Volleyball Tips for Successful Blocking
by Pakmen Volleyball Research Staff
A blocker plays a very important role in volleyball team’s defence and there is no question about this. The main responsibility of a volleyball blocker is to resist an opponent’s attack. It’s not easy to be a good blocker. In fact, blocking is more than jumping up and keeping your hands up in the air. Obviously, an opposing team’s attacker will do his/her best to hit hard and land the ball on your side of the volleyball court. And of course, as a volleyball blocker you should try to prevent these kinds of things from happening.
How to effectively block the ball in volleyball? How to read the opposing team’s setter? How to read the opposing team’s hitter? How to get ready for a block? What does it take to be a great blocker? How to predict where the ball is likely to go after an attack hit? It’s incredibly important for a blocker to get the answers to all of these questions and develop his/her skills in the right way. In this blog, we would like to share a few volleyball tips for successful blocking.
Get Ready for a Volleyball Block in the Best Possible Way
Preparation is the key to achieving the success in volleyball blocking. The reality is, an attack in volleyball may happen unexpectedly. That means that you need to start getting ready for a bock while the ball is on the opponent’s side of a volleyball court.
As a volleyball blocker you should always position yourself on the court correctly before an attack happens. First of all, you should stand in front of the net. Make sure that your hips as well as shoulders face the net. A volleyball blocker should stand with arms up. You need to have elbows in front of you and your palms should face the net. If you take such a position in advance then you’ll be able to react to an attack quickly, make an explosive action, jump up in the air and block an opposing team’s attack successfully.
During the game a volleyball hitter should watch the opposing team’s setter closely. Pay a close attention to the way an opposing setter likes to set the ball. Does an opposing team’s setter choose to set the ball low or high? Does the ball go into the air quickly or slowly after set? Analyzing a setter helps a volleyball blocker predict the approach of the opposing team’s hitter and react to the attack in the right way.
Clearly, a blocker should do every single thing possible to adjust to the approach that’s more to his/her opponent’s liking. Also, you should analyze the opposing team’s hitter carefully during the match. Studying hitter’s tendencies is something that makes it easy for a blocker to resist opposing team’s attacks. So, it’s crucial for a volleyball blocker to take a closer look at the opposing team’s hitter.
Study the Opposing Team’s Hitter during the Game Efficiently
A volleyball attacks begins with setting. After an opposing team’s setter sets the ball, a volleyball blocker should immediately shift his/her focus to an opposing team’s hitter. Now, the blocker’s job is to predict where the ball is likely to go after an attack hit. Let’s try to realize how to read the opposing team’s hitter.
First of all, a blocker should analyze how the ball goes to an opposing team’s hitter. A blocker should also pay an attention to attacker’s arms and shoulders. An attacker can hit the ball differently. It’s very important for a volleyball blocker to take into consideration the so called hitter’s angle. All of this may help a blocker predict the direction of the ball after an attack hit. If a blocker reacts to a game quickly and successfully, then he/she will be able to resist an attack and contribute greatly to his/her team’s defence.
Do Volleyball Drills for Blocking Regularly
There is no better way to master the art of blocking than doing volleyball drills for blocking. Luckily, there are many drills that allow volleyball players can do in order to improve their blocking skills.
You need to know that many of these volleyball drills are easy to do. For example, you can jump high in the air and put your arms up over the net. You can also ask an assistant to stand on the other side of the volleyball court and hold a ball. In this case, you will need to touch the ball. Practicing this type of drills will definitely help you succeed in mastering the art of volleyball blocking.
If you would like to become a successful blocker, then drills for blocking needs to be a key part of your volleyball training program. There is no doubt that you should do these volleyball drills consistently in order to become a better blocker and perform well on the court.
Blockers Should be Able to Communicate Well with Each Other
The success of team’s defence in the volleyball sport largely depends on the way blockers prefer to communicate with each other. Let’s say that you are watching one of volleyball players in the opposing team. If this is the case, it would be better to tell another blocker in your team about this. So, your teammate will watch another player.
Two blockers may begin to block an attack during the game at the same time. In this case, volleyball players may collide and, therefore, they are likely to find it difficult to resist an opposing team’s attack. Obviously, blockers need to decide who will be responsible for resisting an attack. And of course, this needs to be done ahead of time. It’s worth noting that communication helps volleyball blockers avoid various mistakes on the court.
Oftentimes, volleyball blockers have to cooperate with each other and do the triple block in order to resist an attack hit. Volleyball blockers should use the power of communication to effectively talk with each other on the court. If a need to do the triple block arises during the volleyball match, then one of volleyball blockers should definitely inform a teammate about his/her plans.
The way two blockers communicate with each other during the game of volleyball also matters. If two volleyball players are vocal, then competitors will be able to hear their communication and make all the necessary adjustments. As a result, it would be difficult for volleyball blockers to resist an attack. That’s why it’s so important for blockers to keep their communication silent. So, it would be nice for two blockers to use gestures for communication purposes instead of words. If two blockers choose to communicate with each other this way, opponents will certainly find it hard to figure out what they are talking about.
Position Your Hands As Well As Wrists and Fingers Correctly During a Block
The correct position of hands is incredibly important for successful blocking in the sport of volleyball. So, the question is – how to position hands for a volleyball block correctly? When blocking the ball your hands have to be placed next to each other. Make sure there is no large hole between your hands. First of all, you should aim to form straight and flat surface for blocking a ball. During the block you also need to penetrate to the other side of the court to make it difficult for the opposing team’s hitter to carry out an attach hit.
When you are about to block the ball, you have to make sure that your fingers are widespread. And remember, the opposing team’s attacker is likely to hit the ball with power in order to let it go through your block. And of course, you must be prepared for this. That’s the reason why it would be great to keep your fingers relaxed before a volleyball block. Your wrists have to be rigid. It also makes a lot of sense to position wrists against a hard spike.
Thank you so much for reading this article. As you can see, there are a lot of things that volleyball players can do in order to get better at blocking. Follow our training tips for successful blocking and work hard during practices to improve your blocking skills as well as performance on the court. Practise volleyball drills consistently and success will come to you over time. As a result, you’ll be able to develop your own blocking technique and become a better volleyball blocker. Best of luck!