How to pratice volleyball alone?

Question

I am out of state for pre season volleyball and i need to pratice but i dont know what to do because i am alone and dont have a net. Only a wall and a ball

Answer 1

you can use what you got, start by marking a spot on the wall and "set" the ball to that spot as many times in a row as you can, then switch it to a back set, a shoot set, then bump to that same spot and do it many times, that way you will be working on your consistency.

Answer 2

You can always practice passing and setting against a wall, but here are some more suggestions.  Below are some tips on hitting which I teach, and most of the first steps can be done at home. Other than all of this, I would tell you to work on your setting. Lie on your back, and with your arms straight up in the air, practice setting the ball about 6 inches from your hands. At first, it will be difficult to do. Keep at it, and soon you'll be able to "bounce" the ball continuously by setting it hundreds of times in a row. Your arms will get tired, but you will eventually build up good arm strength. Practice while you're watching TV, listening to music, etc. Once you've mastered 6 inches, move up to 1 foot, then 2, etc. Eventually, you should be able to set the ball continuously within an inch of the ceiling, all while lying on your back, without having to move to chase the ball.

As for hitting...there are a few steps which I go through in teaching my players when they are first learning to hit. Each one of these steps we work on for about 1-2 weeks without moving on to the next step. I know, it's hard to have patience, since you want to hit NOW, but if you're a beginner, you need to really work on the fundamentals, and get them right without picking up bad habits. I even had my athletic 18-20 year old boys do all of this to make sure they learn good habits, and in the end it makes them much better hitters.

1. Arm Height and Wrist. This is all about developing the proper arm swing, and making sure you snap your wrist when hitting the ball. To do this, take a tennis ball and throw it by doing the following: Wind-up and throw your arm forward, Stopping your arm when it is straight up in the air (your bicep should be right next to your ear), and at the peak SNAP your wrist straight down. The tennis ball should bounce almost straight down in front of you. This is something you can practice while facing a wall or your garage door. It's crucial your arm ends up straight up in the air, with your wrist snapped down. Do hundreds of these throws before moving on.

2. Hand - Eye Coordination. Substitute the tennis ball for a volleyball. This is hard to do initially without a partner or something holding a ball. But you want someone to toss the ball in the air like a set, and WITHOUT you moving or jumping, you are to hit the ball in the same manner as you threw the tennis ball. This will work on your hand eye coordination, while still teaching you the importance of keeping your arm high and snapping your wrist. You can also do this yourself, tossing the ball in the air and hitting it in the same manner against the wall. It will take lots of work and practice, but eventually you want to be able to hit it so it bounces in front of the wall, hits the wall, and flies back up towards your hand (which should still be stopped straight up in the air with the wrist snapped). Imagine keeping the pose of your arm straight in the air for 5 seconds after hitting the ball.

3. Basic Jump. Time to start getting the footwork for the jump (this can be done while working #1 and #2, but DO NOT swing while jumping). A volleyball jump is different than basketball: it is a jump off of 2 feet (instead of 1). First, get the 3 step approach and jump down. This is for a right-hander (switch feet if you are left handed). Stand with your feet together. Take a fairly big step forward with your left foot. After that, you want to use a quick Right-Left to jump into the air, jumping off of BOTH feet at the same time. On the first step, your arms will begin to swing behind you, and then you'll start bringing them forward and use the momentum to help you jump into the air. Try to use your arms to reach high when you jump in the air. There should only be 3 steps, and then you're in the air. Left...Right-Left. It will take a little getting used to, but do this over and over again until it's very comfortable with you (hundreds of times). Try to jump as high as you can, reaching as high as you can. Oh, and if you're goofy footed (left footed and right handed, or right footed and left handed), then you want to jump based on how you swing. So always do the right handed approach if you're right handed, and always do the left handed approach if you're left handed.

4. Advanced Jump. Now, you want to change the 3 step jump (which should be 100% comfortable and flawless), by adding two steps. So, your Left...Right-Left approach for a Right hander (or Right...Left-Right approach for a Left hander) becomes a: Left...Right...Left...Right-Le... The first three steps are fairly large, allowing you to cover quite a bit of ground. The final quick Right-Left will launch you straight up into the air, and swing your arms and let them follow through straight up, reaching as high as you can (but DO NOT swing your arms at the top of the jump as if you're hitting yet). You should jump straight up in the air...NOT forward. Practice this tons of times. Once you get this down along with the 3 step, and it is second nature, it won't matter any more how you start your approach. You could try starting with a 4 step, a 6 step, a 7 step, or a 27 step, and it won't matter...you're body will know how to jump naturally.

5. More hand-eye coordination. This can be done after you have step 2 mastered. Now, have someone throw a ball (or set a ball) to you in front of a net. WITHOUT JUMPING, you want to work on walking up to the ball and hitting the ball over the net. Again, SNAP your wrist, and when you hit the ball still stop with your arm straight up in the air. Hold that pose for 5 seconds (I'd have my players show me that they were still the Statue of Liberty with their arm raised, long after they hit the ball). Keep practicing this. If you are snapping your wrist well, and reaching high, and getting the timing of your contact with the ball down, you should soon be hitting most of the balls into the court on the other side.

6. Bringing it together. Once you have the jump and the arm down, it's time to start bringing them together. First, you will jump, and then throw a tennis ball down in front of you while you are in the air. So, jump in the air (you should be able to do any step jump now...mix it up), and when you are at your highest point, throw your arm, snap your wrist, and the tennis ball should bounce in front of you. Again, your arm should still be straight up in the air when you land from your jump, showing your high swing and your snapped wrist. Do this in front of a wall or your garage until you're a pro. You're almost there.

7. Timing. Have someone toss or set you the ball in front of the net. Still work on keeping the arm high and snapping the wrist (keeping that pose). Jump into the air and hit the ball. It will take lots of practice to get the timing down, but if you have worked on the previous steps, then you will have excellent fundamentals to build on. Once you have the timing down and can consistently make contact with the ball, putting it in the opposite court while snapping your wrist and keeping your arm high, then you are ready to move on.

8. Follow through. DO NOT do this step until you are comfortable and accurate with all of the steps above. Trying to follow through too early without being able to swing high and snap the wrist, will be detrimental to you later on. Too many players swing so low or don't snap their wrist, and while they may hit the ball hard, it doesn't go where it should, and they're easy to block. Unfortunately, once you've been hitting a while, it's too late to change bad habits. But if you mastered all of the above, then start working on your follow through. You want your follow through to be really fast. The faster and farther your faller through goes, the faster and harder you hit the ball.

I hope that gives you enough to get started. Just remember...practice and patience, and you'll be great in no time.

Answer 3

serve the ball against the wall...pass the ball to the same spot on the wall every time...set the ball to the same spot every tiem...theres alot of things you can do with a ball and a wall just think of the wall as a person who will never make a mistake