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- Improve Your Volleyball with Coach April
- Basic Volleyball Skills for Beginners
- Volleyball Ball Handling
Volleyball Ball Handling Begins With Ball Control and Faster Footwork
Improve your passing skills with great ball control and volleyball ball handling skills along with faster footwork when moving to a served ball on your court.
Welcome to my guide on ball handling in volleyball.
In this article, I will provide a clear definition of ball handling, discuss its essential role in the game, and emphasize the importance of good ball control skills.
Let's dive in!
Definition of Volleyball Ball Handling
Volleyball ball handling refers to the techniques and skills involved in receiving, controlling, and directing the ball during gameplay.
It encompasses the actions performed by players to pass and set the ball, setting the foundation for effective attacks and defense.
Role of Volleyball Ball Handling
Good ball handling is fundamental to successful team play and overall game strategy in volleyball.
It plays a crucial role in several aspects of the game, including:
1. Passing:
Proper ball handling enables players to accurately receive and pass the ball to their teammates. This facilitates smooth transitions from defense to offense and sets up scoring opportunities.
2. Setting:
Precise ball handling allows setters to deliver accurate and consistent sets to the attackers.
Effective sets enable hitters to execute powerful attacks and create strategic plays.
3. Defense:
Strong ball handling skills contribute to efficient defensive play.
Players with good ball control can react quickly to opposing attacks, effectively dig the ball, and transition it to the setters to initiate counterattacks.
Importance of Good Ball Control:
Good ball control is vital for several reasons:
1. Accuracy:
Effective ball control helps maintain accuracy in passing, setting, and attacking.
It ensures that the ball reaches its intended target with the right speed and trajectory, increasing the chances of a successful play.
2. Court Awareness:
Ball handling proficiency allows players to read and anticipate the game better.
With good control, players can assess the situation and make split-second decisions, enhancing their overall court awareness.
3. Transition Game:
Smooth and controlled ball handling facilitates faster transitions from defense to offense.
It enables teams to capitalize on unexpected opportunities and keep the momentum of the game in their favor.
4. Team Cohesion:
Solid ball handling skills promote better team cohesion.
When players can trust their teammates' ability to handle the ball, they can focus on their own responsibilities, leading to better coordination and teamwork.
Good ball control skills contribute to accurate passing, setting, and attacking, enhancing overall team performance.
It enables players to maintain court awareness, execute effective transition plays, and promote strong team cohesion.
Dedicate time to practice and improve your ball handling skills to become a valuable asset to your team
Habits To Develop Good Volleyball Ball Handling
Fast footwork helps improve volleyball ball handling skills which you need to be able to control the ball and deliver it to your intended target to improve the accuracy of your forearm pass.
How well you handle the ball and control it to your intended target insures that you become a good passer that enjoys alot of playing time because you are the player who can neutralize a tough serve and get the ball to your setter in serve receive.
Here are two habits that you should adopt
- get positioned early behind the ball
- use faster footwork
in order to get a higher percentage of better volleyball passing reps to your setter or intended target.
For Better Volleyball Ball Handling
Get Positioned Early
Behind The Ball
If you are late in getting positioned behind the ball then you have to do a better job of moving your feet and quickly moving to get stopped behind the ball, so you have a greater chance of controlling the ball to the target.
For beginner and intermediate level players when you are not positioned behind the ball, in many cases you have to swing your platform outside of your body to pass it.
For those beginner players who are working on getting better volleyball passing technique and haven't yet developed great body control or ball control skills, this usually means
- either your body will be off balance or
- you will end up using too much of your upper body and arms
to try and get the ball to the target.
Volleyball Ball Handling
How to Pass The Volleyball With Good Body Control
The lesson here is to avoid trying to do two things at once.
Volleyball Ball Handling Don'ts
- You don't want to swing you arms when you pass the ball.
- Don't run and pass at the same time
Volleyball Ball Handling Do's
- anticipate faster where the ball is going to land once it crosses the net to your side
- then to move your feet faster to beat the ball to that spot.
Volleyball Ball Handling Begins With Ball Control and Faster Footwork
What happens when you run and and pass at the same time?
Your forearm pass becomes less accurate and it'll be harder to get the ball to your target, which is usually your setter.
In most cases, because you're moving towards the net your forward motion will help deflect the ball immediately back over the net, which gives an easy free ball to your opposing team.
Something you don't want to happen.
Players should anticipate where the ball is going to land and move quickly to get to that spot first.
The passing action should be performed from a balanced position with both feet on the ground whenever possible.
- Wherever it looks like the ball is going to cross the net and land in your area, which may be only a side step or two steps away from you, you want to beat the ball to THAT spot.
- Then you want to try to be stopped so your momentum is not moving you forward.
Ideally, you want to stop moving by the time the ball contacts your platform.
You'll experience better volleyball ball handling and passing accuracy when you pass the ball making two separate and distinct movements.
Better Volleyball Ball Handling
A Quick Review
A quick review..
- when you pass you want to stay very focused and concentrated on the ball starting when it's in the opposing team's server's hands and ending when it's bounced off of your platform and is heading to your setter's hands.
