Volleyball – My Hobby!

I have many hobbies to make my spare time productive and fruitful, and my favorite one is playing volleyball! It has been such a great game for me as it has helped me grow competitively and is great fun as well. When I play it out there on the field with my mates, I feel that adrenaline was rushing through my veins while anticipating whom will the ball go to.

I like playing volleyball for many reasons, but not a single one would cover its essence wholly. I like to play volleyball since it has given me the skills and ability to forge connections both at work and in my personal life. This, in effect, has helped me in being more productive, since I can get other people to cover my deficiencies and bring to the limelight my best qualities. Anyone who has played volleyball will attest that some of its most important components include the uniform of the players, a good quality volleyball ball, a volleyball net, a volleyball set, and volleyball kneepads to prevent injuries. Volleyball originated in the U.S.A and it is popular worldwide. It closely follows soccer among the 3 most popular participation sports. Today, over 46 million Americans play the sport and over 800 million people play volleyball worldwide one or more times a week. The person credited with creating the sport is William G. Morgan. He was an instructor at the Young Men’s Christian Association in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1895, he decided to bring together elements of baseball, basketball, handball, and tennis to create a sport for his classes of businessmen that demanded lower physical contact than basketball. Morgan created volleyball and at that time, its name was Mintonette. He borrowed the net from tennis and raised it six feet, six inches above the floor, just above the head of an average-sized male.

In a demonstration game, someone commented to Morgan that the players appeared to be volleying the ball forwards and backward over the net, and possibly the name “volleyball” could be more descriptive of the sport. The first volleyball game was played at Springfield College on July 7th, 1896. A special ball for the sport was designed in 1900. By 1928, it was clear that rules are tournaments were necessary. This led to the formation of the U.S. Volleyball Association. The initial U.S.A Open was staged and non-YMCA squads started playing the sport. In 1964, the sport was introduced to the Olympic Games, which were hosted in Tokyo at the time. In 2002, the court dimension of beach volleyball was reduced to 8 meters by 8 meters per side. Today, people of every age find recreational volleyball enjoyable and its popularity is growing.

Do you know why my hobby is volleyball?

My hobby is playing volleyball mainly because it’s fun to play. Nothing is as enjoyable as running around a volleyball court attempting to ensure you do not miss a precious point. I derive the most enjoyment when playing against a competitive team. I started playing the sport in school with my classmates and participated in school competitions. We played the sport in the gym, and it’s known as indoor volleyball.

As an adult, I have a volleyball hobby. We often rent a gym and get together with friends to play the game about once a week. It is an excellent way for us to exercise, socialize, relax, and unwind. We meet and make new friends since most people can play the sport. When playing highly competitive hobby volleyball games, we get a lot of exercises, enabling us to reap the health benefits of physical activity. During games, we laugh and joke. My brother also plays with us. There was a time when we were in different teams. I did the attack, and my brother put me a block, we ran into him hard, and there was no injury, but one of my friends said: “Brother went on brother.” We all laughed. After the game, we usually sit in a cafe, discussing our game, and chatting about everything. In summer we try to play outside in the sand, it’s called sand volleyball or outdoor volleyball. I like volleyball because when I play it, I feel stronger and healthier. For me, the sport is a part of my life and it means a lot.

Volleyball Rules

Due to my volleyball hobby, I have discovered that its history has a great deal in the accumulation of the rules of volleyball over the years. It is vital to know the rules of the game to play it well. The rules and ways of scoring points in the game are as follows:

• A team is comprised of 6 players, 3 of them being in the frontline and the other three taking the back row.
• The game uses the rally-point system of scoring, where the points are made with each serve.
• The players are prohibited from hitting the ball two successive times.
• When one hits the ball while on the boundary line, that is taken to be an “in.”
• If the ball touches the cable, antenna, or net that is outside the antenna, the ceiling that is above the non-playable area, the referee or pole stand, or even the floor lying outside the court, that it is considered to be “out.”
• It is legal for the ball to come in contact with any parts of the players’ bodies.
• It is illegal to throw, hold or catch the ball.
• It is also illegal to attack or block a serve when one is on the 10-foot line or inside it.
• After service, the players in front of the court are allowed to exchange positions in front of the net.
• Every match is divided into sets, with the number of sets being determined by the game’s level.

