TEAM SPORTS

VOLLEYBALL
“Sports teaches you character, it teaches
you to play by rules, it teaches you to know
what it feels like to win and lose - it teaches
you about life”.

-Billy Jean King

 BRIEF HISTORY OF VOLLEYBALL
•  
As a sport, volleyball was initiated in Holyoke Massachusetts,
USA in 1895 by Mr. William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical
education director from Massachusetts. He is credited for having
created the game way back in 1895.
• The game has undergone numerous refinements and changes
since, and it was not until 1964 when it became part of the
regular program of the Olympic Games.
• In the beginning it is called "Mintonette" and eventually changed
to "Volleyball" by Dr. Halstead of Springfield, USA because the
basic idea of the game was to volley the ball back and forth over
the net.
• Volleyball is now just achieving the type of popularity in the U.S.
that it has received on a global basis, where it ranks behind only
soccer among participation sports.
 BRIEF HISTORY OF VOLLEYBALL
• Morgan borrowed  the net from tennis, and raised it 6 feet 6
inches above the floor, just above the average man's head.
During a demonstration game, someone remarked to Morgan
that the players seemed to be volleying the ball back and forth
over the net, and perhaps "volleyball" would be a more
descriptive name for the sport. On July 7, 1896 at Springfield
College the first game of "volleyball" was played.

• In the Philippines, volleyball became popular mainly due to the

collegiate leagues. The sport is played by two teams of six
players each in rectangular court divided by a net. Each team
tries to score by grounding the ball at the team's side of the
court.
• Today there are more than 46 million Americans who play
volleyball. There are 800 million players worldwide who play
volleyball at least once a week.
 Basic Rules in Playing Volleyball
A. Start of the game
 
1. The game starts with six players playing for each team.
2. A toss coin determines the serving and receiving service starts the
game in volleyball.
3. Maximum of three hits per side.
4. Points are made on every serve for winning of team of (rally-point
scoring).
 Basic Rules in Playing Volleyball
B. Playing the ball
 
1. Whenever the player strikes the ball with palms up, his or her fingers
must be clenched.
2. The team is always allowed three touches in order to return the ball
into the opponent's side of the net.
3. The team have two rows of players, with the first row closest to the net
and the back row closest to the real boundary of the court.
4. The players in the back right corner will serve the ball. You can rotate
the players around the court so that you will have a new server for each
serving game.
5. Serving and Rotation
 Basic Rules in Playing Volleyball
C. Time-out
 
1. Each team gets two time-outs (30 seconds each) per set.
2. No time limit on the games due to rally system scoring.
3. In international competitions two 60 seconds technical time-out are
used when the leading team reaches the 8 or 16 point mark.
 Basic Rules in Playing Volleyball
D. Scoring
 
1. Rally point system will be used in all games.
2. A point is scored every time the ball hits the court within the
boundaries whenever an error is made.
3. The team who scores 25 points win a set.
4. Matches are best of five sets. The fifth set is played up to 15 points only.
 
 Basic Rules in Playing Volleyball
E. The libero
 
1. The libero is a member of the team wearing a uniform different from
the other team members.
2. He or she can replace the player on the back row when the ball is not in
play.
 
 Rules on Substitution
1. Substitutes can replace players of the starting line-up
only once per set.
2. Substitution must be carried out within the substitution
zone located at the extension of both attack lines up to the
scorer's table.
3. Players can re-join the game only in his/her original
position.
4. A team player starting line-up may leave the game, but
only once in a set, and re-enter also only once in a set, and
only to his or her previous position in line-up.
5. The substitution request must always ready to enter the
court, near the substitution zone.
 
 Duties and Responsibilities
of Officiating the Game
 
1. First Referee - is the overall judge of the game
 
a. The individual at the center of the court, dressed in black
and white.
b. Signals when a rally begins and ends.
c. Has authority over all officials and players
d. Responsible for officially recognizing team request
e. Has power to settle all questions, even those not
specified the rules. in
f. Gives final decisions.
g. Checks the scoresheets at the end of the match and signs
it.
 
