Trying To Unlearn Bad Habits

Something that frustrates coaches in any sport is trying to fix some problem with a players form or mechanics. Trying to get rid of a goofy foot hitting approach is one that a lot of volleyball coaches might be familiar with. On a college team I worked with, I once took a player aside to try to accomplish this very task. On the surface it is a fairly simple task. It's a matter of getting the player to start his or her approach with the other foot, and then use the same footwork, just reversed. On a four step approach the right handed hitter goes from left-right-left-right to right-left-right-left. That gives the player a better hitting posture, and the extra torque means a harder hit. There is no downside. But then you actually try to accomplish this task.

This is exactly what I had in mind when I watched this video.
Smarter Every Day is a Youtube channel by Destin, an actual rocket scientist. He talks about the science of how a lot of things we might experience happen. He does some hands on experiments, and it is a lot of fun. In this particular video he has a backwards bicycle. When you turn the handle bars to the right, the wheel turns to the left. Superficially learning to ride this bike is the exact same problem as fixing a goofy foot approach. In the video, Destin took 8 months to learn to ride this bike,  or to unlearn how to ride a normal bike. Interestingly, when he got back on a standard bike he had similar problems to first learning to ride the backwards bike. He was able to figure it out much more quickly, but he still had a difficult time trading one set of motor programs for another. Fortunately for the volleyball coach, balancing a bike is a vastly more complex motor skill than a hitting approach. Still the constant reps thinking through the proper application of the skill will get you to establishing the motor program for a proper hitting approach. Once the motor program is established, the proper hitting approach will override the goofy foot one.

The other thing I took away from this is how his young son was able to unlearn in 2 weeks instead of 8 months. Coaches of younger players will have a much easier time teaching the proper performance of volleyball skills. Fixing mechanics problems at an early stage is going to be orders of magnitude easier than fixing them in an adult athlete. Regardless, both athletes are going to need a lot of reps.

Volleyball Basics - Outside Hitters

Outside hitters are all around players. They pass in serve receive, hit and block on the wings (primarily in zone 4) in the front row, and hit and play defense in the back row. Outside hitters are often the outlet, or last resort option on offense. One of the teams outside hitters often gets the most sets of all hitters.

Outside hitters hit and block in zone 4 on the front row. They usually hit and play defense in zone 6 on the back row. Playing defense in zone 6 puts the outside hitter in a good position to transition from playing defense to hitting. When the libero is in zone 6 and the outside is in zone 5, this transition is a little more difficult. Not only does the outside hitter have to move into the proper position laterally to make an approach in the middle of the court, but the base defense position in zone 5 is often closer to the attack line. That will hinder the outside hitter's ability to make a full approach when attempting a back row attack. a further complication is that the libero and outside hitter could cross each others' path during transition and come in contact with each other.

Like the libero, passing in serve receive and in defense are primary skills. Outside hitters frequently will receive the serve and the set as well in the same rally. Some outsides tend to hit at a higher efficiency when they received the serve. Others do not. 

Also important is hitting ability. Outsides often get the most sets of all front row hitters. Especially when the setter is out of position and has few or only one setting option, the outside hitter will see a lot of situations hitting against a double block. The outside hitter should be able to hit reasonably well when the set is coming from all over the court. The ability to see the block and hit a variety of shots is desirable.

When blocking the outside hitter will block the opposing opposite and setter. This gets tricky with front row setters who like to attack on the second touch and opposites who hit from zone 1. In this situation the outside hitter is covering two potential attackers and has to be able to make a quick decision as to who is the blocking priority.

See also:

Zones of the Court

Volleyball Basics are intended to present some of the fundamental volleyball knowledge that everyone serious about the sport should know.