Chapter 4 - The Spike

M. L. Walters

It is important for any writer or any reader to realize that in sport there is never one "way to do it," or one way to coach, or perform. Those with wide experience and observation have seen champion athletes, in many sports, break some of the "musts" of what many coaches teach as basic. It is also important to understand that the views, the presentation, the principles of only one writer, or one school of thought, or one nation, do not truly cover the possibilities of the subject.

The writer would hope that this presentation would be accepted as "some" views on the spike, with full knowledge that in sport there are no infallible absolutes. Nothing is "always" so, and there probably is no time which is "never."

There have to be variations in spiking because the abilities and capacities of players vary, the type of team with whom one plays is not always the same, the opposition and its style of play changes, and the demands of coaches differ.

History of Spiking

We have a game called volleyball being played around the world today that is not volley-ball. The reason it is not volleyball is due to the spike which has come into common use in advanced play. It is an element intended to score for the attacking team. William Morgan, the inventor of volleyball, probably did not have this in mind when he took his Holy-oke, Massachusetts, YMCA team down to Springfield College for its first match.

Americans have been proud of the fact that volleyball, now a world-wide sport, was invented in this country. It may come as a shock to those with a high degree of nationalism in their blood to learn that the spike, which revolutionized the game, was not an American invention.

"Something new was added" to volleyball by a backwoods team of the Philippines, who were the sensation of a tournament in Manila, by "hoisting the ball high into the air, near the net" and having a big rangy bushman run from center court and "slug the ball." No one could stop such an attack, nor could they find anything in the rules to prevent this method of scoring. So back to America came the news of "punching, slugging, whacking, thumping," or if you like, "spiking" the ball.

Today, for perhaps too many players, spiking means just one thing, and that is power. No one doubts the difficulty of coping with a real powerful spike, but the increased skill of the blockers within the past ten years has cut down greatly on the point-scoring effectiveness of sheer power.

Requisites of the Good Spiker

There is no physical description to fit the person who will become a good spiker. Nor are we aware of any test, or series of tests, that will predict who has the potential of becoming a great spiker.

To some degree, it is possible to say that those who are overweight, or extremely heavy, that those who cannot jump high enough to get the wrist above the net, that those whose physical endurance is such that they tire quickly, that the persons who get emotionally upset at themselves or others, are unlikely to excel in spiking a volleyball in competition.

The first requisite for spiking is to want to play. The problem of motivation, or the solution of how to motivate people, is as yet an unlocked secret. However, the desire to play volleyball must be present to a high degree, or the best "technician" of the spike will not help a team win.

The second attribute of a good spiker is the ability to get along with people. The spiker should possess a positive and social attitude of life, and should be able to resolve little conflicts within himself and those involving others. This attribute precedes the physical abilities and the playing fundamentals of the game. Unless a player wants to play and enjoys the relationships with others, he will not gain the satisfactions to continue. Nor will that person be capable of meeting game situations in tight competition.

The third attribute of a good spiker, or of any volleyball player, is excellent physical condition. This is so essential that we are devoting a separate chapter to the subject.

How to Contact the Ball

One time the writer watched a high school physical education teacher introduce a volleyball unit to a class. The teacher made it clear that the game took skill, and to gain skill one must be shown how to contact the ball and the fundamental steps in playing the ball. He had the groups organized with only five or six boys for one ball. At this point he had shown good organization of the class and an awareness of the necessity for instruction. Then he proceeded to say, "Now the way you play the ball is to hit it with your hands, and keep it up ... keep it up ... like this . . ." For the next ten minutes the ball was batted around by the students with the admonition to "keep it up." That was all! You play the ball by hitting it and "keeping it up." There was no instruction in where, how, and when you "keep it up."

Spikers must be taught where, how, and when to contact the ball. It is obvious that the ball should be hit with the hand, but what part of the hand? To say never hit the ball with the wrist would be a fallacy. Spikers have hit with the wrists and scored points. Or to say that the spiker should never use the fist would be misleading. It has and can be done. In fact, if the ball is directly over the net, and legal prey for both teams, the fast fist action is probably the best way to handle the situation.

