I was watching the female volleyball world cup final the other day between Italy and Brazil. I’ve noticed that Brazil had overall the better quality of players, however they didn’t win, simply because Italy had one player that won them dozens of points by spiking hard balls that Brazil female players weren’t able to receive …
Spiking is probably the most important skill in volleyball!
However, to not many people have access to other training partners to practice spiking with … That’s why I’ve chosen to put together this short article to breakdown some solo drills for spiking.
What do you need to practice volleyball spiking alone?
Obviously, you will need a ball to practice. In case you don’t have one already, then I recommend to pick a soft ball, preferably make out of leather Just like this quality ball …
In addition, try to find a wall or a garage door. Simply toss the ball as high as you can so that you have time to get your feet to the ball, spot the ball with your non-hitting arm, keep the other elbow high with your arm back and work on opening up your chest following through to spike the ball hard.
Make sure you have enough space to practice the solo spiking drill like the ones I am about to share in this article.
5 Volleyball Drills to practice volleyball spiking by yourself?
This does mainly depend on you, but I highly recommend practicing those drills using volleyball shoes (Of course you don’t have to). But they will give you a positive feel and enough comfort and cushioning especially during jumping and landing sequences.
If this sounds like something you would be interested in, then you might have a look at these quality volleyball shoes here at Amazon.
Drill 1
For this exercise, you will need a tennis ball or any ball that fits in your hand. This drill helps you practice the correct arm and wrist movement required to spike the ball correctly.
You need to practice this while standing on the side of a staircase. Here are the steps to practice this drill:
- Hold the ball in your hitting arm and raise the hand high in a spiking position.
- However, instead of releasing the ball or spiking it, come closer to the stairs and simply bend your wrist so that you can touch the ball against the stairs, keeping your hand high above itself. You should try to touch the ball to the highest point of the stairs that you can reach with your outstretched hand.
- This drill will ensure that you master the correct flick movement of the wrist that is needed to spike the ball properly.
This drill will also teach you how to smash the ball from a higher point. Pay attention to keeping your arm outstretched and straight.
Drill 2
For this exercise, it will help if you have an elastic exercise band. This will make it easy for you to open your arm when you spike the ball.
To begin with, put the elastic band at a higher point in the house and tie one end of it there. It should be placed in a manner that the other end can be stretched out by you.
With your hitting arm, pull on the elastic band while keeping your non-hitting arm in the correct spiking position. Pull the band as far as you possibly can with one hand while keeping the other hand straight and outstretched at a high point in front of you.
Make sure to really open up your arms while pulling back the elastic band, making sure to keep the shoulders and back straight. Also, tilt your head back as you pull your hand back. Do three sets of 25 pulls with each arm to strengthen the muscles equally.
Drill 3
You need two small plastic bottles for this drill. The bottles are helpful in learning the correct way of taking a run-up for spiking.
Often, volleyball players do the run-up with bent arms, though the arms should be in a straight position which allows you to jump higher.
To do this drill, fill up both the bottles with water. Hold the bottles in both hands keeping your arms straight. Make sure there is a little space for you to take a run-up.
Take a run-up as you would with the volleyball, except while holding the bottles in your hands, making sure your arms are straight. As you jump up after the run-up, move your hands above the head while holding the bottles, and your hands should remain straight.
You can do three sets of this exercise with 10-15 jumps in each.
Drill 4
Use any simple ball (even a volleyball) and any wall in your house for the fourth exercise. The purpose of this drill is to catch the ball in a higher position and with a full hand.
Often, players smash the ball with their fingers, which increases the likelihood of the ball going outside of the court.
So instead of smashing the ball with your fingers, you should hit it with your full palm. Here are the steps of doing this exercise:
- Place the ball at a height against the wall, holding it with your left hand, stretching it straight.
- Prepare your other hand for smashing the ball.
- Extend your right hand, preparing to smash the ball, and bring it to rest on the ball with your full palm open.
- Put down your left hand.
- Start rotating the ball left to right to get a better grasp of the ball only with your palm.
- You can change hands and practice the drill with both hands.
Is practicing volleyball spiking alone enough to be good?
Yes, there is no doubt that practicing these spiking drills can make you good at spiking. The only drawback of practicing these drills alone is that though you will get better at spiking, but practicing alone does tend to get monotonous at times.
But, I will have to admit here that nothing beats real situations practicing with other partners & preferably in a court and under the supervision of a coach!
You can check those other important solo volleyball drills!
How often should you practice volleyball spiking by yourself?
The bottom line for deciding the frequency of practicing volleyball spiking at home really varies. There is no set amount of time you need to practice spiking.
It depends on your individual skillset and what skills you need to practice more. For example, if you are trying to master the skill of spiking, you should ideally practice spiking at home at least two to three times a week. I would even advice for more than that if you are a beginner.
Finally, you can also learn about the best volleyball hitting drills you can practice at home!
Final Thoughts …
There are many players who are good at almost all volleyball moves, but there only weakness is their ability to spike. Mastering spiking takes time and a lot of practice …
That’s why practicing alone with the drills I’ve shared above or even with other drills that you can find elsewhere is extremely important to help fasten your learning process!
Finally, I highly invite you to check these proven tips to become a professional volleyball player! You will learn a lot …
