New coach?

Question

Okay. So i'm a freshman in highschool so next fall i'll be a sophmore. Last years varsity coach just quit, which kind of sucks because I know its wrong to say that I had a "spot" on varsity. I know i'm good enough, but the problem is right now i'm going through one of the common things where I can't get my hits in constistently. I think i'm just getting more power. But anyways...i'm afraid the new coach won't see my potential. Advice?

By the way...I'm 5'7 with a big verticle...also a swimmer so I have a ton of strength which right now works negatively.

Answer 1

Strength never works negatively in volleyball unless you are using the wrong technique.

You need to remember to reach as high as you possibly can and hit the ball down. you don't need to hit the ball "over" the net. You are already high enough. When you hit the ball "over", you put all your power behind the ball, not on top of the ball, like you should.

As far as your coach, you never truly know what will happen. I feel for you. Just do the best you can and you know what they say, "Cream rises to the top, sludge falls to the bottom."

Whoever "they" are. :)

Answer 2

If you have a lot of power and having a problem with controlling your hits, you could be using shoulder strength to spike.  Proper armswing technique involves elbow and wrist snapping which gives you good control of your hits.

See if you're using the right technique as described below:

1.  Bow and arrow - As you jump up for a hit, draw back your hitting arm with your elbow, bent about 90 degrees, above and behind your shoulder.  Your palm should be facing away from your head.

2.  Aim and elbow snap - Swing in your elbow pointing where you're hitting to and then snap your elbow fully extending your arm.

3.  Wrist snap and follow through - As you make the contact with the ball, snap your wrist and fully follow through.

Key is to have your elbow point where you're aiming your hit before straightening or snapping your forearm toward the ball.

Shoulder hitters and don't do this.  They just swing their whole arm at the ball and have poor control.  Your armswing is supposed to work like whip.  Move the members in your hitting arm sequentially but smoothly.  First - shoulder/upper arm, 2nd - elbow/forearm, and 3rd - wrist/hand.

Try develping good armswing technique and when it's combined with your tons of strength, you could become a unstoppable hitter.

Answer 3

first you need to build your confidence up and stay positive while you playing keep you cool and show the coach what you made of

Answer 4

With the hitting, just try for your first few hits at practice to get them in to get a rythmn, even if this means taking something off of it to make sure. That way you can get confidence and in a rythmn and then you can letter rip. A good idea is add some top spin to the ball to get it down so you can keep it in and then after a while start teeing off. Any coach knows a good hitter is a hitter who can control their hit, not just ones who can destroy a ball but only get it in a low percentage of the time. Also when things aren't going well take something off of it, anytime you get upset and start trying to hit it harder bad things happen as a hitter. Just be confident, it will come.

New coaches are hard to read at first. So i get your dilemna there. All I can say is try your hardest and never take a second off in practice during drills and work your tail off. If there is anything that is common in all coaches, is that they reward hard work, a quick learner, and a good listener. Another key is that a coach loves a player who talks it up on the court, stay vocal and positive and the coach will notice your hard work/effort.

Listen to what he has to say, try and figure out what kind of coach he is and what he looks for in players. But over all just work hard and you will be rewarded