3 Beach Volleyball Hand Grips How Do You Hold Your Hands When Passing?

The purpose of the volleyball hand grip you use to pass a ball is to help keep your elbows straight and to insure you have a very flat and wide a platform. 

The purpose of the volleyball hand grip you use to pass a ball is to help keep your elbows straight and to insure you have a very flat and wide a platform. (Ralph Aversen)

The function of the hand grip you use to forearm pass or bump set a ball is to

• help you keep your elbows straight and
• to make sure you maintain as flat and as wide a platform as possible...

..so you can better control the ball to your target. 

Hand grips come in 3 forms.

Volleyball Hand Grip: with your forearms you want to create a table top where the only thing the ball has to do is bounce off of your table top and back up to the intended target. (R. Aversen)

The secret to better passing is to keep your elbows straight and as locked and close together as possible. 

Remember with your forearms you want to create a table top where the only thing the ball has to do is bounce off of your table top and back up to the intended target. 

The best tip to keeping your elbows straight is to position your wrists with your thumbs always pointing down to the ground in the most efficient way possible.

Volleyball Hand Grip: Some players like placing the fingers of their right hand into the palm of their left so their fingers keeping thumbs side by side and pointed to the ground. (R. Aversen)

For some players that looks like placing the fingers of their right hand into the palm of their left so their fingers are turned upward towards them and they are crisscrossed.

Now they close their hands together so the thumbs meet, touching side by side.

If they are right handed they then should see the first three fingers of their right hand extend past their left thumb.

For others, their hand grip is made by making a fist with their right hand and turning it sideways so they see their thumb on top of their fist. 

Then they place that fist into the palm of the opposite hand until the two thumbs meet and are lined up side-by-side. 

The fingers of the left hand should come across the fist and touch the knuckles of the right hand.

Volleyball Hand Grip: Some players choose to hold the thumb of one hand with the other while keeping their wrists together. (Ralph Aversen)

There are those who modify the fist grip and have their two index fingers pointing to the ground (old school) while holding their wrists together. 

Some players choose to hold the thumb of one hand with the other while keeping their wrists together. 

Then there are a few elite players with out-of-this-world ball control skills, manage to have no grip at all.

Volleyball Hand Grip: A few elite players with out of this world ball control skills use no volleyball hand grip at all while still holding their wrists together (Ralph Aversen)

Here's the deal, since you will be

• passing
• receiving serve and 
• diving

in this wonderful game called beach volleyball ...you want to have your own personal volleyball hand grip to be one that

• doesn't break apart easily under pressure 
• that absolutely insures that you will be able to create and maintain the all important "table top" which we call a "platform."

Your volleyball hand grip is be one that doesn't break apart easily and insures that you'll create and maintain the important "table top" which we call a "platform." (Ralph Aversen)

To maintain the most control of the ball during your pass... the number one important thing is to

• keep a straight flat platform
• using a grip that doesn't allow your arms to break apart in mid-action

You want to use both arms to pass, not just one.

Your goal is to be able to put the ball where you want it, whether the ball comes to you as an easy serve or whether you have to dive for a hard hit down ball.

Volleyball Hand Grip: Your platform is where the ball is contacted, and needs to consistently be a flat surface with impact on your forearms with shoulders angled to target. (Ralph Aversen)

Since your platform is where the ball makes contact, it needs to

• consistently be a flat surface
• where impact is made above your wrists 
• below the inside of your elbows on your forearms 
• with your shoulders angled to your target.

This has been an important message by your favorite volleyball coach! That's me!!

Thanks for visiting.

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

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. 

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