 
 Skills Needed in Playing Volleyball
1. Serving
 
Teaching the athletes a repeatable routine to use each time they approach
the service line is the most critical factor for a successful serve. The athletes
either are coming off the bench to serve or have just been involved in a
strenuous play on the court; in either case, having a steadying routine for them
to fall back on will give them the confidence to serve their team to a point.
 
 Skills Needed in Playing Volleyball
a. Underhand Serve
The athlete should position the feet behind the service line, shoulder width
apart and facing perpendicular to the end line (as if planning to hit a golf ball or
softball over the net). The athlete will do the following: Hold the ball in the
offhand in front of the body, palm up. With the off hand, toss the ball
approximately 3 meters (1 foot) straight up in the air. As the ball is coming down,
swing the dominant hand with a closed fist across the body in a natural motion
into the bottom third of the ball, toward the net. The amount of force the
athlete needs to apply is determined by how far into the opposing court the
serve is intended to land.
 Skills Needed in Playing Volleyball
b. Overhand Serve
The athlete's position is behind the service line, facing the net, with the
feet slightly staggered shoulder width apart. The foot opposite the dominant
hand should be slightly forward (left forward for a right handed athlete), toes
pointing at the spot the server is aiming at, with his/her body weight resting
primarily on the back foot. The athlete should hold the ball in the offhand at
arm's length in front of the body, palm up. The dominant arm should be held
above the shoulder, with the elbow at the same height as the ear and pointing
backward, and the hand pointing forward (“thumb in the ear” or “drawing the
bowstring”).
 
 Skills Needed in Playing Volleyball
2. Passing
 
The athlete should assume an athletic position - face the direction the ball
will come from, feet slightly staggered and shoulder width apart, knees bent,
upper body slightly leaning forward, hands held loosely in front of the body.
 
Once the athlete decides to forearm pass the ball (as opposed to overhead
passing), the athlete will clasp the hands together in whatever fashion feels
comfortable as long as the thumbs are exactly even. The elbows should be
locked straight, and the thumbs should be pointed toward the floor 1 meter (3
feet) in front of the athlete.
 
The athlete should watch the flight of the ball and move the feet so that
the ball will contact a point on the forearms above the wrist, between the
outstretched arms, while still crouched in the athletic position without having to
reach off balance in any direction.
 Skills Needed in Playing Volleyball
3. Hand Setting
 
The athlete should face the target of the set (not the source of the pass),
standing with the feet shoulder width apart, left foot slightly in front of the right
foot (regardless of the dominant hand), hands slightly above and in front of the
forehead as if cradling the ball, with thumbs pointing at the forehead and fingers
pointing skyward.

The setter needs to wait for the ball to make the initial contact with both
hands at the same time. The setter then changes the direction of the ball toward
the target by pushing with both arms outward toward the target, ending with
arms fully extended and fingers pointing at the ball as it arcs toward the target.
4. Attacking/ Hitting Skills Needed in Playing Volleyball
 
a. Standing Attack
 
The athlete should stand facing the direction the ball is intended to travel (most often at an angle
from the set), with the feet slightly staggered shoulder width apart. The foot opposite the dominant hand
should be slightly forward (left foot forward for a right handed athlete) with the body weight primarily on
the back foot.
 
The athlete's dominant arm should be held above the shoulder with the elbow pointing backward
and held at the same height as the ear, and the hand pointing forward ("thumb in the ear"). The off arm
should point in the direction the ball is intended to travel.
 
Once the athlete is ready to swing, the off arm will begin to drop as the dominant arm reaches high
toward the ball. The athlete's weight will shift from the back foot to the front foot, and the arm will swing
into and through the ball, snapping the wrist to give the ball topspin.
 Skills Needed in Playing Volleyball
b. Jumping Attack
 
The mechanics are the same as a standing attack with the addition of a
jump. The athlete will need to be a short distance behind where the set will
land. He/she will take a 3- or 4 step approach to the ball, with the last two steps
as the jump. The second to last step is the longest. The last step just closes the
feet together (step-close). A strong upward arm swing helps generate extra
vertical height. The athlete should take the last step on the foot opposite the
dominant arm (left foot for right handed athletes).
5. Blocking Skills Needed in Playing Volleyball
 
Blocking is an advanced skill that requires physical height, jumping ability and good judgment to
time the jump against the attacker. While most Special Olympics athletes will not (and should not) try
to block, those who are able can change the energy of a game with a well-executed stuff block.
 
