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Tennessee Athletics Honors April Chapple at Champions Weekend for Legendary Volleyball Achievements

Volleyball Block Training Learn 3 Ways Blockers Stay Ready At The Net

Volleyball Block Training: Learn 3 ways to block more balls by staying an arm's length away from the net, stay square to the net and how to take cross court.

Volleyball Block Training: Stay an arm's length away from the net, stay square to the net, take hitter's cross court, read hitters early to position yourself to block faster. (Aversen)

What's a good blocker volleyball ready position?

stay an arm's length away from the net
stay square to the net
take an outside hitter's cross court away if you don't have a specific game plan
read the hitter earlier to position yourself earlier

Learn Volleyball Blocking Footwork - Learn How To Swing Block Like We Do in Semi Private Training

Blocker Volleyball Ready Position: Stay an arm's length away from the net, stay square to the net, take hitter's cross court, read hitters early to position yourself to block faster. (Aversen)

Volleyball Block Training: Stay an arm's length away from the net, stay square to the net, take hitter's cross court, read hitters early to position yourself to block faster. (Aversen)

A Volleyball Block Training Guide To A Better Blocker Volleyball Ready Position

Blocker Volleyball Ready position: Good volleyball block positioning is essential for being able to consistently stop an attacker's ball at the net. (CE Andersen)

Volleyball Block Training: Good volleyball block positioning is essential for being able to consistently stop an attacker's ball at the net. (CE Andersen)

Good volleyball block positioning is essential for being able to consistently stop an attacker's ball at the net.

Volleyball Block Training
Stay Half Your Arm's Length Away From The Net

Blocker Volleyball Ready Position: And while you are blocking a volleyball at the net, you always want to know how far you are away from the net you are when you step away from it. (Bill Shaner)

Volleyball Block Training: And while you are blocking a volleyball at the net, you always want to know how far you are away from the net you are when you step away from it. (Bill Shaner)

When you're blocking a volleyball you want to position yourself..half your arm’s length away from the net.

That’s an easy measurement that you can make quickly when you have rotated up to the front row and you're waiting for the referee to blow their whistle which starts the rally.

Do you know why I say half the length of your arm?

Because half the length of your arm measures out to be the same distance it takes for you to take one step.

It’s an easy way to measure one of your steps.

And while you are blocking a volleyball at the net, you always want to know how far you are away from the net you are when you step away from it.

Volleyball Block Training
Stay Squared to The Net

Blocker Volleyball Ready Position: Stay Squared to The Net - You want your hands to stay just above your shoulders, with your palms facing the net. (Avinash Kunnath)

Volleyball Block Training: Stay Squared to The Net - You want your hands to stay just above your shoulders, with your palms facing the net. (Avinash Kunnath)

Remember this, it’s very important that your shoulders remain squared to the net as well.

Since your shoulders get your arms over the net, and to utilize every inch of your arm length when you are blocking, you want to make sure your shoulders are facing the net.

You want your hands to stay just above your shoulders, with your palms facing the net.

Volleyball Block Training: Stay Squared to The Net - You want your hands to stay just above your shoulders, with your palms facing the net.

It takes time to get your hands up and over the net so your blocking ready position for your hands should be at a midway point so that you don't waste precious time bringing them from a low position.

In other words when you are blocking a volleyball at the net don’t have your hands down by your waist.

Volleyball Block Training: In other words when you are blocking a volleyball at the net don’t have your hands down by your waist. (Gov Neil Abercrombie)

Volleyball Block Training
Take A Outside Hitter's Cross Court

Volleyball Ready Position: Unless your coach has established a different strategy, you want to line up in front of the hitter so that your block will take away her cross court hit. (Aversen)

Volleyball Block Training: Unless your coach has established a different strategy, you want to line up in front of the hitter so that your block will take away her cross court hit. (Aversen)

Unless your coach has established a different strategy, you want to line up in front of the hitter so that your block will take away her cross court hit.

Blocker Volleyball Ready Position: Take A Outside Hitter's Cross Court: Line up in front of the hitter to block the extension of your spiker's arm and take away their angle.

You would take one or two side steps, which are also called lateral steps that would line you up in front of the hitter and you should prepare yourself to block the extension of your spiker's arm taking away their ability to hit the angle.

Why?

Most hitter's hit cross court more than they hit down the line because there's more volleyball court area to hit to.

If you know this and your coach hasn't given you a specific game plan about a certain hitter, then its best to take away the largest part of the court area that a hitter will most likely hit to.

Blocker Volleyball Ready Position: Take A Outside Hitter's Cross Court: Most hitter's hit cross court more than they hit down the line because there's more volleyball court area to hit to. (ShakesKC)

On the other hand, let’s say your spiker's approach is more of a straight line, meaning they haven’t swung outside the court as much at an angle to take their spike approach.

When this happens there’s a greater chance that the hitter plans to hit the ball down the line.

So now you want to make sure that your body is squared up in front of them, and that you are prepared to block the extension of their arm.

Volleyball Block Training:
Read Your Hitter Early

In the volleyball block drills you do in practice, it’s a good idea to dedicate some time not only on your blocking technique but also on learning how to read your hitter.

You can make yourself into a better blocker if you can

identify early enough the difference between what it looks like when the opposing team's hitter takes a cross court approach and
what it looks like when they decide to hit down the line
so you can position yourself earlier to block accordingly.

