How to Block a Volleyball (very detailed)

Do you have trouble blocking a volleyball. Do you wonder why your blocks don't go straight down like the ones you see during college and olympic games? This will give you a step by step detailed guide to blocking a volleyball.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Yourself, volleyball

1. Before you even begin to become a blocking force, you have to set yourself up mentally. Who is it that you're blocking? What role are you going to take in blocking this person (are you going to block line or angle)? Once you know exactly what you are doing, then you can begin.

2. Position yourself on the court so you are 2-3 steps inside from the general area in which you'll actually do your blocking. This will help give you momentum to get a higher jump, as you'll actually "walk into" the jump.

3. See the ball being passed, and watch the ball's first half of flight to the setter. Keep your hitter in your vision, you should use your peripheral vision as much as you can while you are blocking.

4. After you've watched half of the ball flight, you should have a good idea of the speed and timing of the ball. Take a quick glance at your hitter to see where he is starting his approach. Once you see his position, focus back on the ball, while still keeping your hitter in your peripherals.

5. See the ball come out of the setters hands, and you should immediately be able to judge where the set is going, and how fast it will get there.

6. As the ball is leaving the setter's hands, you should start your movement by taking a small step with your outside foot toward the outside.

7. Keep in mind the speed of the ball, and keep in your vision the hitter. As you make the next step, a cross step with your inside leg, move your focus to the hitter, with the ball in your peripheral vision.

8. POSITIONING...MOST IMPORTANT!!! Here's how you position yourself. If you are going to block the line, you want to put your outside hand so it lines up with the hitter's head. You should also reach that arm straight out, and you should turn the palm of your hand into the court. If you are blocking the hitter's angle hit, then you should line your right hand up with the ball. Your outside arm should do the same as if you were blocking line. Your inside arm should reach all the way to the middle of the court. Your arms should be a little wider than shoulder width apart, and your hands should be spread and wide.

9. This step kind of mixes in with step 8. Remember to "penetrate" your arms over the net. Blocking is not about how high you get, it's about how far your arms can penetrate over the net. This takes a lot of practice, and you want to push yourself to see how much extension you can get away with without a net violation.

10. For a final UMPH!!!, you need to shrug your shoulders. This does a couple of things. For one, it helps extend your arms and extra inch or two. Second, it creates a more solid base, and it will help most balls pound straight into the ground after it hits your arm(s).

Tips & Warnings

• Remember to shrug your shoulders.
• You should land in the same spot you jumped from. If you've landed to far to the right or left, you've floated and you've created a hole in the block. If you've landed to far in front or behind the spot you jumped from, you're causing yourself to be unbalanced, and creating an opportunity for you to get called for a net violation.
• MOST IMPORTANT FACT TO REMEMBER - most balls are blocked with one hand/arm. Don't close your arms and surround the ball with your hands, keep them wide, and let each arm do the work.
• Remember, most of the time you reach for a ball to block it, you'll end up netting or touching the ball as it goes out. Stay disciplined, penetrate, and let the hitter hit the ball into your hands, don't try to reach for the ball.