Hitting
It's game point for the other team, they serve you and the setter goes to you on a fast-four set that is set a little farther off the net than you would like. There are two blockers up, and the last thing you want to do is get blocked. You cut the ball inside of the block with sort of a half swing hoping that it will somehow hit the floor. The other team's outside hitter easily digs your shot and the setter goes right back to him. He swings hard and the ball goes off of your team's block and out of bounds, out of reach. You lose. What happened? You suck! Just kidding. Read on. You can tell an experienced hitter from a non-experienced one when the game is tight--when the pressure is on. The experienced hitter knows what the high percentage shots are, he/she has been watching and exploiting the other team's defensive weaknesses throughout the match, and he/she knows his/her own abilities. These are the three most important attributes of a great hitter. Without these skills, you are limited to the pre-game, ball-bouncing MVP.
You should keep in mind when learning the many skills involved in this game that volleyball is a hypocritical game in nature. When you are blocking, you have the advantage. When you are hitting, you have the advantage. This, of course, cannot be true, however, if you are to be successful you must abandon all logical thought when it comes to advantage--you always have it. Are you ready for another personal story? Too bad. Shortly after I broke my back, I was back on the court and shuffling around in pick up games. I could not jump, but since I felt I had the advantage I had as many (if not more) kills that day as I had any other day. I just stood there and rolled the ball to a different spot on the court over and over. Those guys were pissed. The lesson? The real advantage is in your mind--it is not as physical as some might have you believe.
The other day, we did one of my favorite drills. Actually, it is a sequence of two drills. In the first, you hit from the left side against three blockers concentrating on hitting high and not being afraid of the block (you don't always have to be "cute" and hit around it all the time). In the second, you hit against a full defense from the left side and try to get to six points (a point is scored every time you put the ball away) before the defense gets to twenty points (a point is scored every time the ball is blocked, hit out of bounds, or dug up and played out. After our first two hitters won the drill fairly easily (6 to 7 or 8), I decided that I was going to give our defense a break and let them play defense against me.
Now, I used to be a pretty good outside hitter, but I figured that since I had been setting over the past year or two, that my hitting would have become stale. I won six to four. The reason I decided that it was important to tell you about my personal victory is that it only took ten swings to remind myself how many shots there are up there. When I scored my sixth point, I didn't want to stop swinging because I felt as if I hadn't had a chance to try more shots. I hadn't been blocked once, and if I was ever going to get blocked, it would have been against those two blockers. Subsequently, there are so many shots up there that you should never feel like you are stuck. When a hitter tells me that he had no choice but to get blocked (and only one guy on the team still says that to me) I just shake my head. There is always a shot. You just have to use it. Like Tim Hovland said once: "All of these guys that whine about the set not being exactly where they want it.. I just tell them to shut up and hit the damn ball!" You just can't argue with the Hov.
Let's talk about the shots from the left side. There are a few basic ones that come to mind, and can be used in pure and modified form at your discretion.
The Hard Angle - For some reason, around here everyone thinks this shot is the coolest. Well, I suppose that it does look pretty impressive and it takes a lot of precision and timing to pull it off if you want any heat on it. A left side attacker should always approach the net with his/her shoulders lined up with the far corner of the opponents side of the court. This leaves the hard angle shot a feasible option for your shoulder. If you tend to make this shots with less power or a "cutting" type of action with your hand, you may take a look at your approach and make sure that you are facing the correct angle. The Deep Angle - This is a shot I will use a lot when I'm in trouble. It is the highest percentage shot (it is farther to the deep cross-court corner than to anywhere else) and is the most natural considering the biomechanics of the arm swing. If the middle blocker is big, I like to burn him with this shot--either hitting it high and over his inside hand, or high and inside his block.
The Seam Shot - If you watch the middle blocker as you approach and notice that he will be late, try and hit the ball at a high point above the net just inside of the outside blocker. When I try and hit just outside of the middle blocker (even though that is the same area) I tend to get blocked because the middle blocker is floating a little, and the area I pick as I swing is covered by the time my hand contacts the ball. So, it's better to think of this shot as inside the outside blocker, because chances are, he's not moving much.