Others will say never use the side of the hand below the little finger, but we have seen players slice the ball with amazing success in this manner. Then we hear a "never" about the use of the fingers in spiking. Yet spikers who possess a repertoire of varieties of attack use this method successfully. They are still able to hit the ball legally and catch their opponents off stride.

Experts more or less agree that the ball is best spiked with the butt or heel of the hand—that part above the wrist and below a line drawn between the base of the thumb and the little finger. Preliminary to contacting the ball, the hand should be relaxed. Just before contact, a split second before, the hand should become rigid with the fingers slightly flexed as if to form an "open claw." Again, players use other types of "hitting hands" with great success.

At the moment of contact with the ball, if the ball is to be driven downward into the court, the hand can be snapped from the wrist to give the zip to the ball that is tantamount to the wrist snap of the golfer just as the club contacts the ball, or of the baseball batter as he swishes his wrists into the swing.

For a beginner it is well to hold the ball in one hand and slowly hit it out with the hitting hand to the wall or floor until he "feels the contact." By this is meant the awareness which enters into the neuromuscular system. Then learning becomes part of the organism. From the standpoint of the philosophy of learning, it is the "feel theory." AH necessary parts of the organism have experienced or "felt" it, not once but many times, and it literally becomes part of the performer. He knows how and what he is doing and is confident of his movement.

Where to Contact the Ball

The spot at which the ball is hit by the hand and the angle from which it is hit will determine where the ball goes. Therefore, the principle of concentration must be applied vigorously as one learns to spike.

It takes little thinking to understand that if the ball is contacted underneath, or at a low point, the resulting impetus will deflect the ball upward in its flight. This will occur no matter what the angle of attack. By the same token, if the ball is hit behind and at dead center, it will fly on a straight course like a fast-ball pitch in baseball. This means that the application of some physics and geometry will be of assistance. The line of motion of the driving power must be from an angle above the back dead center of the ball, and it must be in the direction we want the ball to take.

The beginning spiker should practice first from a standing position. He should put the ball in the opposite-from-the-driving hand, hold it high as if on a golf tee, and then experiment driving it off the hand. He should watch carefully where the ball is hit, from what angle, and what happens to it on each drive. With the spiker standing about 12 feet from a wall, the ball should hit the floor about 2 or 3 feet from the wall, bounce against it, and rebound to him. Very strict attention should be given not only to the spot on the ball that is being hit but also to the direction of the course taken by the driving hand.

After the "groove" of habit has been established, the spiker may then throw the ball up, or have someone else do it, and try to apply the same powerful drive. The next step is to take the ball to the net, use a take-off, and spike the ball into the opponents' court. This should be practiced first with the net at a height of 7 feet.

It is important again, at this point, to check the effectiveness of the hand, fingers, and wrist upon contacting the ball. As mentioned previously, it is possible to hit the ball with a closed fist, the palm, or with "clawlike" fingers, but many coaches feel that the heel or butt of the hand is the best contact spot.

Beginning spikers can improve their accuracy by hitting from the sides of the court rather than from the middle. As illustrated in Figure #4, the diagonal line X is longer than either line Y or Z, so a ball spiked along line X has a better chance of landing in bounds than one hit along lines Y or Z. The diagonal spike also lessens the possibility of the hand contacting the net and makes it more difficult for the defensive players to move to the ball and block the spike.1

 Fig. #4. DIRECTION OF SPIKE
NET
---> Path of ball

Position of Ball at Contact

Most players stand aghast when they see a small man spike the ball with more skill than some tall men. A little close attention and study will reveal that the secret is timing. In order to spike a ball successfully, it is only necessary that the ball be contacted a very short space above the top of the net. Contrary to some opinion, there is no hard and fast rule about height of the ball when contacted. Common sense shows the important matter to be that of the spiker and ball arriving at the same time some place above the net tape.

A good spiker should practice hitting the ball at various distances above the net. He should practice with setters to employ variety, with both high and low sets, and with sets straight up into the air as well as from various angles. Our American players will not reach their greatest potential as spikers as long as they insist, as most of them have in the past, on the prosaic 1-2-3 game, with the setter always near the net and setting the ball from the same angle all the time. Balls should be set from every possible direction, and the spiker should study his position and approach so he can hit from any of those angles. Most spikers, when trying these angle shots, crowd the ball too much. It is best to step back a step or two when attempting to hit a ball set from far across the court or from a front corner of the center-back position.

