SillY Volleyball - 1/21/12

On Saturday I had my SillY Volleyball class, as usual. This time my friend came with me, she will be doing this class too, and during the warm-ups we were partners. This time we did the regular warm-ups (see 1st SillY class post for more details of close to what we did) and then broke into our groups.

We had different coaches this time than last time, a pair of people. First in our group we did the 3-on and a target combo for a while. And we did a game. We had 4 people and one of the coaches on each side and basically played an actual volleyball game, except we didn't really count points until the end. The setup was 3 people in the back row and one person in the left front hitter position. The coach was the setter. We played with whoever was in the right back spot actually getting to serve the ball; overhand of course. I started off in the left front hitter position and did really well, getting some good hits in before we rotated positions and I was left back and serving. I did well with my serves, getting pretty good accurate overhand serves most of the time, which is an improvement. They were also very powerful, which is good considering I have so much potential in my strong arms. We rotated through all the positions playing the game, which was really fun. Near the end, I was in left back and our coach from last time had finished with the group he was with for the day and was watching us. I dived for the ball and saved it and it was awesome! I was really happy with how I did with that, and then he said it would be the last one, and the coach who was working with us on my side gave me the ball to serve. The first time I tried I didn't get a good toss, so I hit the ball into the net, but they let me try again and it went over and was good! The other team didn't get that ball, so he gave it to the other side to serve for the last one.

The game was really fun and I was happy to get to actually play and practice my serving in game play, because it turned out really well! I learned (as usual) and I think I improved a lot! This program has been really helpful to me and I think it will improve my volleyball skills immensely by the end of the process, since so far it has done so much.

If you want to learn more about SillY Volleyball here is the website again!

SillY Volleyball- Class #1

Today I had my very first SillY Volleyball class of the season! It was really fun and educational and I really enjoyed myself!

First when we got there we had to run 10 laps around the gym, then stretched, which I believe will be our warmup every time. Then we got partners and did ball warmup and practice. We threw the ball to each other, bounced it, with both two hands and one, and then did tips. Tipping is like spiking, but you use the tips of your fingers and tip it over. It's softer than hitting (spiking). Then we did actual hitting to our partners. Then we started passing (bumping). We first threw the ball to the other partner and they'd pass it to us. Then after that we passed back and forth, with a different variation after that, where (practicing ball control) we passed once to ourself, then shifted forward and passed to our partner back and forth.

After that we split up into groups based on age and level, and I was in intermediate with mostly 8th and 9th graders. Our group was the smallest (at least for today, I'm not sure how big it will be in the future). We had only 7 people, not including our 1 coach. We warmed up with 5 little tiny sprints across the court and then did an exercise where there were 3 people on the court and one target for the people to aim to. The coach passed the ball out somewhere and whoever's it was had to call it and pass it to the target, who put it put it back in the bin and went to the back of the line. We did that for a while, then went to the corners of the court and he (the coach) spiked it to us to get back to him, and then he tipped it and we had to get it, then go to the end of the line on the other corner of the court.

After that we had a water break, then came back and had 6 people on one side, and the one other person and the coach on the other. We were in the positions, with the front middle as the setter and basically played a game. The coach passed the ball in and we bumped it to the setter (or tried to) the setter would set it and usually one of the outside hitters would spike it over and it would continue. Either the coach and other person on the side would get it and get it back over, or the coach would start a new ball. Whenever someone made a mistake the person who was out (on the side with the coach) would take their spot and the person who made the mistake would switch with them. I started out as the setter (front middle) and stayed for a pretty long time! I was a little surprised because I'm not the best at setting, but I think I did well, and am improving, which is great! We continued like that and I switched out like everyone else, but not too often. It was really fun and we actually did really well and managed to bump, set, spike it over successfully a lot! After that we did a cheer and then went home.

I had a lot of fun and am really looking forward to next Saturday, and the Saturdays continuing when I'll get to do it again and continue to improve! The classes are 2 hours long on Saturday mornings from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Here's the website if you're interested in more information.