The athlete should stand squarely facing the net. approximately 15-20 centimeters away (6-8
inches), feet even and slightly less than shoulder width apart, hands close to the body in front of the
chest with the palms facing the net.
 
The athlete will bend deeply with the knees and then explode straight upward, reaching with
both hands as high as possible. The athlete should attempt to reach over the net, with both arms
straight, as far as he/she can without touching the net.
 
The outside blocker is positioned to be lined up on the inside shoulder of the attacker at the
point where he/she will swing at the ball. A blocker on the right side of the court will put his/her right
arm on the ball. A blocker on the left side of the court will put his/her left arm on the ball. This will
give the best chance of blocking an "angle" or cross court attack.
 
 Skills Needed in Playing Volleyball
6. Digging
 
Digging is the action of playing the ball in a way that
prevents the ball from touching the court after an attack by the
opponents. To get good at these volleyball skills require
improving physical proficiency and hand-arm and-eye
coordination.
 
Being able to effectively communicate with your
teammates and having an understanding of how to play
volleyball will highly influence how well you perform these skills.

 
1. Volleyball
Volleyball Equipment
The size of the ball should be no larger than 81
centimeters (32 inches) in circumference and weigh no more
than 226 grams (8 ounces). It should be as close as possible to
the regulation-size volleyball. The ball shall be spherical in
shape and made of flexible leather or synthetic leather with a
bladder inside made of rubber or a similar material. Its color
may be a uniform light color, or a combination of colors. The
inside pressure shall be 0.30- 0.32 kg/cm2 (4.26 to 4.61 psi). In
Modified Team Competition a lighter weight, leather or
synthetic leather, modified volleyball may be used.
 
2. Court
Volleyball Equipment
 
While it is recommended that a regulation 9 meter x 18
meter (29 feet 6 inches x 59 feet) court be used, the Special
Olympics modification allows for the service line to be moved
closer to the net, but no closer than 4.5 meters (14 feet 9
inches). If a regulation size court is unavailable, then
modifications may be made to allow for play in a safe manner.
 
 Volleyball Equipment
3. Nets
 
Used to separate the teams during play, men's net height of 2.43 meters (7 feet 11
5/8 inches) is used for regular and Unified Sports.
 
Women's net height of 2.24 meters (7 feet 4 1/8 inches) is used for Women's and
Modified Team Competition. The official net is 1 meter (39 inches) wide and 9.5 to 10
meters (31 feet 6 inches to 33 feet) long (with 25 to 50 cm [10 inches to 19½ inches] on
each side of the side bands), made of 10 cm (4 inch) square black mesh.
 
At its top, a horizontal band with a measurement of 7 cm (2 3/4 inches) wide and
made of two-fold white canvas is sewn along its full length.
 Volleyball Equipment
a. Antennae
These are vertical flexible rods attached to the opposite sides of
the net at the points the net crosses the sidelines. An antenna is 1.80
meters (5 feet 11 inches) in length, and the top 80 cm (32 inches)
extends above the net and is marked with 10 cm (4 inch) stripes of
contrasting color, preferably red and white.
 Volleyball Equipment
b. Net Standards
The posts supporting the net are placed at a distance of .50 to 1.0
meters (20 inches to 39 inches) outside the sidelines. They are 2.55
meters (8 feet 4 inches) high and preferably adjustable. When available,
pads for the posts should be used.
 
 
Volleyball Net Heights
 
Men 2.43m
Women 2.24m
Boys (13-15 yrs.) 2.35m
Girls (13 - 15 yrs.) 2.15m
Net Length 9.5m
 Volleyball Equipment
4. Ball Cart/ Ball Bag
 
A device used to carry or hold volleyballs during practice or
competition.