Volleyball passing. eh for some reason i need help.?

Question

okay so i've been playing for about 6 or 7 years &imma be in my sophomore year playing varsity for #1 team in conference. and for some reason i jst killed my passing. and i have tourney tomarrow afternoon.

so my coach says i can't keep my arms straight (which is from "j"ing the ball in beach vball) and to keep my thumbs down. anyone have advice on it?

oh && my setting i keep my hands too wide. how wide should i put them. i know sounds ridiculous for how long i've been playing. but eh. why not ask?

Answer 1

Its never too late to ask questions.

When you end your arms its called "praying" sometimes.

I know it sounds painful but trust me it works.

Go out and get athletic tape. Tape a pen over the "bend" on the inside of your arm. Mid arm. then tape it really good with the a tape. Do this on both arms. Then have a coach or friend pass the ball to you and then pass it back to them. Consistency is key. do this until you stop "praying"

Setting:

okay. its kind of hard to explain w/o being in front of you.

there's three steps to a great set.

Home Position

1. SS triangle

2. Superman

Your Home Position: will be feet shoulder-hip spaced apart, your hands will form a triangle fingers (index, middle, ring, pinky) are pointed down. your thumbs should be about an inch below your belly-button.

SSTriangle: From Home you are going to take 2 steps. a left, right forward steps. And pull your "home" up to your forhead.

Your hands are going to sit right above your forehead.

*Depending on your coach they may want you to take a right left right series all the way to the ten foot line but that is usually only for pulling off the net after the ball is set.

* You are always going to take a left, right series ( some ppl think its like hitting.) Because if you take a right, left then your ball is going to follow your feet which will probably lead right to the net.

&& Lastly, Superman. This is probably the most important step in the Set. From your Forehead You are going to bend your knees (just to give you power. don't squat) and throw your arms forward and your fingers should be out in front of you like "superman".

Hope I helped.

Answer 2

Good answers.  I would just like to add that when I teach setting, I put the ball in the players hand just above their head.  I tell them to keep their hands still when I take the ball away.  That is a good ready position for the setting.  Your hands should be shaped like a volleyball and the just larger than the volleyball.

Answer 3

Passing - Lock your elbows.  It might help you to lock your fingers together to keep your arms even.  Doing this always helps me get off good passes.

Setting - Make a diamond with your hands.  Thumb to thumb and index to index.  Hit the ball with your finger tips and push your hands up and out.

Answer 4

when setting try to imagine chugging a 2 liter bottle of coke.  To drink it all you must have it above your head.

Answer 5

when youre getting ready to pass lock your elbows so they dont bend and you can get a nice pass. have a nice platform. and tilt your thumbs down slightly.

what they always teach me when i go to camps is:

act as if your at the park at a hot day and you want to pour a big jug of water on your head. (act as you grab the water jug with 2 hands and pour on head)

well i hope your tournament goes well&good luck!

Answer 6

Your coach might be saying to keep a better platform when you pass, the straight arms and thumbs down thing probably comes from not being in a good position to pass to begin with, make sure you are moving to be in a better position to pass, in an athletic position on the balls of your feet to be able to move side to side, front to back with  the ball movement and then extend on your pass using your legs, arms and shoulder shrug to direct the ball where it needs to go. In beach all of this isn't as critical since you usually have to be moving forward all the time. In addition with  the length of time you have been playing I would ask have you moved up in level at all or have you stayed the same. When you have played for a while you can get comfortable with what you're doing because it works, as you move into the next level you might need to retrain yourself to bring yourself up to the level of competition you will be facing. A sophomore on varsity of the #1 team in the conference, sounds like you need to become the most open coachable kid on the team and lead others by your example so your team continues to be #1.

Hand position on the ball is usually taught using a volleyball and finding a set of the panels that run across it (they're in a pattern) we teach the width of the panel should be inside the v formed by the thumb and forefinger. If nothing else its a good starting point since I don't know how big your hands are. Good luck.