Position of Ball in Relation to Shoulder

Where should the ball be in relation to the driving shoulder? Much of bad spiking stems from not understanding the physics involved. The spiker needs to be aware of the fact that the ball should be lined up with the hitting shoulder. The ball should be out in front of the hitting shoulder and in a vertical axis with it. When the ball is directly over, or even back of the hitting shoulder, only an expert spiker can use enough wrist motion to get it down into the court.

It is possible to hit balls which are out of line with the hitting shoulder, but why make shots difficult? They can be made easier and more effective by co-operating with the laws of physics in applying the impetus. A piston head drives straight, guided by the piston walls. If it develops a "slap" or gets out of line, power is lost. Therefore, a spiker should check carefully the spot at which he is hitting the ball in relation to his hitting shoulder. Again, this might be done more easily from a standing position, hitting the ball to the floor ahead and rebounding it off a wall.

Position of Ball in Relation to Net

The ball will not always be the same distance from the net when spiked. Some players do have a favorite distance at which they prefer the ball. It is best if spikers learn to hit the ball when it is directly over the net (and here is where the fist can be used most effectively) and at all variations of distance back away from the net.

Balls can even be spiked from as far back as 10 feet from the net. This should be practiced by all players. The day for temperamental "one-spot-for-a-setup" spikers has passed. Team mates do their best in trying to get the ball set up for the spiker to hit to the best advantage of himself and his team. Therefore, the spiker has the responsibility of learning to hit the ball from any position when it is above the net. It is further the responsibility of the spiker to use judgment and not penalize his team, nor destroy the morale of the setter, by smashing the ball in the net when it should be placed deep in the opponents' territory.

William T. Odeneal, coach of the 1955, 1957, and 1958 national collegiate champions from Florida State University, recommends two basic principles concerning spiking and the relationship of the ball to the net: "On close-to-the-net sets the ball should be hit with a cut swing, and on a deep set the ball should be hit with as much roll as possible, preferably toward the diagonal corner." 2

Illustration #6. Bill Olsson, Hollywood YMCA   Stars, prepares to spike.

Note how his spiking hand is drawn behind his head

Illustration #7. Bill Olsson, Hollywood YMCA Stars, immediately after spiking the ball. Note the great height Olsson obtains.

Illustration #8. Bill Olsson, Hollywood YMCA Stars, in follow-through position after a spike. Note how his spiking hand is turned down. Also in this shot can be seen a fine three-man block by the U.S. Armed Forces All Stars. Note how the hands of the blockers are tilted back.

How to Take Off, Hit, and Land

It is difficult to spike the ball unless the hand gets higher than the net. All the hitting power in the world is to no avail if the following capacities are not present:

1. A relaxation, and yet a latent readiness to spring into any ball that can be hit, no matter where it is.
   
   
2. A spring upward with enough height to carry the spiker into a position to hit the ball into the opponents' court.
   
   
3. The training which gives reserve conditioning or endurance, thereby allowing the player to play through a complete tournament without fatigue or tightening.

Some spikers are able to take off for the spike from a standing position; some need at least a small step or "crow hop" in order to get required height; others need several steps for an efficient take-off. A lengthy run is hard to time and can often cause the spiker to touch the net or step over the center line.

There is no doubt that a player is able to spike well with a one-foot take-off similar to that used by old-style high jumpers in the "scissors" jump. A number of players in this country and a large number overseas still use it with effectiveness.

The disadvantages, in the opinion of many, are such as to outweigh the advantages. These weak spots are:

1. The difficulty of viewing the complete court of the opponents and picking the weak spots.
   
   
2. The difficulty of hitting in all directions.
   
   
3. The almost impossibility of recovering blocked balls because the one-foot take-off player has traveled past the point of ball contact.
   
   
4. The narrow range within which the ball can be hit at the net, since the ball has to be set up in front of and in the path of the run preceding the take-off from one foot.

The advantages of the two-foot take-off have meant that most players in this country use that style. In the use of this method of take-off, the first requisite is development of enough speed, strength, and endurance in the muscles to get the body into the air high enough, often enough, and fast enough to meet the ball to be spiked. The above sounds pedantic, but it is surprising how many players have not learned these simple facts.

