Volleyball: Stance Tip - Keep the Hands In Your Field of Vision

Dick Moss, Editor, PE Update.com

You'll often see beginning volleyball players assume a defensive stance in which they keep their hands at their sides or low, near their thighs.

Unfortunately, this is an error that impairs their eye-hand coordination. Here's why.

Why the Hands Should Be In Front
In fact, the hands should be held shoulder-width, bent at the elbow, palms up, in front of the body. There are several excellent reasons for this:

With the hands held relatively high, the hands will be within the player's field of vision. Being able to see both the incoming ball and the hands improves eye-hand coordination.
Having the hands out in front moves the center of mass forward, placing the weight on the balls of the feet instead of the heels. This allows faster movement in all directions.
Having the hands forward with the palms up places the arms in a position in which they can instantly move together to form the platform for an underhand forearm pass, or upward for an overhand pass.

Other Tips for Good Ready-Stance
Here are some other points to remember when teaching the defensive ready-stance.

Knees bent
Back straight, head up
Arms shoulder-width apart, held in front of the body
Weight on the balls of the feet

Reference: Bond Shymansky (Head Coach, Georgia Tech), "Gettin' Better: 40 Tips for Better Passing and Serving." DVD, Championship Productions, 2006.
http://www.championshipproductions.com/cgi-bin/champ/p/Volleyball/Gettin-Better-40-Tips-for-Better-Passing-Serving_VD-02612C.html?mv_pc=CP00218

Photo (screenshot) provided by Championship Productions.

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