Volleyball

Teams
Volleyball is played by two competing teams. The teams are divided on the court by the net, and each team has 9 players on the court. Three players are positioned in the front row near the net, three in the middle and three players are in the back row. Each team can only hit the ball //three times// before the ball must travel over the net to the other team. The same player cannot hit the ball for two consecutive hits. This rule will prevent kids from hogging the ball and it encourages teamwork.

Serving
A team wins the right to serve when the opposing team fails to volley the ball over the net within three hits. Before serving the ball, a team must rotate clockwise one position. The player who rotates into the back-right position will serve the ball. That player must stand behind the serving line when serving t he ball. The server can use his hand or arm to hit the ball. The ball must go over the net and fall within the boundary lines on the opposing team's side. If the serving team wins the point, then the same player will continue to serve the ball. Successfully serving the ball over the net may be challenging for kids.

Scoring
A team scores a point if it is serving the ball and th e opposing team fails to return the ball. A team may fail to return the ball because the ball hits the ground, the ball is hit out of bounds or the ball is hit more than three times by the team. The first team to 21 points (15 at school level) wins the game.

media type="youtube" key="jQqmyfppu2w" height="218" width="347"

HOW ARE MOUNT SINAI KIDS TAUGHT?
There is NO spiking in our game of volleyball. Students are encouraged to build their plays (passing twice before a final hit) in order to draw the opposing team to a different position on the court. A good, strong, deep serve will benefit the point greatly so a focus on this is important. Obviously good sportsmanship such as not arguing with the umpire and shaking hands with the other team at the end is imperative.

Skills

 * **Bumping** **(digging)**

__Two Line Bump, Part 1__
A simple drill that can be adapted for all skill levels is the "2 line bump." One variation has players in two lines, facing each other, with a space of about 10' between the players at the front of each line. Bump the ball back and forth between the lines, staying under control. After bumping, the front player moves to the end of the line. Go for either a certain time period or a certain number of successful passes.
 * **Hitting**

__Four Person Pepper__
4 Person Pepper involves a number of skills, and can be used as a conditioning drill, as well. One player is the hitter, two others are diggers, and a fourth is setter. The hitter hits at either of the two diggers, who must pop the ball up to the setter, who then resets the hitter, and the drill continues. Have the players work hard, letting nothing hit the floo r without a strong effort.
 * **Setting**

__Half-court Setting Game__
Here's a good setting game, especially if you're breaking in new setters. Have your setters set back and forth to each other, and keep score. Only overhand sets count. If they have to bump to get a ball up, they have to bump it straight up, to themselves. The bump doesn't count as a hit. So it's basically like tennis. Use rally score, and in the beginning, you can even shorten the court, as well as cut it in 1/2, so they can experience some success.
 * **Serving**

__Golf - Serving__
Here's a fun game that also helps develop accuracy in serving (similar to horse in basketball). All you have to do is ask each server to serve to all six areas (Area 1 being RB, or the opponent's serving area, Area 2 RF, Area 3 CF, Area 4 LF, Area 5 LB, and Area 6 CB.) and keep track of how many serves (strokes) it took them to get all the way around. The perfect score would be 6, of course. You can play it like a golf tourney, and play several rounds. You can also add a little more gamelike pressure by having each player serve while the whole team watches. It's a good game for developing a serving routine and accuracy.
 * **Blocking**

__Whole Team Block Drill__
In order to get your hitters to take a look before they hit, here's a good drill: The "Whole Team Block. Set up a 6-player team, have a coach toss a free ball across the net for them to pass. They run a play and go up to hit. The twist is, there are 6 or 7 blockers at the net, trying to shut down the hit. The hitters aren't allowed to tip over the top of the block, so they must try to find a way around or through.This drill is also good for your hit coverage, since alot of balls come back off the block. We've used this to help our hitters get smarter, instead of just blasting away.

References:
 * Kidz World: Playing Volleyball
 * Volleyball: 2009-2011 Domestic Competition Regulations as presented by USA Volleyball
 * Volleyball-Training-Ground: Knowing Volleyball Rules Is The Starting Point
 * Volleyball Tips