. As a high school player, I’m not ashamed to say I say repeated “left___right left” in my head every time I went to hit until I was a Sophomore. It helped accelerate my rate of speed, timing, and aggressive contact behind the ball.

 

Serving Form

– It’s imperative to first find a pre-serve routine. Whether it’s two bounces of the ball, a quick ball spin in your hands, or a small air toss before catching it again, find a routine that you follow each time right before you serve.

– For righties: stand with the ball in your left hand held out straight in front of you (if you’re a lefty, just switch to the opposite hand but continue to follow all the same instructions)

– Stand with your left foot slightly in front of the right, with your weight on your back foot.

– Hold your right hand up, elbow slightly above your right ear

– Step and toss at the same time. The toss should be high enough for your right arm to reach high and swing, making contact at your highest point

– As you transfer your weight from your back right foot to your front left, drag the toe of your right foot.

– Reach high and swing your arm from your shoulder as fast as you can.

– Allow your arm to swing down alongside your body (do not swing across your body)

For those just starting out, start close to the net. As you begin to improve, you can move farther and farther back until you are behind the end line.

To gain more power, use your hips and shoulder to thrust more force behind the ball.

Ensure your palm is open wide and make contact with the ball using your entire palm.

 

Court Transition Steps

No matter where you are on the court, there is a specific set of steps that will get any player from one point to the other quickly and efficiently.

– The footwork is as follows: “Open, crossover step, pivot” Yet another cadence I repeated in my head as I moved around the court in my early days

– This footwork is used as a hitter transitions off the net back to the 10-foot line to hit and when a back row DS or Libero moves from base defense to hitter defense. No matter which player you are in that scenario, the footwork is the same.

– The “Open” step: open your hips and step with the leading foot so that the toes point in exactly the direction you want to end up.

– The “Crossover” step happens when the other leg then crosses over the opposite (pointing) foot

– The “Pivot” is the final step where your weight is shifted to turn and face the net, ready to either hit or defend against a hit.

These three steps have been scientifically proven to cover the largest amount of ground in the fastest way possible to position the player ready to immediately complete the next skill.

Learning and mastering the basics of volleyball can be daunting and can leave your head spinning when it comes to remembering all the tiny details, steps, and movements. That’s why it is imperative to continue practicing each step exactly as they are listed so that they eventually become a physical reflex. Once they are second nature, you can move on to focusing on jump timing, ball placement, setting different positions at different tempos, and more. Stick with it, and don’t give up! The more a player practices these foundational movements, the closer they’ll get to them becoming a reflex.

And always remember, every great volleyball star, Olympian or Pro once started in this exact place, learning and repeating their fundamentals until the day they too conquered them.