You can make yourself into a better blocker if you can identify early enough the difference between what it looks like when the opposing team's hitter takes a cross court approach and what it looks like when they decide to to hit down the line.

And can position yourself accordingly.

Here's something to do in your practice, when your team breaks up into two squads that have to compete against each other.

When you can identify what the hitters on your team do when they are about to hit cross court and you start blocking their balls pretty consistently, it won’t take long to trust your instincts and to start reading and blocking the hitters on opposing teams.

Once you learn and improve your volleyball blocker ready technique and timing, the next part of the blocking skill to master is just knowing what to look at, trusting what you see, and making adjustments accordingly.

Do You Follow Me on Instagram?

Follow me on Instagram @coach_apchap to improve your game even faster!

I share alot of individual, partner and easy-to-do volleyball serving drills we do in class with my followers.

Many of these volleyball practice drills you can do at home by yourself or try at your next practice with your teammates.

If you're a B team or JV player trying to make varsity next year...your goal should be to complete 1000 reps a day of at least three of the basic skills on your own...volleyball passing, serving and setting should be at the top of the list.

Volleyball Block Training:
Where Do You Go From Here?

What do you need to do now? You have three options:

Learn more about Ready Positions
Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
Or visit the pages in the Volleyball Skills section in the drop down menu at the top of the page to get started.

Learn more about volleyball skills in the pages below.

The Volleyball Jump Serve Serving Harder To Score Aces On Varsity
The volleyball jump serve used on high school varsity volleyball teams is either a jump float or a jump topspin done with a spike approach before the swing.
5 Tips On How To Unleash The Power Of Your Overhand Volleyball Serve
I reveal some of the secrets to perfecting your overhand volleyball serve, from proper form and serving rituals to various serve types and practice methods.
Learn How To Overhead Serve In Volleyball A Ball That's Hard To Pass
Learn how to overhead serve in volleyball which is your first chance to score points so you need to serve the seams, serve the sidelines and serve hitters deep.
A Volleyball Passing Guide On How To Improve Volleyball Bumping Skills
Volleyball passing is the way to contact the ball with your forearms to guide it to your setter or over the net so developing a good forearm pass is crucial.
Improve Your Volleyball Forearm Pass With My Five Ball Control Tips
Learn about these five volleyball forearm pass tips that will help you get the ball to your setter consistently while your team is on serve receive in a rally.
My Four College Volleyball Recruiting Tips I Gave My Club Players
I've found that, one of the best sources of volleyball recruiting tips and information is the free Ultimate Recruiting Guide for College Volleyball
Short Volleyball Player Spikes: Score Points Against Big Blockers
These three short volleyball player spikes offer different attack hit strategy options like deep tips, cut shots and roll shots to score against big blockers.
How to Spike Volleyball: Techniques, Tips, and Strategies
How to spike volleyball balls by tipping short, tipping deep, roll shot, or cut shot when you need to score points on your high school varsity volleyball team.
Essential Skills for a Hitter in Volleyball: Tips For Short Attackers
A short hitter in volleyball can aim the ball for the seam of the block to score since its harder for defenders to block at the net or dig up in the back row.
A Hard Driven Spike in Volleyball And Court Zones You Should Aim For
These volleyball terms describe the court zones where outside hitters are taught to aim their hard driven spike in volleyball to score points in a rally.

Improve Your Volleyball Performance with Vegas VB Coach April Chapple
Six High School Varsity Volleyball Skills That Top Prep Players Crush
Volleyball Block Training Learn 3 Ways Blockers Stay Ready At The Net

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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.

utkaprilcollegepiconneylandstadiumvideoboard

Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee, Coach April Chapple is

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

Coach April's 2025 Private and Semi private Volleyball Training

Pre-Registration now open for 2025 Private and Semiprivate Training Sessions with Coach April . Get prepared for club tryouts or train with me during club season!

Email now for information on semiprivate or private indoor skills, individual or small group training volleyball classes and my Breakfast Club for College Players training for 2025.

Invest in your improvement while preepping for your next level and college goals while working hard and training smart.

Email me right now to register or for more information.

info@improveyourvolley.com

Serving slang is not just about individual techniques; it also relates to overall game strategy. A coach might instruct a player to serve a "short serve" or a "deep serve" to target specific areas of the opponent's court or exploit weaknesses in their serve receive formation.

Ari, my private training client and I are working specifically on serving on jump float cross court serves ...short to Zone 2

There's so much we work on to get to this point where she can contact the ball with

the same toss height and same toss location
the same armswing speed
the same timing for when her serving hand contacts the ball
the middle of the hand contacting the middle of the ball every single time
getting use to watching her serving hand contact the ball at the highest point of her jump ...before she starts to land
and finally contacting the ball in the precise spot on the ball so it goes where the coach wants the player to put it so in this case ..a short serve in the farthest short right corner on the court also called Zone 2.

kamiminerpac12setteroftheyearformercoachaprilchappleprivateclient3years

Tommi Stockham All Big West Conference sophomore former Coach April Chapple private client 3 years

katepriorallwestcoastconferencebyufreshmanformercoachaprilchappleprivateclient3years

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Dear Vegas Parent

Read my open letter to Las Vegas Jr high/high school volleyball parents about my predictions on individual and small group volleyball training trends for 2019/2021