Practicing Volleyball at Home: Spiking

Wrapping Up: Mastering the Spike

Elevate your spiking game with expert tips and drills to do at home.

Importance of Spiking

Spiking is essential in volleyball because it's the main way to score points and pressure the opponent's defense. A powerful spike can break through defenses, lift team spirits, and change the game's momentum. It combines timing, strength, and technique, helping players and teams become more versatile and effective. Spiking also targets weak spots in the opponent's defense, adding variety to attacks and making it a crucial skill for winning games. Like serving, spiking comes with a lot of components. Let’s break them down!

1. Approach: At RONIN, we teach 2 types of approaches: a two-step approach, and a three-step approach.

   Two-Step Approach

   • For right-handed athletes, you start with your left foot forward. Now, a quick

   RIGHT,LEFT JUMP

   • For left-handed athletes, we start with our right foot forward. Now, a quick

     LEFT,RIGHT, JUMP

   Three-Step Approach

   • For right-handed athletes, you start with your right foot forward,

     LEFT…RIGHT LEFT JUMP

   • For left-handed athletes, you start with your right foot forward

     RIGHT... LEFT RIGHT JUMP

     While doing all of this, we are swinging our arms back on the second step and driving them up when we jump

2. Timing: Timing is an important aspect of a consistent and successful hit, If we don’t time our hits right, we risk good contact at the ball. At Ronin, we teach our athletes to start their approach when the set reaches its peak (highest point).

3. Armswing:

Loading Phase:

• Non-Hitting Arm: Begin by raising your non-hitting arm straight up to help with balance and timing.

• Hitting Arm: Draw your hitting arm back by rotating your shoulder, elbow bent and hand near your ear in a "bow-and-arrow" position.

Swing Phase:

• Leading with Elbow: Start the swing by leading with your elbow coming forward and upward.

• Arm Extension: As your elbow reaches shoulder height, extend your arm fully and snap your wrist after hitting the face of the ball

Contact Point:

• High and In Front: Contact the ball at the highest point possible and slightly in front of your hitting shoulder.

• Open Hand: Use an open hand to maximize control and power.

Drills to Practice Spiking at Home

Step 1:

• Practice approach. You can do this anywhere in your household. Making sure you are doing the correct footwork everytime (10 reps, Rest, and Repeat) 

Step 2:

• Approach to catch: Toss the ball at different heights and practice timing with different types of toesses. Making sure your catch above your head and coming in at the right time. (10 Reps, Rest and Repeat)

Step 3:

• Working on Arm Swing and Contact: Toss to yourself and hit towards the ground for it to be able to bounce against the wall. Start with a toss, hit down, then catch. Then, when you feel more comfortable and consistent, do it continuously. 

Benefits

1. Skill Refinement: These drills refine fundamental skills such as footwork, timing, and arm swing technique, ensuring players perform with precision and consistency

2. Coordination Development: By practicing different types of tosses and catching at various heights, players enhance their hand-eye coordination and adaptability to different game situations.

3. Muscle Memory and Strength Building: Continuous repetition of these drills develops muscle memory for proper movements and builds strength in the muscles used for swinging and catching, improving overall athletic performance.

4. Game Readiness: These exercises simulate real-game scenarios, preparing players to react quickly and effectively during matches, thereby enhancing their overall readiness and performance on the court

After working on all these specific components to work on your skills, It’s time to put it all together in the gym at RONIN Volleyball !!