Whether you train beach volleyball during the summer months, or indoor volleyball year around, you always need a good hitter in the team. Volleyball is a dynamic sport. It calls for balance, strength, agility and speed. But just like other sports, when the players are in proper shape, the team wins.
According to sbat and volleyball experts, the biggest emphasis is on the legs, shoulder and core. So, here is how professional volleyball players do it in order to improve their hitting and become better players overall.
Retrospective
Seeing yourself from the side and how you play the games is very important. You need to analyze your hitting technique from various angles. Record your games and play them back when the game has finished. Analyze your hitting from all sides. Use slow motion to catch the smallest details.
Note your timing and form too. Analyze your position on the ball, your jumping, whether it’s forward or just up, your tendencies or your reach. There are lots of aspects to be analyzed, and this can give you a proper perspective on your game play.
Vision
A good hitter has an excellent peripheral vision. The peripheral vision is used for paying attention on the defense’s position and if there is an open line shot or seam in the block. The small moments when you have to take your eyes of the ball and see the opposition almost at the same time.
Try to improve your peripheral vision with every game. Try to improve your ability to instantly make the right judgement, where to put the ball to get a kill. You can do this outside of your volleyball games too by performing other tasks that require good peripheral vision like computer games.
Work On Seeing the Block
Only when you have trained yourself well to see the block before it forms, you can say you have become a decent hitter. But, to be more than a decent hitter, you need to learn how to avoid the blocks, which requires strength to hit the ball harder.
To build your strength you simply need weight lifting in your training. There is nothing better for your shoulder, back, abdominal and jumping muscles than plain old weights. As your bones and body become stronger, this will also help you avoid injuries, especially shoulder injuries, which are most common with hitters.
Your Setter is Your Friend
Team sports are about communication, and communication is the key. Volleyball is a team sport, so treat your teammates with respect and communicate with them. When you have arrived at a point where you know what to fix in your play or have fixed it, try to communicate with your setter and let him know what to do to improve the team play.
He is there to help you, so you got to tell him if you want a higher set, a ball further from the net, a faster ball or something else. If your setter can’t understand what you need, try one-on-one practice to make sure you are clear.