The Line Shot - This shot has the potential to be the most powerful. As you approach facing the far corner of your opponents court and see the line open, rotate your hips toward the line and your shoulders will follow. The motion of rotating your hips and swinging and contacting the ball at or before the ball crosses your midline should be one fluid and accelerating motion. Aim the ball two feet inside the court and the ball will almost never go out. Don't try and paint the line--trust me, you'll do it on accident anyway.
Angled Line Shot - This is a cool shot that will probably never get dug. To set this shot up, hit seams, angles, and generally away from the outside blocker. At this point the blocker will be reaching more and more into the middle and will probably not be using his outside hand as strongly as his inside one (you haven't hit that way in a while). Aim above the outside of this blocker to a spot directly behind the blocker in the deep part of the court. More than likely this ball will either land in the last 5 feet of the court 5 to 10 feet inside of the sideline, or will go off the outside blockers outside hand. Either way, you probably just got the side out. Swiping Shot - Any time you feel like the ball is in a bad spot for you or you just want to make the blockers feel like crap, this shot will be helpful. This shot is executed by swinging at the ball in sort of a side-arm motion. You do not, however, make this shot with a full-fledged side-arm motion. Swing at the ball in such a way that if the block wasn't there, the ball would go out of bounds. The trick here is to actually hit the blockers (either one of them) so that you don't hit your dad over on the bleachers. Most of the time, the ball is being attacked at such an angle that even if the blockers to get good contact on the ball, it will probably go out of bounds.
Sizzling Pits - This is a shot that you will probably have to set up. After swinging high for a while, the blockers should be reaching higher than they normally will and penetrating less. This is a good time to try the straight down shot in the angle, seam, or line. This will be the only time you'll hear me advocate hitting the ball low to the tape. If you don't set this shot up, you may see the ball again before you're ready--probably before you land.
High and Hard - When you're in trouble, nothing works better than high and hard. Swing high and try and to hit one of the blockers hands (preferably the outside blockers). Make sure that you are putting good top-spin on the ball so that if it gets blocked, it will go up in the air high enough for your team to set up and play it in a controlled manner. This shot works great for balls that are set off the net, or inside or outside your approach line. Shove-It - Wait for the blockers to drop a little and their hands and arms will have to pull back. As they pull back, with a strong open hand, using the tips of your fingers, push the ball as close to the tape and into their block as possible. The ball will probably get stuck between their body and the net. Push hard. This shot is only effective if the ball is really tight to the net.
Wipe-It - If the set is tight again (those damn setters) approach and start your swing as if you are going to murder it (I even growl sometimes). Then, instead of murdering it, push the ball into the blockers hand/wrist area and almost throw it out of bounds. Don't be afraid to look at the blockers hands when you do this. If you don't, you'll probably miss.
The Save - If the set just sucks (stupid setter) and is probably inside and tight (the worst kind), roll the ball high and into the blockers hands. If you aim at the middle blocker, you'll probably have to aim almost straight up, and if you're aiming at the outside blocker, you will have to aim it more towards the opponents court. The most common mistake with this shot is being too cautious and not putting any speed on the ball. If you tap it like a wimp to the middle blocker, he will probably throw it down on your setter (I know you're mad at him, but that's not right). Take a swing at the ball and do the best that you can. You should inform your teammates about the "covering phenomenon" that we all neglect and this shot should work well.
High Point of Contact - Always contact the ball at the apex of your jump and at the highest point above the floor that your hand can reach. It's hard to stuff someone that swings high. Deception - If you always look the same when you approach the ball, your opponents cannot anticipate your shots as well. Don't give your shot away. Sometimes I'll even try and make myself look like I'm going for a particular shot and then hit a different one.
Quick Decisions - Never decide on a shot before you start your approach. If you know the blocker has been giving you line, be aware of it, but do not commit to it. The best hitters are the ones that can react to any situation. React, don't plan.
Heat - The more heat you can put on the ball the better. It's simple: a 90mph ball is harder to dig than a 40mph one.
Control - After I talk about heat, I must also mention control. There isn't much chance of something good happening if you just swing away. Know where you want to hit and be aware of your abilites. If you know that your timing is off today on the left side, take some heat off of the ball until you get it back. If you hit the last 5 balls out of bounds, take some heat off.
Fast Approach - The longer you wait on the set, the faster you will have to approach the ball and the higher you will jump. Enough said.
See Everything - In order to see anything, you must keep the ball in front of you. If you run under the ball, you only see the ball. Make sure that you can see the block and even the court to an extent. |