Hitting is a skill that is far from being as easy to learn as it might look! That’s why you might need to consolidate your team training sessions by solo training sessions where you will work on this skill just by yourself …
I know, this might sound hard or even intimidating, yet it is definitely possible to do so and even to notice significant improvement by taking this approach!
In this article, I breakdown some highly effective drills you can practice just by yourself and even at home that will help you dramatically improve your hitting skill.
What Gear & Conditions you will need?
Practicing hitting at home can be quite a tedious task. You need to hit the ball with full force, improve your form and swing, but at the same time make sure you don’t break anything at home.
What are the necessary conditions or equipment which one must have to properly practice volleyball hitting at home?
- A lightweight volleyball: the ball you opt for practising at home shouldn’t be the usual match one. Go for lighter balls available in the market (Check this good example Here at Amazon). This will reduce the chances of damage to a great extent.
- Suitable room: You of course cannot practice in a room full of delicate items. The room conditions must be such that the roof is at a good height and there are no or less breakable items in the room. Also, there must be a tough empty wall in the room to ensure a good hitting space. If such conditions are not fulfilled then you may opt for a park or an open ground instead.
3 Drills to practice hitting in volleyball at home
Once you find a good location for yourself to practice spiking, then you should look for good drills that you can undertake at home. Following are some good spiking drills that you can do at home with ease …
Hand on the ball
The way you hit the ball is very important. Your hand must rest on the ball perfectly while spiking.
If this doesn’t happen then either your ball will go off the direction or it will lack power or both.
Of course, no spiker wants that to happen. So, to improve your hand resting location you can practice hand on ball drill.
This drill is specifically designed to help you with your ball control …
To practice this drill you need to stand straight upfront and hold a ball in your hand. After that, you need to start hitting the ball as hard as you can on the ground.
Make sure that your arms swing is perfect and your palm rests perfectly on the ball. The ball will bounce back violently so ensure that you are able to catch the ball back.
Repeat this drill and you’ll see a considerable improvement in your spiking.
Positioning drill
Positioning is indeed a critical element for good spiking. The next drill improves the player’s footwork and reflex actions, making him a better spiker overall.
You will need to lie down on the ground and count to three. Once the time comes, you need to get up quickly and run to a different spot.
Once your reach that spot, you need to set your legs and jump up to the spiking position.
You will need to make sure that your form is perfect. The hitting and spotting hand must be in a perfect spot.
This drill needs to be repeated 10-15 times. After a few days, you will see a massive improvement in your reflexes and footwork as well.
Wall passes
This drill is an upgrade of the hand on ball drill. To practice this drill you’ll need a room with a long empty wall.
The roof of the room must also be at a good height. In this drill, you’ll have to stand straight and throw the ball in the air.
While the ball is in the air, you’ll have to get in the spiking position and strike the ball on the wall.
This is a much more realistic implication of the hand on ball drill as it gives a much real feel of spiking.
The player learns when and how to jump and also how to time the hit perfectly. If this drill isn’t possible indoors then the player can go to any place with a straight strong wall.
This gives freedom to the player to improve his skill anywhere he wants.
Keep in mind that those drills are really helpful to practice volleyball in winter season!
Can you practice those drills with other partners?
These drills are designed to be practiced alone. But can you involve other partners with you?
Well, the answer to this is both yes and no. it depends on which drill are you performing and also how are you performing it.
If you want to practice these with your partner then you’ll have to add some variations to it.
For instance, a partner can fit in very easily in the positioning drill. If a person himself counts to three then there is no element of uncertainty.
If you add a partner in this drill then it can be very helpful. The partner can be given a whistle.
The player needs to lie down and perform the drill whenever the partner blows the whistle.
This way the player will have to be attentive throughout. But on the other hand, adding a partner in the hand on ball drill will be of no use.
So there exists no straightforward answer to this question …
But if you have a partner by your side then you can look for more drills that are meant to be performed with other players.
Also, having another person by your side during a training session will help you to push harder and give out better results.
How often should you practice hitting at home?
No matter how well you spike, if you are not gelled up with your teammates properly, you’ll not be able to give out great results.
There is no ideal frequency as to how often you should practice spiking alone. But you need to make sure that you devote a major part of your training to the team itself.
The off-season can be the time when you can work on this area a lot.
During such time there are no major tournaments, and you’ll have enough time to improve yourself.
So an ideal combination should include team training during the season and alone training during the offseason.
Are those drills enough to become great at hitting?
These drills can help improve one’s handling, footwork, reflexes and much more. But can it ensure that if a person performs only these drills, then he’ll be the best? Well, that’s not possible.
Becoming great at hitting is a long process and it ‘ll take time. These drills are just a part of the journey and will become the base of the journey ahead.
You can perform these drills and always work on your weak parts, but you need to look out for other aspects too.
One such aspect is team play. If you perform these drills then for sure your gameplay will improve a lot …
But these improvements will be limited to your personal level only. Team play and team coordination are equally important (Learn more about coordination in volleyball)
Both team play and individual improvement must go hand in hand. If a person only focuses on team play and doesn’t improve his personal skills at all, then he’ll remain stagnant. He’ll not see much improvement in his own game.
Whereas, if a person only focuses on self-improvement via these drills and neglects the team coordination part, then also he’ll face some issues.
He’ll of course see improvement in his skill set, but that skill set will not fit perfectly in the team. So a person must make sure he focuses on both these aspects and neglects none.
Finally, you can learn about other volleyball drills that you can practice at home!
Final Thoughts …
To be honest, it is very hard to replace team practice. This is a close simulation of a real game where you can practice almost all possible scenarios that can actually happen …
However, if you notice that you are behind in a specific skill like hitting/spiking, then it would be really beneficial to work on that alone (why not at home). This will help fasten the learning process and make you up to speed with your teammates during team training session.
Finally, I highly invite you to learn how you can become a Pro volleyball player! You will learn a lot …