Does anyone know any volleyball drills for middle blocker/hitter?

Question

Volleyball season started at my school and i cant seem to block many balls when i try to block and my hitting is VERY weak! but i can hit the ball SUPER hard when im hitting during peppering.

i can reach a good 4 inches above the net with my hand.

but what i really want is to spike the ball down hard and get it in;

PLEASE help

Answer 1

Hitting and blocking come from practice, you can be a super athlete but you wont be able to dominate until you practice enough. For hitting you want to start with contacting the ball 1st because its important to get experience seeing it and knowing where it is at all times. once you get that done start working on your approach (ask your coach to help you, or look at good middles) once you get that you'd be able to kill the ball anywhere on the court.

Blocking is all about timing and penetration...comes from practice, if you want to run some drills, go block while your teamates are free hitting.

Answer 2

if you want to hit it hard, snap your wrist

as for blocking, it's just all about timing, when your teamates are hitting ask if you can block to imrpove yourself. do the pickup-block drill, side-step block drills, etc.

Answer 3

Ok you need to go against a wall that has bricks and you have to block and try to get higher everytime you go to block.

Answer 4

Jousting?

Answer 5

First, let's cover the blocking....Most professional's don't get more than 4-5 blocks in a match, so don't stress about not blocking. What you need to worry about is making sure you close your block with the left or right side hitter. It's there job to set the block in the proper place and it's your job to get right beside them so there is a solid two person block. This can be accomplished by working on your footwork/footspeed. When blocking in the middle alone, make sure you're watching the hitter's shoulders as they approach and you want to jump a fraction of a second after they do. You need to change your mind about blocking, the first thing you should be accomplishing is taking the easiest hit away from the hitter. For example, if the middle is approaching like they're going to hit to position 5, then you need to set up so you take position 5 away from them, that's all you can do. If the hitter is really good and able to swing across their body to hit to 1, there's nothing you can do about that, it's up to your teammates to cover that area. Talk to your coach about what positions they want you to take away when blocking from the middle.

Now as far as hitting goes, I'd hate to say it but 4 inches isn't high enough to be able to swing down on the ball, and you say you have power during pepper but not when you're hitting. Based on this info, i'd guess you're either mis-timing the ball (you're coming down when you're actually making contact and this would take almost all your power away) or you're hitting the ball from behind you (even good hitters have a hard time hitting the ball from behind their body). Your coach can tell you which one you're doing. If it's your timing, leave a little later. The general rule is that you want to leave when the ball is at it's highest point but if you're hitting quick's (51's) in the middle then you need to be leaving the ground when the ball is getting to the setter's hands. If you're hitting from behind you (by this i mean that when you're contacting the ball, your hand is actually behind your head), then you need to adjust your take off on your approach. Again, your coach can help the best but if you're hitting high balls in the middle, then you need to focus on making sure you're jumping into the ball, contacting it at YOUR highest point (you're arm should ALWAYS be extended to it's fullest when making contact, and slightly in front of your body). If you're hitting quicks in the middle, this is an easy fix, just make sure you're keeping the setter in front of you when approaching. Alot of middle hitters like to get right beside the setter then jump. But if you're setter is right along the net, then you're too close to the net to swing properly, so use the the setter as a cue for where to jump from. If you keep them in front of you and just to your right, then you'll always be able to keep the ball in front of you.

Now, last but not least, spiking down and hard. Like i said, 4 inches isn't enough to swing down on the ball, so instead focus on the spin you're creating on the ball. You want to contact the ball at about the half to top half of the ball, making sure your wrist snaps through on the follow through (make sure there is a follow through). This will allow you to still swing hard, but the ball will dive down due to the top spin created with snapping the wrist. The ball trajectory will actually go forward a bit first, then it will dive toward the ground.

Hope this helps....good luck!

Forgot to add that when you're blocking you want to make sure you're watching the hitter approach, then when you jump you shift your focus to the ball....chances are right now you're a "ball watcher" and unless it's a very tight set it's hard to get blocks if you don't know how the hitter is approaching.