- Stay light on your feet so that you can run, shuffle or side step to get quickly to where you anticipate the ball is about to land.
- Then your feet should be stopped, planted and balanced underneath you with your shoulders and body squared and parallel to the net.
- Quickly clasp your hands together, keeping your elbows and wrists pressed together and your thumbs pointing to the ground in order to form your platform.
- Remember, to pass a volleyball, you want to get to your spot quickly, beat the ball there, get stopped, form your platform, then make the pass.
Volleyball Basics:
Where Do You Go From Here?
Where do you need to go now?
Your three options are:
- You can learn more about Passing in volleyball by visiting the Related Links below.
- Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
- Or visit the pages in the How to Play Volleyball section in the drop down menu at the top of the page to get started.
- Before leaving this page Say "Hi" to Ms. Resee the Kangaroo, wearing the #11 jersey below. She's a left side hitter with precision passing and a member of the VolleyBragSwag All Beast Third team.
Meet Resee the Kangaroo and Passing Specialist on VolleyBragSwag's All Beast Team
Explore More Volleyball
Passing Information
Use A Jump Float Serve To Create Power For An Ace Or To Start A Rally
Use the overhand jump float serve to generate a powerful serve that starts a rally after the ref blows the whistle for the player behind the service line.
If A Server Scores A Point From The End Line Its An Ace In Volleyball
An ace in volleyball happens when a server serves a tough unplayable ball from their service line which results in a direct point for the serving team.
Volleyball Serve Use A Float, Jump Or Overhand Serve To Start A Rally
The overhand, underhand or jump volleyball serve is used to start a rally after the ref blows the whistle for the player in Zone 1 behind the service line.
The Volleyball Toss How Consistent Is Your Ball Toss Before You Serve?
The volleyball toss for the overhand serve needs to consistently be two feet up in the air and one foot in front of front foot which puts the ball in front of your serving arm.
Learn 3 Important Steps To Improve Your Volleyball Bump Pass Skills
Players use these three steps to improve volleyball bump pass ability to get the ball to a player holding their wrists together forming a forearm platform.
How To Master The Volleyball Passing Platform: Techniques and Tips
A volleyball passing platform is with forearms clasping your thumbs together and pointing them to the ground so ball contacts above wrists and below elbows.
What's The Correct Volleyball Ready Position for Passing in Volleyball
Learn the volleyball ready position for passing where clasped thumbs are pointed to the ground to form a platform with forearms to pass balls in a rally.
What Is A Volleyball Serve? Learn The Basics and Advanced Techniques
Are you wondering what is a volleyball serve? It's your first chance to score. Learn float, jump, and topspin serves that transform beginners into ace machines.
Volleyball Spike Approach Master The 3 and 4 Step Approach For Hitting
The volleyball spike approach for hitting is also called the spike approach and is done by a spiker taking 3 or 4 steps to a ball in the air before hitting it.
Volleyball Spike: The Basics For Attacking The Ball Hard For Points
A volleyball spike is the way a hitter attacks the ball after a spike approach sending it over the net to score a point in the opposing court with force.
3 Volleyball Forearm Pass Cues On What To Do With Arms, Feet And Hips
There are three volleyball forearm pass cues you should use to improve your passing skills, keep your arms together, feet grounded and hips behind the ball.
The Volleyball Dig: What Is It, When To Do It and How To Dig A Ball
The volleyball dig or digging a volleyball up in defense means that you are able to keep an attacked ball by the opposing team off your court floor.
The Underhand Volleyball Serve How Should A Beginner Serve The Basics
Here's a ten step check list for beginners who can easily learn in ten steps how to perform the underhand volleyball serve.
If your athlete struggles with consistent serve receive, gets subbed out, or is overlooked for playing time—this is the fix you’ve been looking for.
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AUTHOR BIO
April Chapple is an elite private volleyball trainer, former USA National Team member, and University of Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee who has coached in Las Vegas for 15+ years, training hundreds of athletes and helping numerous players reach college volleyball, including Division I standouts.
She's also the head coach for girls and boys 18s at Squad VBC and offers coaches consulting on technical teaching and player development. Connect with April on LinkedIn or at ImproveYourVolley.com, where her eye for overlooked talent sets her apart.
From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Honored At UTK Champions Weekend
Lady Vol volleyball legend and record holder Coach April Chapple a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hall of Fame Inductee, 3-time All American, 3-time SEC Champion, SEC Tournament MVP, 2-time All SEC Team is celebrated with her 1984 SEC champion teammates at Neyland Stadium during Champions Weekend on November 1-2, 2024.
- the first First Round Draft Pick for the first American pro indoor women's league
- named to the first First Team All-Pro team for Major League Volleyball in USA volleyball history
- former USA National team member
- one of the few American women players named as an Italian Pro League D-I Championship Finalist, Italian Cup Finalist and Cup of Cups Tournament Finalist
April Chapple The first First round Draft Pick For Major League Volleyball the first American Women's Pro League Honored At Athlete Unlimited Pro Volleyball Match
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