Volleyball Positions

The position of the players is an aspect of the game that is of great importance. Each team has six players, three of whom are positioned on the court’s front while the others take the back. The players are positioned as the setter, the middle blocker, the outside blocker, the weak side hitter, and the liberos.

Volleyball Position Numbers

The volleyball game has six positions from where one can play on the court. They are the front-left, who gets the number 4, the front-center who assumes the number 3, and the front-right, taking the number 2. In the back are the back-left, who takes the number 5, the back-center takes the number 6, and the back-right who assumes the number 1.

Volleyball Skills

Passing in volleyball

To make an excellent volleyball player, one has to acquire the right technique and acquire volleyball skills, which include passing. This means hitting the ball at the upper body level, usually to direct it to another one of your teammates, mostly the setter.

This move can also be used in reception of the opposing team’s serve. You can also do it as a dig, which is when the ball is passed from below. You can use this technique when the ball is approaching you from above. You do this to prevent the ball from hitting the ground and make a good pass to your setter.

Setting in volleyball

When speaking of setting in volleyball, we are talking of making an overhead pass to your team’s hitter enabling them to spike the ball and score in turn. The setter’s goal is getting in the ball’s direct line. It is vital to set it on time and accurately for your hitter, which means that the perfect setter has to be able to react quickly and move around. During a setting, it is vital that you only contact the ball using the fingers, totally avoiding the palms.

Spiking in volleyball (spike in volleyball)

Spiking is the mode in which a hitter, using the palm, sends the ball over the net, going past the block and into the opposing court, totally aimed at scoring a point. Sending it sharply downwards makes it hard for the opposing team to successfully recover the ball. Spiking is usually done on the third and last touch, involving an approach consisting of footwork, jumps, and an attack.

Usually, the setter tosses the ball over to the attacker, the set, who then chooses the attack they want to carry out. Since this skill demands movement patterns that are highly coordinated in the approach, swing, and finally the landing, it has established itself as one of the hardest skills to master. There are several spiking types, which include dinks, regular spikes, rolls, the slide, back row attacks, down balls, and tooling or wipes or a score off the block.

It has established itself as a major move used in attacking and offense in volleyball. It gained popularity in the late 80s and early 90s due to the rise in popularity of beach volleyball.

Blocking in volleyball

The art of blocking in volleyball is usually a defensive move that either front-row players carry out. They do it by jumping and then pressing their arms above the net to attempt to block the hitter from the opposing team. It presents the first chance for your serving team’s players to thwart the defending team’s bumping, spiking, or even tipping. Blocking has established itself as one of the most worked-on skills.

Digging in volleyball

Digging is a volleyball skill involving a player passing a spike coming from the opposition. Mostly, this involves lunging, diving, or any other reactive moves. A dig keeps alive the point, giving a chance for the defense to make a spike back.

Digging involves more than just passing. You need to deliberately put yourself in the way of the game’s most powerful attacks. This demands courage, which is why it is not surprising that many players have trouble carrying it out. However, when one has confidence and a good mentality, it is possible to begin training that will see you improve your digging abilities, which will come in handy for your team.

Serving in volleyball

Like every other volleyball player, I know that serving involves a player putting the ball in play. It might sound like a simple act, but it is among the most crucial plays in the volleyball game. Aside from putting the ball in play, the service that is performed well makes receiving the ball for the opposing team hard, causing them to get disorganized, which disables them from performing a credible attack.

This can be carried out in three distinct ways: the overhand serve, the underhand serve, and the jump serve. The underhand serve sees the ball being hit from the bottom and proceeding upward while the overhand involves hitting the ball when it is above the head’s level.

