How to Take Off, Hit, and Land - Part 1

Articles In This Section:

· The Spike

· History of Spiking

· Requisites of the Good Spiker

· How to Contact the Ball

· Where to Contact the Ball

· Position of Ball at Contact

· Position of Ball in Relation to Shoulder

· Position of Ball in Relation to Net

· How to Take Off, Hit, and Land - Part 1

· How to Take Off, Hit, and Land - Part 2

· Strategy in Spiking

· Recovery and Defense

· General Skills

· Team Play and Morale

It is difficult to spike the ball unless the hand gets higher than the net. All the hitting power in the world is to no avail if the following capacities are not present:

1. A relaxation, and yet a latent readiness to spring into any ball that can be hit, no matter where it is.

2. A spring upward with enough height to carry the spiker into a position to hit the ball into the opponents' court.

3. The training which gives reserve conditioning or endurance, thereby allowing the player to play through a complete tournament without fatigue or tightening.

Some spikers are able to take off for the spike from a standing position; some need at least a small step or "crow hop" in order to get required height; others need several steps for an efficient take-off. A lengthy run is hard to time and can often cause the spiker to touch the net or step over the center line.

There is no doubt that a player is able to spike well with a one-foot take-off similar to that used by old-style high jumpers in the "scissors" jump. A number of players in this country and a large number overseas still use it with effectiveness.

The disadvantages, in the opinion of many, are such as to outweigh the advantages. These weak spots are:

1. The difficulty of viewing the complete court of the opponents and picking the weak spots.

2. The difficulty of hitting in all directions.

3. The almost impossibility of recovering blocked balls because the one-foot take-off player has traveled past the point of ball contact.

4. The narrow range within which the ball can be hit at the net, since the ball has to be set up in front of and in the path of the run preceding the take-off from one foot.

The advantages of the two-foot take-off have meant that most players in this country use that style. In the use of this method of take-off, the first requisite is development of enough speed, strength, and endurance in the muscles to get the body into the air high enough, often enough, and fast enough to meet the ball to be spiked. The above sounds pedantic, but it is surprising how many players have not learned these simple facts.