It is possible to practice volleyball at home, even if you don’t have a ball. You can use a roll of toilet paper as a ball if you really want to practice your passing. You can also work on other skills that are essential for volleyball, such as running, jumping, reflexes and agility. Finally, you can watch games of other teams and analyze these so that you can see the patterns and learn more about strategies. All of these things will be discussed in more detail in this blog post.
Find a ball or create one yourself
Volleyball is a ball sport so it is always easier if you have one at hand to practice. If you don’t, you can think about alternatives. Old clothes or a towel can be bound together to create an improvised volleyball. You also could use a toilet paper roll if you want to use a cheap alternative for volleyball. Everyone has this at home so it is easy to find one.
You can also check with your neighbors or friends in your area if they have a soccer ball or another ball that you can use. People often don’t mind lending this out as it is not that expensive and you can always return it after you are done practicing. If there is a sports arena in your neighborhood, you can check if there are balls that you can use there.
Sometimes they have open sessions where everyone is allowed to join. You will have to improvise but there are ways to find a ball or an alternative if you really want to. Be respectful of the gear of others if you are allowed to use it.
Training without a ball
If you can’t find a ball, you can work on other volleyball skills. You can execute running drills and run back and forth as fast as possible. If you have a timer, you can measure how fast you have run and try to beat your own time. Set a goal and push yourself to meet the target time.
Running is very important in volleyball so if you get better at it, you will be an improved player. You can ask other people to join or go to an athletic track to compete with other people. You will run faster if you are competing against other people so it is a good idea to spend some time finding people that will join you.
Jumping is also an essential part of playing volleyball. If you want to block (stop the ball just after the net), serve (launch the ball from behind your court) or dig (stop the ball before it hits the ground), you will need to jump. The way you move your feet before you jump has a big impact. You can practice this so that you can learn how to jump higher. This will help you in defense and offense. You have to jump straight up instead of forwards as this will give you more control over your movement.
You can also improve your reflexes. You can ask a friend to point in a certain direction and you have to run that way. Your friend should suddenly change the direction and you have to switch the way you are running as soon as possible.
This will allow you to move faster and react when something happens. In volleyball, the ball moves fast and if you can react faster, you will gain an advantage. This is something that is not trained but you can improve it at home. It will make you more agile as well as you have to switch the position of your body quite rapidly.
You can also stretch and work on your agility. There are several exercises that can be found for this online that can help you with this.
As you can see, you don’t need a ball if you want to improve your volleyball skills.
Watching games of other teams
On Youtube, it is possible to find Olympic matches. For example, you can find games of the USA volleyball team. Other videos analyze the volleyball game of players and mention patterns and other insights that can be really useful for your own team. Small nuances can often make a big difference and let you understand the game on a different level.
Some players have been active for more than two decades so they know a lot of ways to move and special ways to attack and defend. You are not going to find out about these on your own. It is only by watching videos of other experienced players that you will start to see this.
There is a reason why some players are professionals. Some actions you have to see in slow-motion or over and over again before you start to understand what is going on. Volleyball can be played very fast and a lot of things are going on at the same time.
Analyze your own matches
You can write down what you have learned so far and what you still want to learn from playing volleyball. If you have footage of your own matches, you can check these and see where your weak points are. If you make the same mistake over and over again, this could indicate that you have to improve certain skills.
You can give your coach a call and ask what he or she thinks needs to be improved. They can often recommend drills that will take your game to the next level. You can write these down and study them when you get the chance to play with a ball again. Not a lot of players do this but reflecting on your own skills can really skyrocket your skills as you can see what holes you still have to fill.
In this article, we have outlined some ideas to practice volleyball without a ball. From creating an improvised volleyball to working on other skills such as reflexes and running that are essential for volleyball players. Finally, we also mentioned that you can watch volleyball games on Youtube to learn more about the rules and strategy. As you can see, you don’t need a volleyball to improve your skills. You can ask your coach for more drills as well.
Practicing at home without a ball can make you a better volleyball player. You have to be good at a lot of things and this includes running and foot movement. All of these things can be trained without a ball. Not everyone enjoys training without a ball but it can really improve your skills!