On the other hand, the jump serve is a combination of the overhead serve with a quick run which imparts momentum in the ball, a jump, and a quite powerful hit.

Conclusion

Everyone has a unique way of spending their free time. Some love cooking while others love reading or bodybuilding. As for me, I like to play volleyball. It’s my hobby. Unlike many games like baseball, soccer, and basketball, it’s easy to learn volleyball. You do not need prior knowledge of playing the game before you start playing well. Regarding rules, you can learn them within a day. The sport also gives you a good chance to learn communication skills and teamwork. It’s a sport where you must work with team members to win.

Volleyball is an enjoyable sport with a deep strategy. It’s a game of continuous action since it’s strictly a rebound sport. International teams increasingly rely on height and power to play well. Yet, the ability of coaches and teams to invent new skills, strategies, and tricks has been crucial to their sustained success.

Volleyball Set	Volleyball Ball	Volleyball Knee Pads	Volleyball Net

Frequently asked questions

How long is a volleyball game?

Generally, a volleyball game lasts anywhere between 60 and 90 minutes, but several factors affect the length of the game. These factors include substitutions, win conditions, and different play levels with different rules and timeouts. Meanwhile, casual beach volleyball games last half the time of indoor college matches.

It is usual for college volleyball games to last two hours because many of the games are best out of 5 volleyball sets. The number of sets played significantly adds to the time played. Also, college volleyball games lack a countdown timer meaning that the game can last shorter or longer than expected. If two skilled teams play a college volleyball match against each other, great rallies can occur, extending the game’s length.

Volleyball matches for middle school and high school last about an hour because only 3 sets are played in these matches. The team that wins 2 out of the 3 sets emerges as the winner. Beach volleyball matches typically last 30 minutes to an hour. Beach volleyball is more dynamic than indoor volleyball and the players tend to score points much faster, contributing to a shorter game time. Beach volleyball games only end when one team has a 2-point advantage over the other. The 2-point advantage means that the games can go over the points required to win a set.

Volleyball tournaments can last about 8 to 10 hours and span a whole weekend. They are tiring and long. Thus, volleyball players must be prepared to sacrifice the whole day or weekend. Many tournaments follow a 3-set game setup with double or single elimination. Yet, when playing on a higher level, players can find themselves in a volleyball tournament consisting of 5-set games.

How many volleyball players are there?

A volleyball team has six players. Three of them play in the front row and the rest in the back row. However, a game can start with just four players. In mixed-gender games, matches are played between two teams consisting of six players; three women and three men, two women and four men, or two men and four women. Teams of 4 players can include two females and two males.

A team should have a setter, 2 receiver-hitters, 2 center blockers, and a universal spiker in the opening line-up. A few players partake in service receiving. Players are also assigned to defending and attacking positions. Substitutions are allowed during games. At a time, there cannot be over 12 to 14 players on a volleyball court. Before the game, it is necessary to do a warm-up to avoid getting injured.

Volleyball position numbers

During a volleyball game, players receive a number corresponding to their position on the court. The numbers are assigned in the following way:

• Number 1 is the setter
• Numbers 2 and 3 are the middle blockers
• Numbers 4 and 5 are the outside hitters
• Number 6 is the libero

Knowing how the numbers are assigned makes it easy to understand the court layout better. The setter is always positioned in the court’s middle with other players surrounding them. The middle blockers are positioned in front of the setter. The outside hitters are positioned at the court’s either side. The libero plays at the back and digs up any balls coming their way.

Volleyball position numbers are assigned based on a player’s jumping ability, height, and playing experience. Height is the most critical factor that determines a player’s position. The tallest players are usually assigned to play in the middle where they can use their height to attack the ball and block shots. The next tallest players are usually assigned to play as outside hitters or the opposite. In that position, they can take advantage of their height and spike the ball over the net. The shortest players are usually assigned to play setter because they can use their agility for setting the ball up for their teammates. Players have to be well-versed in their roles to do well at these rudimentary volleyball positions.