Urgent! digging at the varsity level?

Question

I'm trying out for the varsity squad as middle blocker/ outside hitter. My team will have two liberos, as with every year, PLUS defensive specialists. I'm a decent hitter (I place well, earning kills for roll-shots and tipping -- very useful in cases of a bad set, bad timing, off balance, etc) and a pretty good blocker (I'm 5'6'' but I reach around 8'6'' and I always make sure I penetrate the net), but I want to make sure my entire game is good. I have some good serves, and setting isn't a problem for me. I can pass freeballs well, but I don't always pass serves and hard hits well (sometimes I do it perfectly, and other times I'm just a joke). Any tips for consistency for digging at the varsity level? Tryouts begin tonight.

Answer 1

Remember to get low, and contact the ball with your forearms, where the surface is flat and wont bounce off the bones in your fingers. Shrug your shoulders up, into where you are aiming, instead of swinging your arms. If your passes are going behind you, it is because you are swinging your arms. Don't be afraid to dive for the ball if necessary.

Answer 2

Well, I had similar issue in college (I was playing middle hitter/blocker), when I was able to dig up almost everything perfectly but the serve. My problem was that I was way too serious when receiving a serve, and lowered my stance to the point when it was hard to move myself to a hard-serve.

My solution was to loose up and try not to stay "too low".

Answer 3

Although practice (repetition) is the best cure for bad serve reception, here are some tips that may help:

- Contact the ball as low to the court as possible. This does 3 things:

  1.  it makes sure that you contact the ball in front of you

  2.  it forces your body into a stable platform

  3.  it forces you to use your legs and shoulders to direct the ball to your target (usually a setter).

- Set yourself before the ball gets to you. If you are moving when the ball gets to you, you will have less control. Some camps even teach getting set, even if you are (slightly) in the wrong spot (the idea is that if you have a good platform, you should be able to adjust and keep balance). With practice, being in the wrong spot wont be such a problem, but getting your platform set will be a tremendous help.

Good luck!

-ikiru

*enjoy the sauce*

Answer 4

It sounds like you're a very well-rounded player. Girls on my Varsity team have problems with digging/passing too. There's one that gets too worked up when the ball comes. As in, you can tell she's very tense when the ball will be served and she will almost jump to pass the ball or she brings her arms in and then back out when passing and that makes her arms uneven. I don't know if she's concerned about looking good or what but the in and out arms thing is completely unnecessary. Perhaps you're doing that? When you dig a ball, freeze after you dig it (even if you feel silly but tell your coach what you're doing first so you don't hold people up) and look at how your body is. Where is it facing? How are your arms shaped? A lot of people swing there arms like an elephant trunk too so the ball goes wayyy too high or their arms are uneven when they come up from swinging their arms. You really just have to freeze after you dig. Stand your ground and don't be afraid. A lot of the problem is the anticipation of the attack or serve and people get too worked up and move out of the way at the last minute or swing their arms. It's something that kind of just comes to you. Once you make a good dig, remember how you felt and what you did. Try to make muscle memory. You need to get super low too. I noticed when i dug a ball the other day I was so low and my hands were almost between my legs (which were parallel to the floor) and my arms froze and my legs did the work of popping the ball up, like the little energy from my legs transferred that hard hit into the ball and it went where I wanted it. Practice it a lot though. Get a friend or coach to hit to you and have you practice digging more. I think you've done all you can as far as try-outs but just have an open mind and don't get nervous or else you'll have a terrible night. After tryouts maybe try explaining to your coach that you'd love to get better at digging and that you'd like extra help.

Answer 5

Everyone knows the basics... there's nothing more anyone on here can tell you. Liberos don't have magic or anything.  They do exactly what a coach tells everyone to do, contact on your fore arm, don't swing, down low, staggered feet shoulder width apart.  There is nothing else to do except practice... consistancy won't come with MORE direction, mostly because I doubt there is anymore direction that you haven't heard if you've been playing this sport for more than 3 years

Answer 6

get low, move ur legs as opposed to swinging ur arms, dont swing ur arms, and dont be afraid to dive