Learn How to Pass a Volleyball

When passing a volleyball, you want it to be perfect so your setter can have a good set and your hitter can have a good hit. It all starts with a pass, but you'll want to remember some things before stepping on the court.

When you're getting ready to pass a ball, you want to be in "ready position" which is just knees bent, arms forward, back straight, and hips back. If you are right handed, your right foot should always be slightly in front of your left. The ball is almost never going to be served straight at you, so when you move,  you want to shuffle your feet (without crossing them) forward, back, right, and left.

Passing Form. 2012. Photograph. Robert Morris Volleyball CampsWeb. 26 Aug 2013. http://www.rmuvolleyballcamps.com/images/091710 RMU Volleyball 0100_200-x.jpg.

You never want to be late to pass the ball. In your head, you want to calculate where the ball is going by looking at whoever is hitting it and get to that spot before the ball does. When hitting the ball, you should hit it with your forearms and not with your hands. You always want your forearms to be straight in front of your chest and pretend you're locking your elbows so they don't bend. To pass the ball where it needs to go, your forearms should face the setter or whoever you're passing the ball to.

Hand placement is important here. You either want to overlap your hands or interlock them (make a thumbs up with your left hand and wrap your right hand around it). You DO NOT want to use interlocking fingers. It takes too long to react and it's way easier to break a finger this way. It's too dangerous.

Hand Placement. 2012. Photograph. Web. 26 Aug 2013. http://www.wikihow.com/Image:Dig-a-Volleyball-Step-1.jpg.

Common errors that players make when passing a volleyball are:
 - there is no movement, no shuffling to the ball, late reaction
 - bent elbows
 - too much arm swing, (it's not baseball)
 - contacting the ball with arms apart (breaking your arms)
 - contacting the ball with hands and not forearms