UNIT 3. A TEAM SPORT: VOLLEYBALL

3.1. A LITTLE HISTORYVolleyball was born in 1985 thanks to a physical

Education professor in the United States named William G. Morgan. He knew a lot about basketball and he invented a diferent game without physical contact or risk of injury. The original rules of volleyball date to 1986. It spread rapidly throughout North America, Canada, The Phillipines and Japan. This team sport has changed and became better known over time, and it first appeared as an Olympic Sport in 1964.

Volleyball was first played in Spain on the beaches of Cataluña in 1920, but it wasn´t until 1960 that the Spanish Federation of Volleyball was founded.

Today, the Spanish Volleyball league is considered one of the best in the world and our volleyball team were the European champions in 2007.

3.2. TECHNIQUES.I. SERVES.

Action of hitting the ball into the air towards the other court. Its the action that starts the game. There are various types:

Underhand serve: hitting the ball below your waist.

Overhand serve: hitting the ball above your head.

¡WARNING!: many participants of this sport use their fist or their wrist to serve the ball with alot of force. If we want to learn the correct technique we must use the palm of our hand.

II. PASSES.Is the action of hitting the ball into the air to another place in the court and from

player to player. They are various types:

Bump (reception). Controlling the ball with your forearms to prevent it from hitting the floor after a serve and sending it to the next player. To do a Bump extend your arms with your hands together and hit the ball with your forearms.

¡WARNING!: Don´t use your hand, use your forearm. SET. Sets up the ball in the best place in front of the net for the next player to

spike. Raise your arms above your head with elbows bent. Cup your hands and keep your fingers flexible. Make contact with the tips of your fingers.

III. SPIKE. Action of hitting the ball with the intention of hitting the floor of the opponent´s court. It´s similar to the Overhand serve but with two or three running steps and a vertical jump to hit the ball at its máximum height. The spike is used to finish the attack.

1. Running steps. Progression on velocity and movements in the three running steps.

2.Jump. The jump should be as vertical as posible although it is normal to go forward a little bit (20-30cm).

3.Hit. Hit the ball at the highest point of your jump.

IV. BLOCK. Action of jumping in front of the net to block the spike.

There are different types of blocks depending on the number of players

Individual one-hand block

Individual two-hand block

Double block Triple block

3.3. TACTICS

In the game we differentiate two types of tactics:

Attack: sending the ball to touch the floor of the other court.

Deffence: Avoiding letting the ball touch the floor of your own court and getting in to a good Attack possition.

The court is divided into six zones:

Zones 2,3 and 4. Attack zone: In this zone you can find the spikers and the setters.

Zones 5,6 and 1. Deffence zone: In this zone you can find the deffensive players.

This system has a W shaped distribution. It is the most basic system we use for learning this sport.

W reception or 1-3-2 (Deffence system): In this position, the player in the position number 3 will be the one who sets the ball, usually this player does the second pass. The rest of the players are situated in a W shape, also denominated 1-3-2 system.

3.4. SOME GENERAL RULESRegulation

- Where can you play? Court terrains

Volleyball is played on a court that is 18 meters long and 9 meters wide divided into two parts by a net that is either 2.24 metres for women or 2.43 metres for men and stretched between two poles. If you play in a closed court the ceiling must be at least 7 meters high.

Each court has a series of lines marking the game zones (Attack zone, service zone…).

Dimensiones del Campo de Voleibol

- Main objetive: The Main objetive is to send the ball over the net to the opposing court, so that the other team cannot return the ball before it touches the floor of their court.- Set: to win a set, each team needs 25 points, and must have at least 2 more points than the other team. For example, if one team has 24 points, the other team must have 26 points to win.

- Game: To win a game each team must win 3 sets. If both teams have won 2 sets, the fifth set will be played to 15 points and each team still must have at least two more points to win.- Teams: They are formed by 12 players, but only six of them play. Players are distributed on the court according to their established possitions and you can have six substitutions in each set- Game: Begins with a serve from behind the service line (serving zone). The player in zone one puts the ball into play by sending it to the other team. The other team can touch the ball a maximum of three times in order to return the ball. Before each serve the players occupy pre-established possitions which rotate with each serve.

- Basic rules (infractions or penalties):o There is a maximum of three contacts with the ball to send the ball to the

other side without counting the block.o A player cannot touch the ball two consequtive times with the exception of the

block.o The ball can be played with the lower extremities to avoid contact with the

floor, but not to send it to the other side.o The net can never be touched.o Only players in the front can block.o The service is done with only one hand.o The players that are playing in the second line can only spike from behind the

Attack line.o You have to hit the ball and you cannot mantain possesion.o When a team recovers the service, the players must rotate clockwise to the

next zone. You must serve from zone 1.