The matter of endurance really comes first, and many players overlook this fact. Interestingly enough, this is one place where youth does not seem to correlate very highly. We have all seen older players who outjump and outlast younger players. Toe bouncing, raising the heels, high rhythmical bouncing, high leaping, and other developmental exercising of this sort will furnish the muscle development needed if they are done often enough, long enough, and regularly enough. Omission of any of the three latter factors will nullify the results.

Playing lots of volleyball will also lend endurance, but one would have to play three hours a day to get as much work on the muscles involved as is accumulated in ten minutes of vigorous conditioning. Players should do both.

Preliminary to the take-off, the spiker should have scanned the opponents' court to note the position of their players. This quick, conscious "photo" of the opponents and the spiker's position in relation to the net should precede his attention to the flight of the ball and the point at which he will contact it. The net, opponents, opposite court, and team mates will then become part of his peripheral vision.

The spiker needs to move smoothly and speedily to get into a position for the take-off so that his body will be behind the ball when it is hit. This point is one of the main, causes of failure in hitting a ball correctly. Many players take off from directly under or even ahead of the ball. Especially is this an important point on the "direct pass" or spike on the Number Two contact. Spikers at left or right forward position often fail to back up enough to be in behind the ball as it comes at an angle from some other position on their court.

The amount of crouch preliminary to the take-off and the amount of "squat" or knee bend just before springing into the air is an individual matter. Some players seem to need little knee bending in order to get height. Experimentation by the player, with help from the coach, should determine this point. That style which fits the player's temperament and keeps him relaxed and alert, that style which gives ease of movement and a feeling of confidence, that style which allows him to move for a ball at any spot and from any direction, that style that gets him high enough to hit the ball well, is the best technique for that player.

The arms can assist in the take-off by giving lift to the body. This is done by raising the driving hand behind the head, as a catcher does in throwing to second base, and bringing the elbow above the shoulder. The opposite arm is raised quickly so that the forearm is across the chest. From this position the actual spike is executed by whipping the driving hand and arm forward in a short, chopping motion.

The spiker should strive to go up straight with his trunk erect and his weight centered over his feet. This causes him to come down straight and prevents his touching the net.

Strategy in Spiking

C. C. Robbins of Chicago, who coached several national championship teams and was a former national chairman of volleyball, had a slogan which all spikers need to repeat to themselves: "A ball should never cross the net unless it is tagged with brains." His meaning is clear. Every ball hit should be for some purpose.

The real fun and stimulus in this game comes partly from the strategy of the spikers in trying to outwit the opponents by change of pace, change of direction, fake drives, pass-off plays, drop shots, deflection hitting, and other methods. Wilson describes the play of the Hollywood YMCA Stars, Los Angeles Westside JCC, and Long Beach YMCA as follows: "We are always changing, plotting, counterplotting, and figuring new fakes and plays. This involves the high set, the low set, the shoot set,* the fake and overhead set, first ball kills, and first ball fakes and set." 3

Change of pace and direction is important in any game. A spiker who slugs away on all balls soon finds himself being blocked. Just as a fire-ball pitcher finds himself a victim of the opposition if he throws fast ones all the time, so a slug-spiker finds, against good teams, that the ball comes back as fast as he hits it. A moderately paced spike can be very difficult to block.

One should practice hitting at all speeds, using the same motion just as a good pitcher does. Such a varied speed in hitting is guaranteed to throw the blockers off and give them no set pattern for defense. Too few players can think and play at the same time, and if the spiker makes the opponents use their intelligence on every play, he has them at a disadvantage. Many will then not be able to concentrate on the ball.

Tipping the ball over and around the blockers or to the back corners can be effective strategy, provided the spiker does not commit the error of pushing the ball. This is known as a dink shot. Its effectiveness has been reduced greatly in recent years because the defensive ability of teams has increased. A good defensive team will usually recover a dink shot. Bill Olsson of the Hollywood YMCA Stars has a fine dink shot. This powerful spiker will fake a kill and then hit an easy ball right over the blockers' hands.

