This guide will focus on the fundamentals of forearm passing. I will go through proper body positioning, footwork, and arm usage to ensure effective passes. I will also give you some reception tips to prepare you for different kinds of serves! These are my tried-and-true techniques for success at the highest levels of volleyball.
Preparing to Pass a Volleyball
What you need to do first is stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with one foot slightly forward, creating a staggered stance. The body and feet should face in the direction of where you will pass the ball, aligning the hips and upper body with the intended direction. A staggered stance creates a better balance in your body and prepares it to move in various directions. Since it’s unlikely that every serve you face will land in the middle of your body, being able to open your hips and side-step is essential.
Making contact
To form a platform, combine your hands, interlocking your thumbs and straightening your arms. Your elbows must be as close together, minimizing the gaps without overexerting your shoulders. You should have a nice-looking pie slice! This maximizes the surface area of your platform, allowing for better control when passing the ball. The coordination between arms and legs is key. When preparing to receive a float serve, engaging your legs is crucial. Position your body in a balanced stance, ready to move laterally or forward as needed. For a simple free ball, you will have to bump the ball by using your legs first, followed by arms, to create enough force so the ball can land on your target. Like all skills in volleyball, hand-body and eye coordination are essential. But don’t worry; your body will naturally learn every time you take a rep. With the help of coaches and practice, this skill can improve quickly.
Bumping lateral
Step back with your right leg to create a lateral angle if the ball approaches your right side. Extend your arms and slightly push the ball towards the setter like a tennis stroke. Mirror the technique for the right side by stepping back with your left leg for balls approaching your left. Shuffle sideways for balls directed at your body to position yourself for a lateral reception. This is why we suggest a staggered stance. It will allow you to position your body more efficiently and open your hips to move. If a free ball is short, you have to use your legs to run under it and bump it in front of your body with the outside foot being in front of the other. The effectiveness of a simple bump pass depends on several key elements. Using the forearms and hands provides control while moving through the ball, ensuring it goes forward. Aiming with the shoulders helps direct the ball to the intended target, and moving from low to high generates the necessary lift. Another key point is to NOT run with your arms together. Your arms are much faster than your legs! Use speed to get to the ball and then create the platform. You will often hear (read) me say that you need to use your legs first. Running with your arms together not only looks silly, but it will also slow you down.
For Jump serves
When receiving a jump serve, align your body to face the incoming ball. Instead of attacking the ball, let it come to you and absorb the impact with your arms. For 80mph+ serves to the side, execute a side lunge or dive to keep the ball in play on your side of the court. Always try to keep the ball in front of yourself. Try to meet the ball before it’s finally destination. Slower serves will allow you to track the ball all the way to your platform, giving you time to put your body to the server’s final location. But when serve speed increases, intercepting the ball quicker becomes more critical. Legs first. You must move your body towards the ball first. If you have seen pictures of a player that seems like they’re looking in front of them instead of the ball on their platform, it’s because the serve was fast.
For Float serves
Entirely another story is for the float serves… By observing the float servers, you can almost always predict where the ball will go. Observe the direction in which their hand finishes. When they line up their body, you can see where the serve will go more clearly. You must know that a float serve with little to no spin can be very challenging to receive with forearms (Bump pass), especially if you receive the ball in front of your body; it’s a big chance you will give an ace. That’s why I recommend receiving float serve lateral! As float is a slower serve than jump spin, you must give more momentum to the ball so it will have enough parabola and so it can land on the setter’s hands. Again, the staggered stance will allow you to move your body more efficiently and open your hips in the direction you need to receive the ball. Just because a float serve is slower does not mean it is easier to receive. Typically, the ball will have a “float” effect at higher levels of volleyball. This comes from how you hit the rubber inside of the volleyball, making its movement more unpredictable. Being able to adapt even if you know the general destination of the ball will make you a better receiver.
Now It’s up to you! Incorporate these tips into your practice, and you will see, that your reception efficiency will improve drastically! Good luck!
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