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In volleyball being a hitter could be considered one of the most important roles, after all, their job is to score points. If you want to improve your game as an attacker, you might be wondering how to become a better hitter in volleyball.
How to Become a Better Hitter in Volleyball
Successfully hitting a ball can be a game-changing factor that can make you win many games (if your team provides you with good sets, of course). However, while this technique is basic, it has a lot of small details that could be hard to master.
These details are what make professional players the best in that position. For example, to properly spike a ball, you must first understand how to approach it, how to jump, how to correctly move your arms, and even how to correctly land.
Here you can see the steps that will make you improve your skills as a hitter.
Step 1: Learn How to Stand Correctly
Even though it is one of the most basic skills for volleyball players, a proper stance is essential when it comes to attacking and defending. This will allow you to quickly reach any balls that the setter sends you. Additionally, it helps you to jump higher and quicker.
To achieve it effectively, you must slightly bend your knees and tilt your torso forward. You must be prepared to move rapidly while avoiding momentum as much as possible, after all, if you touch the net, it will be considered an illegal move and the referee will penalize it.
You should also consider if you are right or left-handed. If your dominant hand is left, you must maintain your right foot back and your left foot forward. If you’re right-handed, keep your left foot back and your right foot forward.
Step 2: Draw a Path in Your Head Before Attacking
Most hitters that struggle have one thing in common: they don’t know how to approach and attack the ball efficiently. These hitters charge toward the ball without considering how or where they will strike it. That’s why, when you’re in the attacking zone, you need to seek the best space.
This implies you must visualize a path that will allow you to approach and effortlessly shoot the ball. When your setter sets the ball, you must rapidly create this path that will allow you to be more effective. The entire point of this is to make things easy for your dominant hand.
For example, if you are right-handed, you must position yourself such that you can easily spike the ball; hence, you must build a path that allows you to be in that comfortable position.
Step 3: Practice Your Footwork to See Which Works Best for You
| Footwork Approach | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Two Steps | Good for beginners |
| Three Steps | Gives you more time to aim |
| Four Steps | Allows you to position better and aim |
The footwork is often an overlooked detail that most hitters need to learn about. After all, if you get your footwork wrong, you will probably send a weak shot towards your opponent’s ground. Here are the three types of footwork for hitters. Here are the three types of footwork for hitters.
- Two steps: To do this, you need to step with your right foot, and then with your left foot (and vice versa for left-handed people). After this, you need to jump and spike.
- Three steps: For this one, step with your right foot first, then your left foot, and finally your right foot (and vice versa). Just like the previous approach, you need to jump and spike at the end.
- Four steps: For this last one, you need to step with your right foot first, then hop with your left, continue with a hop with your right one, and finish with a leap with your left foot (and vice versa for left-handed people). End with a jump and a spike.
Step 4: Learn About Synchronicity and Proprioception
In order to achieve a good hit, you need to synchronize your whole body. This will allow you to quickly approach the ball, jump, and perform a powerful swing that could send an almost unreturnable ball to your opponents. If you want to achieve it, you need to have control of your movements.
This means that you need to be conscious of where you are moving and why. This will help you visualize where the volleyball is, where you want to send it, and how you’re going to reach it. If you want to practice this, you need to improve your proprioception.
This is a skill that allows your body to perceive its own position in space. This way, you will be able to take full control of your movements and perform an effective attack.
Step 5: Practice Your Jumps and Landings
As previously said, you want to prevent any form of momentum that leads you towards the net. You also want to go as high as possible while hitting the ball properly. Therefore, you need to improve your vertical leaps and your landings.
You need to be able to jump as high as possible and land safely without touching nor stabilizing yourself with the net. After all, this would be considered an illegal movement.
Step 6: Practice Your Swings to See Which Works Best for You
There are five different types of swing: straight, bow and arrow high, bow and arrow low, snap, and circular. Each one of them has its own unique characteristics that allow hitters to powerfully strike the ball.
To practice swinging, you must dive deep into each of them and practice them on a regular basis to see which works best for you. However, don’t push yourself too hard when practicing; doing this action too often could overwork your shoulders and arms, potentially leading to injury.
Related Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about hitters in volleyball.
What Is a Good Volleyball Hitting Average?
When it comes to statistics, a good hitting average for a hitter is over 0.300. However, if the hitter has an average of 0.200 or less, it doesn’t mean it is a bad striker, it just indicates they are average players.
On the other hand, if it has an average of 0.100 or less, it means that the hitter needs to work harder to score more. Lastly, if the hitter has an average of 0.400 or more, it is considered to be excellent.
Do Hitters Need to Be Tall?
While it is not strictly necessary to be tall in order to be a hitter, it can be beneficial. After all, if you are between 5 feet, 9 inches, and 6 feet, 1 inch, it will be easier for you to jump and reach the ball.
However, if you are smaller than 5 feet and 9 inches, you will have no problems when playing volleyball. All you have to do is train your jump height, along with how efficiently you can reach the ball.
Are Hitters the Most Difficult Position in Volleyball?
Even though it could be debatable, hitters are not considered to be the hardest position in volleyball. Setters, on the other hand, are regarded as the most important, and hardest, role in volleyball.
Conclusion
Becoming a successful hitter requires a lot of hard work and practice, after all, mastering all of the details could be difficult. However, if you manage to do it, you will notice a great improvement in your game, making you score more points and win more matches.
