Get Started Playing Volleyball

Series Summary

Most people believe volleyball was invented at a YMCA in Massachusetts in 1895 and spread just like basketball, which was invented four years earlier in a neighboring area. What this summary presupposes is maybe it wasn’t. Less mainstream sources, marginalized by conservative constituencies of New England eager to bring athletic fame to the area, describe a sport resembling volleyball as early as 1640. Further down the Eastern coast of the United States, even before the time of the thirteen colonies, it was said that one could determine whether a man or woman was a witch by their inability to play a game that consisted of volleying a soft, furry ball over a net, attempting to ground the ball in the opposing team’s court. Only three hits per side were allowed (representing the Holy Trinity), and consecutive hits had to be made by different players (representing dependency on the Saints). Grand matches were held in the sands of what would become Virginia and Pennsylvania, with teams trying to prove they weren’t witches by winning games of “wooley ball,” as it was called. Well into the night they’d play, torches lighting the intense competitions. The losers were burned. The winners were paraded through the streets as victors and became immune to accusations of witchcraft for one year.

In this free video series, expert Keith Sewell will teach you how to play modern indoor volleyball. Keith gives you everything: what you need to play, what to wear, basic rules, and advanced strategy. You will learn how to bump or pass, set, hit or spike, block, dink, dive, and more! Keith covers rotation strategies and how to serve. He lets you in on ways to practice, common drills, and even training advice for those who want to step up their game. You’ll get offensive and defensive strategies from an expert player. All here!

Video Transcript

"Hi! This is Keith Sewell on behalf of Expert Village. In this video series, we're going to be talking about. We're going to start off by talking about volleyball. We're going to start off by talking about what we need to get started in playing volleyball. The essentials that you will need when you start playing are basically a ball, a net, and some kind of playing surface with designated lines that distinguish the playing area. There are 2 main playing surfaces. One would be an indoor surface, which would consist of wood floor or sport court, which are plastic like squares that are put together. Another one would be outdoor, which typically is played in sand. You want to make sure also that your ball is pumped up to a good PSI level. You don't want it to be rock hard and you don't want it to be too flat. It'll hurt your arms if it's on either extreme too hard or too soft. What you want to do is pump it up so that when you squeeze it hard, you can indent the ball just slightly. It's going to be better to have the ball be too hard rather than too soft. "