If volleyball is something that you have never done and have decided to pick up, then you need to learn and practice the rules of volleyball and the skills that go along with it. To be a solid player, you really only have to posess five important skills. When you start to play, you will then get a better feel as to what position you will be best at. Below, I have listed these skills that will help on your journey.
All volleyball games and rallies start with a serve. Due to the fact that everyone serves (unless you are subbed out every time), this is a necessary skill to learn. A player can either serve the volleyball underhand or serve it overhand. Overhand serves are much tougher to pass, so this is the one you are going to want to do. There are certain things that you can do with an overhand serve, such as a top spin serve and a float serve. These are a little more advanced and will likely take time to master.
The pass is the next essential skill to possess. If you cannot pass a volleyball, then you will likely never in the back row. I find passing one of the most enjoyable skills to be good at because I love serve recieve and playing defense. You will not do either of those if you are a bad passer. The volleyball rules state that a player can pass a ball using both arms in a “bump” or the player can use hands to make the pass, like a set.
After the pass comes the set. Usually the setter on a volleyball team is much more athletic than the rest. Setters should also be the smartest and best leaders. The skill of setting is much like being a quarterback in the NFL. Just like a quarterback, the setter must think fast, make smart decisions, and get teammates to score points.
The way to score in volleyball is almost always the spike or attack. If you can jump high, you are strong, and you can hit a volleyball well, I highly recommend working on this skill. Hitting a volleyball and getting a kill is one of the best feelings in volleyball. Perfect this skill and be a force at the net.
The block is basically the exact opposite skill than the attack. The two skills essentially go together though. If you are a strong hitter but are terrible blocker, you may not ever play the front row. To stop the other team from getting points, you have to block. If you can block players and make the other setter think twice about setting the ball your direction, then you have done you job.
Cheers for reading. For many more volleyball rules and drills, check us out here.