Volleyball...Do You Dig?

Digging the ball in volleyball can be a difficult skill to master. Many people work on their hitting, passing, and setting skills more frequently and their defensive/digging skills often are not practiced.

If you think about it, a good dig is an important part of the game of volleyball. In the middle of the rally, a dig will keep the point alive and that is a critical aspect of running up several points in a row. Plus, if the other team continues to see their hardest hits coming back all the time, they will begin to think that they cannot side out. This results in winning a serious mental battle.

So, here are the things that you should be doing to improve your volleyball digging ability:

1. Read the other team's offense. Before the play starts, you should identify who is on the front row on the other team and who the potential hitters are going to be. It will help you get into place if you can read the offense. Also, as the ball is being passed, look at the approach of the hitters and you can see if they are going to be doing a quick attack so that you can be prepared.

2. You must be able to see the hitter. If you cannot see the hitter, then you will not have ANY opportunity to dig the ball and you are not doing your team any good. You must move so that you can see the hitter hit and you will be in a position to dig the ball.

3. When a hard drive comes at you, relax your arms. When you relax your arms on a hard drive, the ball will push your arms back and it will naturally take off all of the momentum. Too many people will make the mistake of tensing up their arms and they usually will dig the ball back over the net. Relaxing is the key to solving this...

4. Watch the hitter's arm. The hitter may decide to tip the ball and you have to be ready to dig that as well. If you watch their arm, many of them will slow down their swing in mid air, or they will jump with one arm up. This is the sign for a tip and get ready to step up and move forward. Staying on your toes will help you get that jump on the ball and be able to move forward.

5. Want the ball! Many people are concerned about getting hit with the ball and so they are hoping the ball doesn't come to them. You have to get in the mindset that nothing can hurt you and that you can get any ball back into play. It is really an attitude more than anything.

Aside from these tips, digging is just about passing the ball. If you are not familiar with the techniques involved with passing the ball, I would suggest that you visit the URL listed on this article to learn more about passing the ball and the techniques involved. This will help you learn the basic fundamentals of how to pass the ball.

I hope this article helped and that you win many points with these tips!

Volleyball Training Ground Passing Skills
Passing skills