Most balls should be driven toward the side lines, just as a pitcher aims to cut the corners of the plate. Another important principle, however, is that of hitting at all angles. Grooving the ball at the same angle tips off a smart team and allows them to use a set pattern of blocking. When this occurs, the spiker becomes just a "batting practice spiker," or in this case a "blocking practice spiker."

Even a mediocre spiker who uses intelligence with every spike finds that he can deflect the ball off the blockers' hands out of bounds or into the net. Again, a study of deflection angles will help if those angles are transposed to the net when spiking.

Web Caldwell, a great All-American spiker, wrote these words about spiking strategy:

* A shoot set is a fast, low set from one side of the court all the way over to the other side.

The coach and his spikers should analyze the blocking strength of the opposition, both prior to and during the match. They should note the short blockers, the slow blockers, and the tired blockers. A spiker can hit over the short blockers and between the tired and slow ones.

Sometimes a spiker can score by hitting in a different direction from that indicated by his arm swing. This action confuses the blocking team which has one player who tries to "hog" the block and anticipate the direction of the spike.4

Our American team learned something in the 1956 World Championships at Paris that some few have been trying to point out for some years. Teams should learn to hit the ball on the second contact. Also, if the first pass should not be hit, or if the opponents can be caught off stride by such a play, the spiker should be prepared and able to set the ball either from a position on the floor or while he is off the floor.

This idea of relay plays to other spikers opens the game to great potentials. Some teams are learning that power alone will not win important matches. They are learning that if the ball is moved to various positions at the net, away from the concentration of the defense, many times the spiker does not need to pound the ball. Ty Cobb's old premise of "hit 'em where they ain't" is applicable to spiking in volleyball.

Recovery and Defense

Just as a pitcher cannot afford simply to throw the ball and relax and rest, relying on the infield to get all hit balls, so the spiker becomes a defensive player immediately after contacting the ball. If the spiker is being blocked, he must be ready to make a quick recovery shot. He must have both hands ready to pass or "fist" a ball upward before it hits the floor or to recover the ball out of the net. This skill comes only after intensive practice. Recovery shots are covered in detail in Chapter 6.

General  Skills

It is equally true that the spiker, to be of top value to his team, must also be as good as any other team member at serving, passing, and defensive play. Unfortunately, too many spikers spend most of their time in practicing pounding the ball, and very little attention is given to serving, ball handling, passing, and recovery shots. There is no place on today's basketball team for a "basket hanger" waiting for four other men to pass him the ball so he can shoot. There is no place on a volleyball team for the slugger-spiker who waits for five men to set the ball so he can smack it, sometimes in and sometimes out.

Team Play and Morale

A team in volleyball is six players working together in a pattern that makes for smooth playing. It is not a collection of six individuals. Not only must the skill of the players blend into team play, but equally important (and some say even more important) is team morale, team spirit, or unified effort.

Any action by the spiker which will weaken that feeling of togetherness, of confidence in the team, is just as much a misplay as spiking the ball against the wall. Nothing helps the human spirit like encouragement. Research in psychology has proven that, without the shadow of a doubt. The spiker is in a key spot to maintain high team spirit. He is the star of the offense, and he can make the offense click better by continually encouraging his setters. When a particularly good or difficult setup is made to him, he should add real emphasis to his effort of encouraging the team.

In conclusion, we should add this note. Today volleyball has progressed to the point where a balanced team will mean that there are not three spikers and three setters, or four and two, or five and one. In order to develop a balanced team with the potential for many patterns of play, today's volleyball team should include six spikers who are also six passers.

This is presuming that we mean by "spiker" the "attack" man, or the player who attempts to make the scoring play against the opponents. With six men having the ability to propel the ball into the opponents' court, there is then in existence a "volleyball team."

The inference is clear. Everyone today must become a spiker as well as a passer.

References

1. Odeneal, William T.,  "Offensive Volleyball," Scholastic Coach, November, 1954, pp. 38 and 58.
   
   
2. Mundt, Logan C, 1958 Official Volleyball Guide (Berne, Ind.: USVBA Printer), p. 135.
   
   
3. Wilson, Harry E., personal correspondence, July 8, 1959.
   
   
4. Walters, M. L., ed., 1950 Official Volleyball Guide (Berne, Ind.: USVBA Printer), pp. 103-104.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here….