You should be using your arms to your full advantage. A good arm swing will do three things:
- Help you jump higher
- Power
- Aiming
Jump Higher
In order for your arms to help you jump higher you need to use both of them. In the earlier section on footwork I directed your arms to be relaxed and by your side when you’re in base. Having relaxed arms is critical for having a whip-like swing. As an added bonus, relaxing your arms can help relieve tension in the middle of a play. You need them to be fluid, helping you achieve maximum jump and also preventing you from tightening your shoulder.
Power
A powerful hit seems like it would come from flexing your shoulder muscle, but it comes from torque and shoulder muscle. The more you flex your shoulder going into a swing, the less reach you will achieve. It’s imperative for you to get comfortable generating force with torque, not just your shoulder.
On your third step, your arms should be back behind you, and your posture should be more crouched over in order to prepare for jumping. When you’re about to lift off, use both arms. They should rise at the same time. After your arms pass about shoulder height, you will begin to pull one arm back towards your ear. Whichever hand you attack with will be the one you draw back. Your opposite hand will help you aim and keep the ball in your wheelhouse.
Aiming
You may notice that swing styles differ greatly between players because training varies. The way I like to teach it is the following: Draw the elbow straight back, above the ear. Notice how your body naturally opens itself to the court when you pull your arm back high! This is the ideal position to be attacking from. It not only helps the setter find you on the court but it will help you to see the whole court. When you begin to swing, your elbow will lead. This creates the whip-like swing I was talking about. If you try to do this without the use of your aiming arm you will fall victim to a couple of scenarios:
Scenarios To Avoid When Spiking
- Closing your body off from the net
- Limit your attacking range
- Shoulder problems from contacting the ball outside of your bodyline.
- Loss of power
Don’t Drop Your Aiming Hand Too Soon
Additionally, if you drop your aiming hand too soon, you will lose valuable power generated from torque. As I previously mentioned, the power of a swing comes from not only the force generated at the shoulder joint but torque, which is generated from lower in your body. We can create a force to hit downwards by crunching our bodies into a shrimp-like position, or we can use our cross-body core muscles to pull our arm across our body while staying tall.
Stay Tall When You Swing
Staying tall while you swing is important. If you use the “shrimp” method to generate power, you risk contacting the ball at a much lower point than you’re capable of. Try this: Stand with two feet on the ground, as you would look just before your approach’s take-off. Raise your hands up like you’re going to attack—as high as you can physically reach them. Now use your abdominal muscles to twist your body. That is the sensation you want when you attack.
Conversely, try using the “shrimp” method while keeping your hands at the same level. It’s nearly impossible to keep your hands high while pulling down your abs.
Use Your Aiming Hand Correctly
If you use your aiming hand correctly, you should be able to see the block and also hit the ball within your body line. The ball should be attacked at about one o’clock in front of your body. This is slightly in front of your hitting shoulder and above your head with your arm fully extended. It will help you with your timing and how well you approach a ball. It’s much more difficult to hit a set without the use of your aiming hand. You can watch any high-level player and see how long they leave their aiming hand up. It makes a difference and will prevent you from the issues I listed above.
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