Does Officiating Volleyball Make You a Better Volleyball Player?

• Why are Volleyball Players so Lean?

  Have you ever wondered why volleyball players are so lean and have great muscle definition? The short answer is volleyball involves a lot of jumping and quick/hard sprints. In volleyball, there are about 5 to 15 seconds between plays. So basically, it's like doing interval training with tons and tons of sprints and jumps. As you might know, interval training is the best form of training for weight loss and getting real lean. This is especially why beach volleyball players are so lean. Beach players have to quickly sprint and jump high out of sand. This is much more demanding than playing indoor volleyball. The same way sprinters are much more lean than most long distance runners, volleyball players are also leaner due to interval-type of conditioning and resistance training programs. Volleyball players burn more fat after those type of workouts compared to the most "steady-state" aerobic workouts.

• Volleyball Alignment and Overlapping

  At the moment of serve contact, players need to be in the right volleyball alignment with no overlapping of adjacent players. Adjacent players are ones front to back or side to side. In the diagram above, the arrows show which two players the player in zone 1 can't overlap. RB is zone 1 (Right Back), RF is zone 2 (Right Front), CF is zone 3 (Center Front), LF is zone 4 (Left Front), LB is zone 5 (Left Back), and CB is zone 6 (Center Back). RB must be properly aligned with RF and CB. RF must be properly aligned with CF and RB. CF must be properly aligned with CB, LF, and RF. LF must be properly aligned with LB and CF. LB must be properly aligned with LF and CB. CB must be properly aligned with CF, LB, and RB. The diagram above shows legal alignment. This is a typical alignment for a setter that is in zone 1. The setter pushes the zone 2 player to the net. Players in zone 3 and 4 back up to help out with passing. You can see none of the adjacent players are overlapping. Avoiding Overlaps Consider the position of the players foot relative to the feet of the adjacent player. Only consider the foot or feet touching the floor. The right side player must have at least part of one foot closer to the right sideline than both feet of the center player in the corresponding row (except the server and the center back of the serving team). The left side player must have at least part of one foot closer to the left sideline than both feet of the center player in the corresponding row. Each front row player must have at least one part of one foot closer to the centerline than both feet of the corresponding back row player. Players can move prior to serve. Players can have their foot touching the boundary line during the serve. At the moment of serve contact, no part of the body can be touching outside the boundary lines. After the contact for serve, players can move to whatever position on the court they want to.

• Mental Volleyball Training

  Have you ever felt like you were playing in the zone. When you're in this ideal performance state, there is an absense of negative self talk and a strong feeling of efficacy. An important aspect is that the athlete trusts in their skills and conditioning level and they just "let it happen" without interference from negative thoughts. --------- "I'm Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it comes to football. When I'm on the field sometimes I don't know what I am doing out there. People ask me about this move or that move, but I don't know why I did something, I just did it. I am able to focus out the negative things around me and just zero in on what I am doing out there. Off the field I become myself again." – Walter Payton, a premiere running back in NFL history - --------- Characteristics of players being in the zone... a sense of effortlessness - an involuntary experience absence of fear - no fear of failure a narrow focus of attention concentrated on the activity itself no thinking about or analysis of performance a distortion of time and space, in which time seems to slow a sense of personal control The following are 7 factors that go into you playing in the zone. These 7 factors work together collectively producing the excellence you desire to win at volleyball. What do you see? The first one has to to with what you see. Ask yourself what you see when you are experiencing being in the zone. These factors are important because they trigger your mind to get you into the state of mind you want it to be in so you can play the best you're capable of... playing volleyball in the zone. How do you feel? What does it feel like to be in the zone? If you are able to repeat this feeling when you play volleyball, it's much easier to get in the zone. What are you saying to yourself? What's your inner communication? Pay attention to what you're saying to yourself. It's unlikely your self talk is negative or you wouldn't be in the zone. Pay attention to the conversation that's going on inside your head when you're in the zone and compare that to the conversation that's going on when you're out of the zone. Then, when you are not in the zone, you can start talking to yourself as if you were, then that will trigger the right mindset, then you can get back in the zone. What are you expecting? Ask yourself before you play what you expect is going to happen. How do you expect to play? What you expect is much different when you're in the zone. For instance, if you don't expect to play well, you can't get in the zone. When you're in the zone, you are confident and you can make plays easily and more effortless. Carry the same facial expressions. What facial expressions do you make when you're in the zone? Mimicking the same expressions can make it much easier to get in the zone. What visual scenarios do you have going on inside your mind when you're in the zone? You want to reflect the same mental thoughts and images you have in your mind. This will trigger your subconscious mind to help you play at your highest ability. How do you breathe? How you breathe when you're in the zone is different than when you aren't. It's common for athlete's to describe being in the zone as an imobilizing calmness. How do you breathe when you are playing your best? Is your heart racing? Are you relaxed? You should ask yourself these questions. Many players and coaches make the mistake of not considering the mental side of volleyball training. Having the ability to put yourself in the right state of mind can give you a big advantage to succeeding in volleyball.

• Secret Volleyball Training Tips E-course

  Tell me if this sounds like you... you're a parent looking to get an advantage any way possible to help your child improve at volleyball you're a volleyball coach and can't afford to waste time becoming an expert on strength and conditioning for volleyball you're a player wanting to make the #1 club team, impress coaches and get an edge over teammates competing for your spot you search all over the internet for information on volleyball training and can't find anything specific to volleyball strength training So...Think it's too hard to learn the RIGHT WAY to train for volleyball? Maybe you've been strength training for years and haven't achieved the increased vertical jump, speed, or court quickness you so desperately need... It seems no matter how hard you try, you STILL aren't making the kind of progress you need to make in order to take your game to the next level... FLYING HIGH, hitting the ball STRAIGHT DOWN like you see top players doing... You know the players I'm talking about...they move around the court making plays look so effortless. If you want what those great players have... If you want people to look at YOU and think "I wish I could jump and cover the court like that... If you want to increase your strength, jump, and quickness JUST WHENEVER THE HECK YOU WANT... Then sign up to my free volleyball training secrets e-course where I'll share with you my volleyball training secrets and pave your way to making rapid gains in EXPLOSIVE strength and power for volleyball.

• Have You Joined My Volleyball Newsletter?

  I just recently added 5 new volleyball reports as bonuses for subscribing to my email newsletter. The first one I call "Ball Control, Six Advanced Volleyball Techniques for Making Incredible Plays." In this report I talk about some techniques a lot of players don't know that much about. These are skills that players can easily learn and should have as part of their set of skills. The second bonus report is "Basic Volleyball Rules, Basic Volleyball Rules ALL Players and Coaches Need to Know." In this report, I first start talking about very basic rules for how to play the game. Later, I get into some more technical situations such as the rules for playing the ball at the net. For example, the difference between back row and front row players and what they can legally do and what's illegal for them to do when making a play on the ball. The third report is about inspirational quotes. I call it, "Volleyball Inspirational Quotes, The Best Inspirational Quotes for Motivating Your Volleyball Team." I get fired up to play just by reading through these quotes! The fourth report is called, "Learning How to Play Volleyball, Basic Terms and Strategy for Playing Volleyball." In this report I go through some basic volleyball terminology and different skills such as spiking, passing, setting, hitting, serving, and digging. The last one is, "Basic Approach Footwork, Basic Volleyball Footwork for Approaching to Hit." In this report I go over the importance of footwork and basic tips for getting your steps down right. For more info on how you can get your hands of my latest bonus reports, and sign up to my email newsletter, visit Strength-and-Power-for-Volleyball.com.