Yes, volleyball is a sport. You have to run, jump, dive and swing your arms. It is really important that you work together as a team in volleyball as it is hard to defend or attack your own. Volleyball is a real team sport and you will have to pass to other players and work together. There is also a lot of movement and strategy in this sport. It has all the elements that are required to be a sport if we look at the definition of the term “sport” in the Oxford Languages.
This states:
‘an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.’
Oxford Languages
Volleyball has a physical element because you have to run. It involves skills as you need to control a ball and pass it to other people. You are also competing to score points with your team against another team’. It is clear that volleyball is meeting all the required elements to be considered a sport. Let’s dive into each of these and discuss them in more detail. Let’s take a look at some actions:
Physical activity: running and jumping
You have to move your arms and legs if you want to defend or attack in volleyball. Players can be tired after a game because they have to move around a lot. Volleyball is very intense and it is allowed to substitute players during a match so that no one gets too tired. A match can take more than one hour so you will notice that you have to run and dive a lot when you participate in a game. You are not going to score a lot of points by standing still. Research indicates that players run about 0.75 miles during a volleyball game. This depends on the player and how long the game lasts but gives an indication that you have to be quite active during a volleyball game. You are not going to get there by standing still. A volleyball court is quite big and you are allowed to run outside of it if needed.
Score points
The goal is to score points so that you can win sets. The goal is to push the ball over a net. The ball shouldn’t fall on your side of the net as the opposing team scores a point in this instance. Your team wants to drop the ball inside the court of your opponents as you score a point in that instance.
Volleyball players often go to great lengths to defend and this can result in spectacular saves. The ball can go back and forth for a long time. Therefore volleyball is quite intense to play as you have to be aware of what is going on as you might have to touch the ball at any point in time. The ball can change direction very fast so you never know in advance if you will have to take action.
Skill that you need in volleyball
You have to be great at handling the ball and also be good at communicating with your team members so that it is clear what you are going to do. There are five main skills in volleyball: digging, serving, blocking, setting, and spiking. Digging is diving to keep the ball in the air after the other team has attacked. You make sure that the ball doesn’t touch the ground and pass it to a team member. The setting is giving an assist to your team member.
Only three ball touches are allowed by your team during each attack so you have to make sure that it is a good assist as your team member has to push the ball over the net. Spiking is an attack where the ball gets pushed over the net. Blocking is a defensive action where you try to stop the ball at the net. This makes sure that the opposite team can’t complete their attack.
Serving is restarting the game after you have scored a point. You are standing behind your part of the court and have to throw the ball over the net. All of these take years to train if you want to be really good at it. Volleyball can be played very fast and some players really master these skills.
Team sport
Volleyball is played with other players. You are not allowed to hold the ball in your hands or to touch it more than once during one attack. This means that you have to keep the ball in the air and pass it to your team members.
This doesn’t give you a lot of time to think and look around. You have to communicate what you are going to do so that everyone knows what is going to happen next. Volleyball players often celebrate a point together as you have to work as a team to defend and attack. This can create a strong bond between them. Volleyball teams often play together for several years and become great friends along the way.
If you want a sport where you can win alone, volleyball is not for you. You might take a look at running or other sports that you can do individually.
Let’s take a look at a drill to play better together as a team:
Competition
Volleyball is often played in a competition. Teams have a weekly match during which they have to win three or five sets. This uneven number of sets makes sure that there is a winner of the match. There is no time limit so you keep playing until one team wins the match. At the end of the year, the team that has won the most matches wins the competition. They often get a medal for this accomplishment.
Next to the competition, there are also tournaments. The Olympics is an example. Each country selects a team of players and these compete against each other. Teams have to compete and the winning team goes to the next round. The final winners of the tournament get gold medals to celebrate their accomplishments.
Is volleyball an enjoyable activity?
Yes, volleyball can be a lot of fun. You will learn to master new skills, which can give a lot of satisfaction as you have to work on improving these and this can give people enjoyment. Furthermore, you are also competing and winning can provide a lot of fun to people as they feel that they are accomplishing something. You are also playing with other people so you can talk about what happens and make jokes about it.
Volleyball can be played in a competition or you can play a casual game. Competition is often more serious as people really want to win. Some people are competitive and enjoy this aspect of the sport. The ball can go back and forth a lot and people can feel that they are really involved in the game and experience a sense of flow. This means that you are not aware of time and just at the moment itself and enjoying the activity.
Volleyball has a clear goal and the rules are defined. This makes sure that everyone knows what needs to happen and they can just focus on the game.
A casual game can be fun as well as you can play at your own pace and just tease each other and try to score points. If someone makes a mistake, it can be quite funny and you can tease each other about it.
Not everyone will like volleyball as some people don’t want to play with a ball or other people. If you lose, you might not be happy either. A lot of people like playing it and some people even keep doing so for several decades. As with everything, there are elements that you might like and things that you don’t. You have to give volleyball a try and see if it is something for you.
To conclude, we can state that volleyball is a sport because it meets all the criteria of the definition. You have to take physical action, it involves a competitive element and skills and you have to score points. All of these indicate that volleyball is a great sport that can be a lot of fun as well.
