CAP II CLIPBOARD
Moving it forward There is power in keeping the hitter on a consistent path
By Jeannette Convery Head coach, SUNY Orange
P
retty much every book you read, every clinic or camp that you go to, you learn that on the approach for hitting the forward momentum from the footwork is diverted to the vertical jump. To help facilitate this on the last step the foot is turned in to help stop the forward motion. It has been said that this ‘puts the brakes on’ and for those that have tried it, you can feel the forward momen- tum shift upwards. The reasons cited for doing this technique are to get a higher vertical and to keep the hitter out of the net. But, does this technique allow for optimal hitting power? Let’s look at the higher verti-
cal argument fi rst. Take a look at your team and at all the teams you have coached. How many players have you had that were able to literally hit over the blockers? Some maybe … but not most. One of the biggest keys to hitting successfully is getting around the block because the majority of the players cannot go over it. The extra inch or two gained by sacrifi cing the forward momentum does not make that much of a difference to your hitters when compared to what they would gain from the power of a forward ap- proach, which we will discuss in more detail later.
Secondly, we want to keep the hitter out of the net. Most sets that we see at the junior level are within a foot of the net. If they are farther off the net the hitters run right past them because they are looking for the closer set. If the sets are that close to the net, a hitter with forward momentum will in fact land in the net. But there is a fi x for that that would allow the hitter to jump with forward momen- tum. We’ll get to that below. Another side effect that I have noticed with the traditional hitting technique is that by telling players to jump straight up to hit, they tend to think of themselves and the ball in a two dimensional plane. In other words, they get directly under where the ball is coming down and take their jump. This results in the players jumping in front of the ball and making contact with the ball above their shoulder, causing the ball to go out of
bounds and/or lose power.
Even when players perform their ap- proach in the traditional way, when they do it with full power they will get some forward
easily fi xed by simply pulling the sets off the net. The majority of the younger players that we are teaching the basics to cannot clear the net on ‘normal’ sets anyways. They need to be set off the net in order to get the ball over. This allows all play- ers, no matter how tall, to take a full approach with forward mo- mentum, without landing in the net, and for the shorter players, to get the ball over. Another advantage to pulling the sets off the net is that the closer the set is to the net the more area the blocker(s) has covered. The further off the net, the more angles the hitter has around the blocker(s). So not only does it allow hitters to increase their power, it also increases their hitting area. Now, if this makes so much sense why aren’t other people doing it? Pull up YouTube and look at any recent college or in- ternational volleyball matches. You will see an incredible amount of forward momentum being carried into the hit. You
momentum. This will also put them in front of the ball and into the net if the set is tight. Now let’s look at what happens when you allow for forward momentum. In the tradi- tional hit the momentum put in to the ball comes from both the mass and velocity of the arm and shoulder. When the ball is hit the momentum from the player is transferred to the ball. If you pull the sets off the net, and teach the hitters to jump with the ball in front of them, with the goal of making contact at the highest point of the jump while the ball is in front of the shoulder, you allow for momentum that now also includes the body mass as well as the added forward velocity of the body.
Momentum is equal to the mass times the
velocity. Compare the mass of the arm/shoul- der times its velocity to the mass of the entire body times the combined velocity of the for- ward jump and the arm/shoulder swing. The latter is going to create a lot more momentum transferred to the ball (power). Picture how fast you can go up an escalator standing still compared to walking up the steps. As for the hitter running into the net, that is
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will see the sets way off the net. They are doing it! I have heard from some college coaches that they can do it because they are at an elite level. I understand that junior outside hitters should not be set 8 feet off the net. But, there is no reason to we shouldn’t teach them to hit sets that are two to three feet off. Why not teach players this from the beginning? It is much easier to teach a new skill than to change gained skills. I see it now when I work to get my players to adapt to hitting with mo- mentum. It goes against everything they have learned and done through their junior career. It is diffi cult for them to adapt. But, when they do, we all see the difference. Volleyball is a constantly evolving sport. Many changes have come around in the last 30 years… in rules, strategy, and techniques. These changes come from people willing to go out of the box and try new things. Hit- ting with forward momentum is something I noticed while watching the 2012 Olympic Games. I saw the advantage in it. I saw col- lege players doing it and I made the decision to implement this positive change into my program.
PHOTO: USAV/BILL KAUFFMAN
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