Foreword

How to play and teach volleyball is an effort to present volleyball as played by champions. The champions in any sport give us the best picture of how a game should be played. Champions are champions because they have mastered the fundamentals—not because they dream up fancy plays. For this reason How to Play and Teach Volleyball will have value to all instructors, coaches, players, officials, and students of the game.

There is another basic reason why this book approaches the game of volleyball from the standpoint of high standards of play. Volleyball can best be taught to new players by starting with the correct methods of serving, passing, setting up the ball, spiking, blocking, and executing recovery shots. Here again the correct methods are those used by champion players. For example, if a player does not learn to handle the ball correctly at the outset, he will have difficulty breaking poor ball-handling habits later. It is easier for the instructor to teach a player the correct methods. The player will progress more rapidly and have a much better appreciation of the sport.

Beginning with an introduction on "The Spirit of Volleyball," the book progresses through the exact pattern of play. There are successive chapters on The Serve, The Pass, The Setup, The Spike, The Block, Recovery Shots, Offense, and Defense. Other chapters are entitled Conditioning, Officiating, and Teaching Techniques.

This book follows a trend in education of having a group of authors collaborate to produce a manuscript rather than having a single author. All of the contributing authors are highly experienced leaders in the game of volleyball. While group authorship combines the wide experience of many leaders in a field, it does result in different and sometimes opposing viewpoints. In volleyball this is not undesirable, because there are several acceptable ways to play and to teach the game. The reader will notice varying ideas expressed by the authors. Any editorial mistakes are mine and mine alone.

I want to express my appreciation to the following contributing authors, who did such an excellent job: E. Douglas Boyden, Roger G. Burton, John K. Clark, George J. Cres-well, Jr., Dr. Howard G. Danford, James C. DeWeese, Jr., Murrell Edmunds, Richard C. Nelson, William T. Odeneal, Warren W. Smith, and M. L. Walters.

I am grateful to Thomas E. McDonough, Sr., professor and director of the division of physical education, Emory University, whose co-operation made this project possible; to Dr. Harold T. Friermood, senior secretary for health and physical education, National Council of the YMCAs; to Dr. Howard G. Danford, former director of physical education and athletics, Florida State University; to Harry E. Wilson, editor of the International Volleyball Review and coach of the Hollywood YMCA Stars; to E. Douglas Boyden, president of the U.S. Volleyball Association; to Viggo O. Nelson, past president of the U.S. Volleyball Association; and to Lt. Col. E. B. DeGroot, Jr., coach of the 1959 U.S. Armed Forces All Stars. These men read the manuscript and offered many valuable suggestions.

I am indebted to Murrell Edmunds of New Orleans, who gave me the determination to finish the task; to Ernest W. Knabe, national referee emeritus of the U.S. Volleyball Association, who has shared with me on many occasions his long experience in volleyball; to H. Parker Lowell, who has prepared numerous volleyball drawings for me during the past four years; to Dr. Leonard B. Stallcup, official USVBA photographer, who made the photographs for this book; to Eugene Selznick, player-coach of the Los Angeles Westside Jewish Community Center, who furnished me with the offensive and defensive patterns of his team; to Don J. Crawley of the Atlanta YMCA team; and to countless players, officials, coaches, and authors in the field of volleyball.

The greatest amount of appreciation is due my wife Edith, who typed and proofed the manuscript and gave me constant encouragement, and to my sons, Edmund, Christopher, and Richard, who were understanding during the long period of this project.

J. EDMUND WELCH
Division of Physical Education Emory University

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