Individual Blocking

Articles In This Section:

· The Block

· Rules Pertaining to the Block

· Importance of the Block

· Purpose of the Block

· Individual Blocking

· Team Blocking - Part 1

· Team Blocking - Part 2

· Team Blocking - Part 3

· Summary

In better competition today one seldom sees any player block alone. Two-man, three-man, and four-man blocks are the most prominent. Therefore, a player must fit into a blocking team, but each member of the blocking team must master the individual skills. These individual skills include timing, hand position, body position, and reaction.

A player should time his block to be in position immediately after the spike. "If the blocker delays his jump and blocks the ball on his way up, there is a great risk to return a very high ball most often out of the court. If the ball is blocked during the blocker's descent, it is carried down and nine times out of ten drops between the blocker and the net. Blocking should be made with the hands not moving at the dead point of the jump." ⁷

Each man must learn to jump from a position near the net and return to that spot. That spot will be about 18 inches from the net. "Bring all your blockers close to the net and then do your shifting along the net. If the blockers lunge from a distance, their hands tend to go over the net, and the fingers cannot be slanted back because of the forward body position." ⁸ Players who do this also run the risk of touching the net or landing across the center line.

Arm motion must be entirely in front of the body. There is not much elbow room in close quarters while blocking.

The hands should be within two or three inches of the net. "If the hands are as far away as six inches, the spike will be driven down between the net and hands." ⁹ Tilting the hands back prevents injury to the fingers and lessens the danger of having the finger tips go over the net. It is surprising how many good players have not learned this simple technique. They lose vital points by carelessly allowing their fingers to reach over the net. (See Illustration #8 in Chapter 4 for a good three-man block.)

During the setup the blocker should not watch the ball but instead should watch the angle in which the opposing spiker is facing and the angle of the spiker's arm. This will assist him in detecting in which direction the spiker intends to drive the ball. Then the blocker should shift his eyes to the ball.

At the moment the ball is struck, the blocker should stiffen his arms to offset the shock of the drive. Any tendency to push at the ball is poor technique, for it leads to over-the-net fouls and occasional ball-handling errors.

A player with good timing and hand and body position still needs to be ready for the next play. So get ready! Bring the hands and arms down. Learn to play a falling ball with the fist, both forearms, or back of the hand to avoid being called for lifting.