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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.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.

Volleyball Pass Techniques: Watch The Ball Before It Crosses The Net

You can get better at your volleyball pass technique by tracking the ball earlier when its in the opposing server's hands then track it as it crosses the net. 

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How can you get better at volleyball passing?

You can improve the quality of your volleyball pass technique immediately by watching the opposing server closely as soon as they has the ball in their hands ready to serve. 

Tracking the ball early is the key to better volleyball passing skills.





Improve Your Volleyball Pass Technique In Serve Receive
Watch The Ball When Its
In the Server's Hands 


First, while waiting for the server to complete their pre-serve routine you need to check out the server's body position to pick up any cues as to where she could be serving. 

What should you be looking for?


After you've checked out the server's body position and made your adjustments based on where it looks like the server is going to serve, then quickly share this information with your teammates.

What can you communicate to your passers?

It takes two seconds to say this very quickly to your other teammates before the opposing team serves.

Sharing any serving tendencies that the current server has shown is what to talk about at this point. 

  • If the server has a jump serve then remind everyone "Hey watch the jump" or 
  • If they have a float serve "Look out for the deep float serve down the line!"



Passing the deep serve consistently requires teammates to talk to each other to let each other know who is going to move deep in the court to pass the deep serve. 


Improve Your Volleyball Pass Technique
Talk About What The Server is Doing


Next, you maintain your focus on the opposing team's server while



After the referee has blown the whistle, your focus should be completely on the ball while its still in the server's tossing hand.


Check to see if you get distracted by taking your eyes off the ball between the time the server serves it and the time the ball crosses the net.




Once the server tosses the ball in the air for their pre-serve ritual there really isn't much they can change.




 


 



Common Passing Questions From Reddit - Answered by a Pro


Have you ever searched Reddit for passing tips at midnight after a frustrating practice?

You're not alone.

The r/volleyball community is full of players seeking answers, but the advice varies wildly - and some of it's just plain wrong.

Let me clear up the confusion with professional answers based on years of professional training to Reddit's most-asked passing questions.


Why do I keep shanking serves
to the side?


This is r/volleyball's most upvoted passing question.

Here's what I believe is the real answer because for years everyone was taught to get their belly button behind the ball and to pass the ball from your midline...but that technique has been changed. 

To begin with you're probably not dropping or 'angling' your inside shoulder enough.

When you angle your platform to redirect the ball to your intended target, you may need to drop or dip your inside shoulder more before contacting the ball in order to create a better angle for the ball. 



Fix: Keep shoulders level then drop your back foot back and move your belly button out of the way so your body is balanced but you're able to form a better angle to present to the ball without swinging your arms. 


Watch how Aubrey moves her midsection out of the way deciding early which side of her body she is going to open up and get out of the ball's path while putting her passing platform outside of her body line in the path of the ball while keeping her inside shoulder angled towards her target. 


Ever play dodge ball?

You know how you dodge the ball by either opening your shoulders up or moving your belly button out of the ball's path as it comes to you?




I like to work on this 3 person "Dodgeball" drill where the person in the middle has to choose which side to get their midsection out of the way of the oncoming ball that's being tossed at their chest before they present their passing platform with an angled shoulder positioned towards the target. 


That's the way I like describing the passing technique used when a ball floats towards you and you need to move yourself out of the way while still presenting your angled platform arms perpendicular to your body in order to pass the ball to your target. 


How do I pass a float serve that moves everywhere?


Track the ball earlier - literally look at the ball from when its in the server's hand.

If you start tracking the ball when its already over the net or even on the net that's too late because against a good float server that ball with drift and float on you and be on the floor before you can react. 

Float serves really start the "floating action action with the dips and floats" just as it approaches the net and even more once it crosses the net.

So in order to get a jump on the ball before it gets to the maximum part of its float moves you need to be prepared to watch the ball moving towards you...at an earlier point..I have my players 'lock in" visually on the ball as the ball is being contacted by the server. 

The earlier you read the ball, the faster you can move towards where you think its going to land, which more times that not means the less the ball surprises you. 

The advice on Reddit varies wildly but here's what I know actually works because I teach it everyday to my club players and private clients and many of them are recruited to play in college because of their passing abilities. 


Proud of my starting senior libero Athena Zhen who is going to play volleyball in New York at Molloy University. 


Should I move my arms when passing or keep them still?


The Reddit debate rages on.

But from my years of training passing in volleyball here's the truth according to me, the expert!

Make minimal arm movement during the pass but lots of movement to 'present the angled platform with straight forearms" before the pass.


My tips on How to do wall passing drills...

Volleyball wall passing and wall setting drills can be done daily at home with a goal of at least 250 - 500 reps of various drills to keep your

  • passing or setting technique, 
  • angled platform work, 
  • ball contacting skills and 
  • control of the ball.....extremely sharp!

Pick a brick, a specific spot on the wall or mark a big X in chalk on a wall or use a basketball net or backboard ...no matter what you decide to use as your target... anybody walking by.... should be able to see exactly where the spot is that you are aiming for EVERY...single....time .⁠

Do 3 to 5 sets of 100... five feet from the wall ....then side step two feet and repeat. Then step back and repeat.⁠

Complete 300 to 500 passing repetitions




But don't take my word for it.

Lets listen to Karch Kiraly former US womens' Olympic gold and silver medal coach (now the US men's Olympic coach) and who I modelled my passing form after when I played professionally which was at the same time he was playing professionally in Italy explain the best way to pass the float serve. 



When I saw Karch explaining how to pass the float serve ball outside of the body line I asked our social media person to post this on our Vegas Volley Instagram feed and use some of my players passing the ball correctly according to what he was saying because its exactly I've taught my girls and guys 18s club players and private clients (who're visible in the video). 


When I saw Karch explaining how to pass the the float serve ball outside of the body line I asked our social media person to post this on our Vegas Volley Instagram feed and use some of my players passing the ball correctly according to what he was saying because its exactly I've taught my high school and club players and private clients. 


Think "cushion the ball" or "absorb the contact of the ball on your forearms" but not "swinging the arms" when passing the ball. 

Your legs get you to the ball and keep you balanced, while your shoulders

  • stay in front of your knees
  • which helps you support the arms
  • that create the platform that
  • 'angles the ball' 
  • preferably 18-20 feet in the air and just inside the 10 foot line close to zone 3 in other words 
  • redirecting the served ball to its intended target

If you're swinging your arms, you're actually making it harder to control the ball you're trying to pass to your intended target.


Let me end with giving you one more example. How about one of Coach Karch Kiraly's starting outside hitter and parttime libero gold medalist Kelsey Robinson?

Even Olympic gold medalist Kelsey Robinson - founder of the Passing Lab and regarded as one of the world's best passers - follows these exact same fundamental steps every single time she passes.

In fact, if you watch Robinson's passing technique in slow motion, you'll notice she never deviates from these 5 steps.

Whether she's receiving a float serve in practice or a jump serve in an Olympic final, her process remains identical.

That's not coincidence - it's mastery of fundamentals.


Even Olympic gold medalist Kelsey Robinson - founder of the Passing Lab and regarded as one of the world's best passers - follows these same fundamental steps tof passing a volleyball each time she passes. If it works for her at the highest level, won't it work for you?


If it works for her at the highest level, won't it work for you?"


Volleyball Pass Techniques: 
Where Do You Go From Here?


Where do you need to go now? 

Your three options are: 

  1. You can learn more about Passing in volleyball by visiting the Related Links below.  
  2. Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page   Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
  3. 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. 
  4. 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 Techniques in the Pages Below



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    In It To Win It      Tournament   

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Gold Medalists

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