Let's start with the feet.
In volleyball as in life, it's all about the feet. My mother used to tell me, "If you put your feet in the wrong place, only bad things can happen." I'm not sure if that's what she actually said, but the change works for this.
Is there a sport in which footwork is not the foundation for success?
I have spent several minutes trying to come up with a sport in which one's footwork is not directly correlated to one's success. Maybe swimming? Other than that? Nope. Can't come up with one.
I played baseball most of my life. It wasn't until my son became involved with a program that approached baseball training like I approach volleyball training that I realized how important footwork was to playing baseball. I had never thought about it.
Because it is the most important aspect of success in any sport that I can think of, I'll begin with footwork. And because striking the ball is the most fun, let's start there.
We begin every set (I hate that term) of every match with a player striking the ball – the serve. Also, attacking the ball is the most fun part of volleyball unless of course you are a libero. In addition, down balls are, or should be, a huge part of of play until we reach a high level of play. Not that we should strive for hitting down balls instead of running an attack, but we should replace every free ball with a down ball.
Fortunately, the basic footwork is the same for each of these.
Striking a volleyball efficiently and effectively is much like throwing a baseball. So our players need to learn the basic mechanics of throwing.
Throwing a ball begins with the feet. If the feet are not properly set, the efficiency is limited. Wrong foot position and footwork leads to limited hip rotation which leads to limited core involvement which leads to unnecessary strain on the arm which leads to lack of power and, for many, shoulder pain. No one can play well when in constant pain.
Mostly True Story ...
While coaching with 3Rivers Volleyball Club years ago, we had a good group of juniors and seniors on our 18U team. I coached a few of them at the younger levels. We also had a good number of new kids that year.
As I stood behind Beth, (I'll call her Beth for purposes of this story. Hell, her name might have been Beth. I can't remember.), I noticed that she struggled with the power on her serve. And she jerked her body when she struck the ball. After 2 or 3 serves, I asked if her shoulder ever hurt. She looked at me and said, "How did you know? It hurts all season."
I told her it was an educated guess. When she served, she stood with both feet just behind the end line parallel to the net. This meant her shoulders were parallel to the net. Her foot position put her entire body out of position to strike the ball with power.
Her body was out of sync when she struck the ball. She tried to compensate for the lack of hip rotation with jerking her body as she tried to hit the ball and follow through, also incorrectly. I showed her the proper technique; after a few weeks changing her feet and hips, she served with more power and with no pain.
Beth was a junior at a high-level Fort Wayne high school program. She also played at the "best" club in our area for years – for a great deal of money. Someone in one of those programs taught her to serve this way. And no one in either of those programs knew enough to corrected her.
Back to the Feet Blog ...
So, why is foot position so important when throwing or striking a ball?
If our feet are in the right position, our bodies will be in position to more easily and efficiently use our core to generate power. Can you hit the ball with your body square to the target? Of course. But there is a reason that pitchers in baseball turn their hips away from their targets before they throw the ball. This allows them to easily engage their cores to generate greater arm speed which leads to greater velocity.
I have young players exaggerate positions and movements as we are beginning the process. When I begin ball striking foot position, I have the players stand with their feet shoulder-width apart with their shoulders almost perpendicular to their target.
If we can get their feet close to this position every time they want to strike the ball offensively, their success rate will increase, their control will improve, and their power will improve. Maybe most importantly, the strain on their shoulders will be reduced which leads to fewer injuries.
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