Seven Things That All Good Volleyball Players Need

In the above video multi-time Olympic gold medallist and Olympic volleyball coach Karch Kiraly describes what makes a good volleyball player. Below is the summary:

“I would have no description for the perfect volleyball player because there is no such thing. Every great player has different qualities”

According to Kiraly every part is being used in volleyball but the big things volleyball players need are:

Strong Shoulders: 

For attacking, and spiking at the net.

Strong Legs:

To be able to jump, and withstand the impact upon landing.

“It takes a lot of integrity all through the legs and ankles and feet all the way up to hips.”

According to Kiraly, jumping is especially crucial to the following positions:

• Servers – people jump when they serve to get a better angle on the ball. They can hit it down across the net.
• Setters – jump before distributing the ball to their attackers
• Attackers/blockers jump too
• Only time jumping isn’t seen as often is when athletes receive the serve and when they’re on defense

Strong Core: 

The core is the foundation of everything players do. It connects the body.

Player Height

While it’s assumed that all the best volleyball players are tall, Kiraly said that volleyball players often come in different heights.

“You don’t need to be tall to be a great Libero, a great setter.”

According to Kiraly some are around 5-feet tall, some over seven feet tall.

“You can be a great volleyball player without being tall at all. If you see the game well and you anticipate well that is going to give you a much greater advantage in being a really good volleyball player than having some physical attributes.”

Reaction Time/ Anticipating skills

The ball is coming at you fast when playing a game. Kiraly stated that good volleyball players need to have a quick reaction time and good anticipation skills.

Movement 

“It’s about quick changes in direction.”

Athletes need to move in different directions to make sure they can get to the ball. They need to explode upwards in their jumps as well.