Dear Volleyball Mom, Do You Know What Sets My Private Volleyball Training Apart From Anyone In Vegas? I invite You to read what my private volleyball training mission says before considering hiring me as a private volleyball coach because I'm not available for everyone.

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

The Volleyball Block:
Improve Defensive Skills With Tips on Blocking

Improve your volleyball block and front row defensive skills by focusing on good footwork movement along the net and great body control when blocking.

Knowing how to put up an effective volleyball block will keep the opposing team from scoring points from their front row while they are on offense.(Matt Pendleton photo)

The block is your squad's first line of defense against an opposing team’s outside hitters or any attack hits by their players in the middle blocker position.

The block in volleyball is one of the most dynamic and most exciting parts of this crazy game we love to play.

The volleyball block is your squad's first line of defense against an opposing team’s outside hitters or any attack hits by their players in the middle blocker position. (Matt Van Winkle)

The Volleyball Block
Tips on Volleyball Blocking

After serving every front row player on your team should be focused on keeping your opponent from spiking the ball down onto your court's floor. (Ralph Aversen)

At the beginning of a rally, after the whistle blows and your team serves the ball into the opposing team's court, every front row player on your team should be focused on keeping your opponent from spiking the ball down onto your court's floor.

Watch what "BSBH" means!

Once the ball hits the floor or hits a blocker's hands and goes out of bounds, that's a point for the opposing team, and you don't want that to happen.

Knowing how to put up an effective volleyball block will keep the opposing team from scoring points from their front row while they are on offense.

Florida Gators Volleyball block (Matt Pendleton Photo)

At the beginning of a rally, if your team is on defense, after the referee blows their whistle and your team serves the ball into the other team's court, the players in zone 2, zone 3 and zone 4 on your side should be laser focused on keeping your opponent from spiking the ball across the net and into your court.

In order to do that the front row players need to start by checking their upper and lower body blocking ready position so that they can be as efficient and as fast as they can.

So that when they move along the net also known as moving laterally, which means from side-to-side along the net before jumping to block a ball their opponent is trying to hit, they are in a well balanced position to stop the ball.

Before jumping to block a ball their opponent is trying to hit, blockers should be in a well balanced position to stop the ball.

As a blocker, you need to position yourself in a way to create a barrier using your arms and hands to deflect any hit or spike attempts from an opposing team's spiker back into their court.

Volleyball Block: You need to position yourself to create a barrier using your arms and hands to deflect any hit or spike attempts from an opposing spiker back into their court. (Aversen)

You are in fact trying to make yourself into a human wall, and that wall should prevent an outside hitter or middle hitter or back row attacker from the team on the other side of the net from hitting the ball onto your side of the court.

Tips on Volleyball Blocking:
What Should Your Feet, Knees and Lower Body Be Doing?

As a blocker you want to start in a balanced position with your feet so that they are parallel to each other. (Ralph Aversen)

As always when I coach volleyball skills to players, I like to start at the bottom, with what you're supposed to do with your feet.

What should your feet be doing and where should they be positioned?

You want to start in a balanced position with your feet so that they are parallel to each other.

Olympic gold medalist, David Lee gives a master class on the block in volleyball.

They should be perpendicular to the net so that you can maintain a balanced position that will allow you to move quickly to your right, to your left or backwards off the net to get back in defense or to transition so you can begin your spike approach if necessary.

You want to be in a position to be able to move laterally along the net quickly, which means your knees should be in a slight squat.

This is also called a "loaded" position.

You want to be in a position to be able to move laterally along the net quickly, which means your knees should be in a slight squat.

The ideal position for your lower body is to have your hips, midsection and upper body “squared to the net.”

When you hear the phrase squared to the net, it means that your body is completely parallel to the net. When all parts of your body are facing the net then your body is squared up to the net.

Thanks for visiting. Be sure to check out more of my volleyball passing articles by clicking one of the links below! (April Chapple)

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Private or semiprivate volleyball indoor/sand lessons are an excellent way for young Las Vegas high school volleyball players to quickly improve their individual skills through a private or semi-private coaching experience. These lessons are conducted by former pro volleyball player, former USA Volleyball High Performance instructor and Evaluator and Tstreet Vegas 18s head Coach April Chapple on a weekly basis. Sign up now!

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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.

How To Play Volleyball:
Where Do You Go From Here?

We know where you need to go now! Here are three options:

Learn more about Blocking by clicking one of the links in 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 Mr G.B Blash, the Bear, wearing the #11 jersey below. "G.B" aka "Great Big" is the starting middle blocker for the All Beast VolleyBragSwag All Star team.

Mr G.B Blash, the Bear, wearing the #11 jersey below. "G.B" aka "Great Big" is the starting middle blocker for the All Beast VolleyBragSwag All Star team.

Be sure to check these out these volleyball block pages!

Master The Float Serve in Volleyball: A Guide for High School Coaches
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Volleyball Service Rules: A Complete Guide for Volleyball Moms
Volleyball moms, boost your knowledge of volleyball service rules! In my serve rule guide explore my comprehensive list from toss techniques to line violations.
Consistent Tossing in Volleyball Is How To Improve Your Overhand Serve
Tossing in volleyball for your overhand serve needs to be consistent in height and placement in order for you to improve your volleyball serve skills.
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.
Quickly Elevate Your Game With A Deadly Jump Float Serve in Volleyball
In this simple guide, I teach you how to improve your jump float serve in volleyball by measuring your steps, create a serving ritual and how to fix your toss.
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.
4 Types of Serves in Volleyball Overhand, Underhand, Topspin and Jump
There are four types of serves in volleyball varsity players learn. Beginners learn the underhand serve first, then the overhand serve, then topspin and jump serve.
Want To Fix Your Floater In Volleyball? Start With A Consistent Toss
A consistent toss is an important part of your floater in volleyball serving technique and if it isn't consistent it can make or break your serving success.
The Power Of The Ace In Volleyball: Improve Your Team's Serving Game
An ace in volleyball is your way to victory! This guide offers strategies for volleyball coaches to develop powerful servers that dominate from the service line
My 4 College Volleyball Recruiting Tips For My Club Volleyball Players
To prep my Volleycats Elite club players to be seen by top college coaches here's the college volleyball recruiting advice I gave everyone about being ready.
Four Volleyball College Recruiting Habits New Freshman Should Adopt
These four volleyball college recruiting habits have been recommended by top collegiate coaches as things the incoming college freshman should do their 1st year

Dear Volleyball Mom, Did you know your player can Upgrade their volleyball skills with an expert college volleyball prep coach Las Vegas based April Chapple (that's me!) creator of the Breakfast Club for College Players.

Dear Volleyball Mom Do You Know What Sets My Private Volleyball Training Apart From Anyone In Vegas? You should learn what my private volleyball training mission says before considering hiring me as a private volleyball coach because I'm not available for everyone.

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What Sets My Private Volleyball Training Apart From Anyone In Vegas? You should learn what my private volleyball training mission says before you hiring to me as a private volleyball coach because I'm not available for everyone.

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