Volleyball Practice 1/8/12

Today I practiced some volleyball outside of my house. I have practiced a few times that I haven't posted about, but they were shorter, and I didn't do the test, so I didn't post it for you guys. Today I passed back and forth with my dad for a while, then did my "test" (look back at first one of these for schedule). Here are the results from today:

Bumps: 39

Sets: 15

Fist Bumps: 25

I still need to work on setting, but I do think I have improved since last time because of the SillY Volleyball Clinics and I am better already. I think all of my skills have improved at least slightly, because the bumping, setting, and fist bumps were much more controlled than last time, even if some of the scores may be less, namely, the fist bumps. Everything else my score is better than last time.

Also, next Saturday my SillY Volleyball classes start, so I will let you know how that goes. I'm very excited!

SillY Volleyball Tryout

On Saturday the 10th, I had a SillY Volleyball Clinic/Tryout. I would've blogged about this earlier, but I had a school trip and did not have time before we left. At the clinic, we relearned the basics briefly, after warming up by running many laps around the gym. We passed in partners, did setting, serving, and more. We split into groups and did some passing with three people on one side to a setter who would set to the hitter, who would spike it over. We also did some "Queen of the Court", a game where there are three people on each side of the court along with one coach or professional player who would be the setter. We were set up into the three positions with three different calls for getting the spike, "A" for the left, "Pipe" for the center, and "D" for the right. We would volley the ball until someone dropped it or the volley was over, and if the people on the "Queen" side won, they would stay, but if the new group who were on the other side won, they would move to the other side and be the "Queens" until they lost. The clinic was very fun and I felt like I did a good job and improved a lot. When I find out what group I will be in for January, I will let you know. I think I'll be in the "Intermediate Group", which I think would be a very good choice for me. The season, when I'll be starting playing every Saturday, starts on January 14th. For more information or to look at the SillY Volleyball Website click here.

Last Stanford Volleyball Game

The last Stanford Volleyball Game was a while ago, but I went to it with my family. We went and saw the game, and it was amazing. Stanford vs. Cal. Stanford lost the match, but it was a well-played game, and Stanford was amazing, as usual. It's really fun to see such great players and watch their technique and skill. Also, one of the players on their team has the same kind of ankle brace that I have, so I feel better about having to wear it while I play, knowing it should work really well! :)

Stanford Women's Volleyball

Want to learn something new?

About the Stanford Women's Volleyball Team (2011):

There are 14 players on the Stanford Women's Volleyball Team.

Did you know that the tallest player on the team is 6'6? Did you know that shortest player on the team is 5'7?

The average height of a player on the Stanford Women's Volleyball Team is almost exactly 6 feet.

Did you know that about 79% of the Stanford Women's Volleyball Team is from California?

Only about 21% of the team is NOT from California. 11/14 players are from California, 2/14 players are from Texas, and 1/14 player is from Nevada.

The shortest player on the team is a Libero/Defensive Specialist and the tallest player is an Outside Hitter. A Libero/Defensive Specialist is someone who plays in the back row and is usually an excellent passer and a very good defensive player. They do not necessarily need to be tall, because they never play in the front row, which is why shorter people on the team are often placed in this position.

If you want to learn more about volleyball or even about the Libero/Defensive Specialist, this is the website I looked at.

If you want to see the Stanford Women's Volleyball Team page or learn more about the team or the players, this is where you should go. Check it out!

Volleyball Practice 11/19/11

Hey, everyone. Today I practiced volleyball on my own. I'm planning to do this as often as I can, homework and weather permitting, but hopefully once a week or so.

Today I practiced for 40 minutes, and I did a little of all the basics.

I practiced some hitting (aka spiking), bumping, setting, and a little back and forth passing with my dad. At the end, I recorded how many in a row I could do of each of these skills.

I did 35 fist bump things, which I will call fist bumps for the moment, but I don't know an official name yet, if there is one, but I'll keep you posted.

I did 30 consecutive bumps.

I did 7 consecutive sets.

I feel like I can definitely improve a lot on setting, and probably bumping and ball control too. The fist bumps are for working on ball control. I also practiced for a little bit a skill I learned at a volleyball camp last summer called the pancake. It's for saving the ball when it's really close to the ground.

I'll keep you all posted on when I do this, hopefully it will be often, but I will write it briefer. In the future, most likely I'll just write an overview of what I did, my score on the bumping, setting, and fist bumps for the day, and possibly something I could improve on.

Also look forward to more pictures.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone, and play volleyball!