Teaching the Skill
of Attacking
By Dave Cross
A Question for Dave:
What's the best way to teach attacking?
Dave's Reply:
First of all, the hitters focus must be on the following:
1. Always making their approach at match
speed. The approach should be made low and quick. By low, I mean they need
to make sure that they go in with their shoulders forward and their knees
slightly bent.
KEY: The approach ready position should
be with the shoulders forward in front of the feet and the arms hanging down
loosely in front of the body. They should focus on the front knee being slightly
bent with all their weight on their front foot, and the ball of the back
foot simply "laying" on the floor with the heal comfortably off the floor.
KEY: The shoulders must remain forward throughout
the first step. If they allow their shoulders to "come up" as they take their
first step, they have defeated the purpose of the starting position.
RATIONALE: Starting the approach in this position allows them to arrive
at the plant step in a "coiled" position with the knees bent. This allows
them to jump more quickly, since they are already in a "jump coil", and makes
the entire approach quicker. (They don't have to pause to "coil, then jump".)
2. The plant step (2nd step of a three step
approach, or 3rd step of a four step approach), must be the longest step
of the entire approach. The first part of the foot to land must be the heal.
This is commonly called the "brake step", as planting the heal first allows
the body to put a "brake" on the forward momentum and begin to transfer it
to the upward momentum of the jump.
KEY: In order to land the heal on the floor
first, the player must pull their toes up toward their knee as they extend
their lower leg.
KEY: As the heal is landing on the floor, the foot must be rotated
toward the setter to open the hips and allow them to plant facing the setter.
(OSH'S should plant square to the setter, MH'S should plant at a 45 degree
angle to the setter.)
KEY: As the leg is extended to make the the "brake step" the arms
must be swung backward and up with the palms up. This is crucial to the jump
height as swinging the arms forward and up as the jump begins does add to
the overall height of the hitter's jump.
3. The final step of the approach in the
"close step" and simply brings the off leg (the left leg of a righty) forward
so that the feet are both facing the setter as the hitter finishes "planting".
When done correctly, this squares the hips and shoulders to the setter.
4. As the hitter begins to jump the arms
are brought quickly forward and up. The "off-hand" or "non-hitting hand"
is brought up high so that they hitter can point at the ball, (this is commonly
called "sighting the ball") This is very important as it is a very common
mistake that a young hitter takes their eye off the ball at some point during
the attack approach. As soon as the eyes leave the ball, it becomes very
difficult to make solid contact, as it is very difficult for the eyes to
"re-track" and find the ball again quickly enough to make quality contact.
5. At the same time, the hitting arm is brought up with the focus
on getting the hand "back and high", with the elbow above and behind the
shoulder.
KEY: Getting the elbow into this position
is crucial, as it allows the hitter to get the hand higher and at the correct
angle to contact the ball correctly.
KEY: In order to get the maximum reach on
the hitting arm, the hitter must focus on "overextending" the hitting shoulder.
In other words, they need to get their hitting shoulder noticeably higher
than their non-hitting shoulder.
6. THE TWIST: The hitter must now twist
their hips and shoulders as they bring their hitting arm forward to contact
the ball.
KEY: As the hips are twisted the stomach
muscles should be contracted to help bring the shoulders forward. This does
two things:
1. Helps to speed up the arm swing.
2. Helps the hitter to get on top of the
ball with their hand.
KEY: The hitter must focus on twisting the hips, not the shoulders.
Try to twist your shoulders without twisting your hips-it's not that hard
to do. Now try to twist your shoulders without twisting your hips-not so
easy! If they focus on twisting their hips, the shoulders will twist naturally
in most cases. Once in awhile you'll find a hitter who doesn't twist their
shoulders far enough, but that is an easy fix by simply reminding them to
bring their shoulders through, too.
7. THE SWING: As the hips are twisting, the hitter must keep the hitting
elbow up and the hand high, and focus on "reaching" high by "over-extending
the shoulder" to contact the ball above the mid-point with the heal of the
hand.
KEY: The focus during the actual arm the
swing should be on keeping the elbow high and bringing the forearm forward,
and then snapping the wrist as the heal of the hand contacts the ball. The
shoulders should be in front of the knees at the point of contact on the
ball.
KEY: "Grunting" as they swing will increase their arm speed and allow
them to hit the ball with more force. The grunt is produced by forcing air
out of the lungs as they contract their stomach muscles.
NOTE: If you players balk at grunting, point out to them how the top
female tennis players and softball pitchers grunt as they swing at or throw
the ball. If it's a "lady-like" issue, point out they are an "athlete" when
on the court, and a "lady" off the court.
NOTE: USA volleyball did a study that proved that grunting will allow
a player to hit the ball with an average of 17% more force-that's almost
one-fifth harder. Ask them how many times they have hit a ball that the digger
barely got to, or the rebound off the block barely landed in bounds. Then
ask them what the outcome of the play could have been if they had hit the
ball about a fifth harder.
8. THE FOLLOW THROUGH: The forearm and wrist should come through the
swing motion and the wrist should end up below the elbow after contact. When
the hitter lands back on the floor, their hips and shoulders should be square
to the net.
DRILLS:
THE SWING: Place the hitter about ten feet from a wall. Have them
start with their non-hitting shoulder facing the wall, with the ball in their
off-hand (left hand for a righty). They should site the ball up and in front
of their hitting shoulder (right for a righty), with their hitting hand high
and their elbow of their hitting arm above the shoulder. They then toss the
ball just above the desired contact point, take a "baby step" with the left
foot as they twist the hips and shoulders to swing. The ball should be contacted
above and in front of the hitting shoulder as the stomach muscles contract
as they grunt just before contact. The hitting elbow should remain above
the hitting shoulder as the ball is contacted. The hitting hand then drives
through the ball, ending up below the hitting elbow on the follow through.
The ball should be driven down in to the floor in front of the wall. Upon
finishing the hips and shoulders should be square of the wall and the shoulders
should be in front of the feet (this should happen at the contact point).
THE APPROACH: "Box approaches"- The approach should be performed at
match speed, complete with "the grunt" when swinging, without a ball. After
each approach and swing, the hitter turns to their left ninety degrees and
does another one. After four executions, the hitter has completed the outline
of a "box" or "square", and starts again.
HIT OFF TOSS: Then progress to hitting off high outside tosses.
HIT OFF SET: Then progress to hitting off high outside sets.
HIT OFF FASTER TEMPO SETS: Then progress
to hitting off faster tempo sets in the hitter's actual position, (shoots,
ones, back-ones, or twos).
Good luck!
Dave Cross
National Director
Yes I Can Volleyball
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