How to Bump a Volleyball

By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

Bump a Volleyball

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A volleyball player's most important skill is bumping - passing a volleyball by bouncing it off his or her extended forearms.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Volleyballs

Step1

Remember that the first contact after a serve is normally the bump, which sets in motion the three-step volleyball offense of bump, set, spike (see "eHow to Set a Volleyball' and "eHow to Spike a Volleyball').

Step2

Anticipate the flight of the ball so that you can receive it in a stationary, athletic position with your knees bent, your weight forward on the balls of your feet, and your arms extended forward and down.

Step3

Hold your palms open and facing up, and then lay one hand on top of the other.

Step4

Fold your hands inward until your thumbs are side by side, pointing away from your body and slightly down. The knuckles of your fingers should be facing out.

Step5

Bring in your elbows and lock them so that your forearms are as close to touching as possible, creating a flat platform from your elbows to the tips of your thumbs.

Step6

Tilt your platform toward your target.

Step7

Allow the ball to bounce off your forearms (rather than swinging your arms at it).

Tips & Warnings

The two keys to good, consistent bumping are using your feet to get in proper position to meet the ball, and keeping your elbows locked so that the ball hits a flat surface.
Bump-pass the ball high and 2 to 3 feet from the net to a position where the setter can get to it easily.
If you're setting and are having a hard time with the traditional setting technique, or are dealing with a bad, low pass, use the bump to get the job done.

Comments

Lauren8996 said

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on 1/21/2008 iheart88waffles:
it doesn't mean actually BUMP THE BALL with your palms open, just keep them open to overlap your hands and THEN fold them together.

Pututie said

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on 1/8/2008 FYI... The word bump is typically throught of as a geeky word, just stick with the work pass.

iheart88waffles said

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on 1/18/2007 no!!!

NEVER! leave your palms open that creates a tilting in your wrist wich could make the ball go flying and possibly hurting your wrists.

Anonymous said

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on 9/17/2006 If you are the coach of a team, or just a player wanting your team to do better, tell your team to get in a low, squat-like ready position. Now tell them to imagine a barrier between their knees that their arms cannot cross. If they let their arms go between their legs, make them do five push ups. Double the punishment for each time this occurs.

Anonymous said

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on 8/10/2006 Make sure when you are serving that you hit the ball when it is above your neck. If you hit it low the ball most likely wont get over the net, it could go under it!

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