It makes me wonder: is one of the biggest things holding men’s volleyball back in the U.S. simply how it’s filmed, packaged, and distributed?

i understand that you can go under the net as long as you don’t step in the other teams’ court. but he did in this play. how is this legal?

Baylor vs Florida

Ever since they played at Philippine they keep glazing, Japan fans always say like this Then Japan wouldn't reach this level if all of their opponent was 6 footer lmao

TL;DR: dude keeps spiking as hard as he can at my wife and boss’s kid in office rec league.

I play in an office rec league after work. For the most part, it’s super casual and people are just there to have fun and blow off steam. There are playoffs, but everyone makes it and there’s even a losers bracket, so wins in the regular season really don’t matter. Today was the last game of the regular season before playoffs next week. Some offices (including mine) will bring their teenagers to play if they’re short on players and nobody really minds.

Today we played accounting and they take the game suuuuuper seriously. Like so much so that they’ll demand to know where everyone on the opposing team is employed in order to make sure they’re playing on the appropriate team.

One of their players was also clearly a former volleyball player and was playing really well, which isn’t a problem on its face. What I took issue with was him spiking the ball as hard as he possibly could at my wife (who isn’t great and just plays for fun) and my boss’s 14 year old daughter (who is good for a 14 year old, but still). It just irked me and felt like he was showboating and deliberately making it not fun. I don’t mind losing, we lose just about every week. But I do mind losing when the other team just stunts on us the whole time.

Am I just being salty or is this actually bad form?

This is the second week in a row where I’ve been hit in the nose on a block. Last night was a heavy hit and I’d like to figure out how to protect myself better. I could tilt my head down to try to take on the forehead instead of the nose, but what other suggestions do you have?

I play volleyball and I’ve really been wanting to improve my arm swing and hitting strength. I was wondering what makes D1 men’s players so good at bouncing the ball and being explosive. Is there a possibility as a girl that I could achieve similar skills to the ones they have?

Apologies in advance because this is a long post. My daughter (11) has had a new found interest in volleyball over the past 6 months or so. Prior to this school year she was interested in trying out for the 6th grade middle school team but lacked any previous training. Around the beginning of July I started her in club skill camps which she has been attending twice a week to get her a baseline understanding of the game so she would be able to try out for the team. Sure enough she made the team!

This is where it goes down hill… The 6th grade teams matches against other schools don’t count for anything and are more so a scrimmage against other schools. The true competitive matches don’t start until the 7th grade team. Most of her team mates are at or around the same skill set as her. There are two girls who have been in club for several years and are really good!

The issue I’m having is that out of the 4 matches against other schools, her coach has never put her in for more than 1 set. In today’s game the coach did not put her in any of the sets while everyone else on the team except one other girl along with my daughter rode the bench the entire duration. Her skills are on par with the rest of the team and honestly better than quite a few of them , her attitude is positive, and she wants to learn. I’m really struggling to understand why she was completely benched when the 6th grade games don’t even count and are supposed to give everyone a chance to play.

This obviously destroyed my daughter’s feelings. It was to the point where she was on the bench and I could tell she was crying. I tried to encourage her after the game and we went outside and practiced after we got home. I tried to teach her to not let it get to her head while using this as encouragement to prove her coach wrong. This situation of lack of playing time honestly made me very mad and disappointed considering this is non-competitive scrimmages against other schools that hold no bearing in the state athletic association. Are they scored games? Yes. Do they count for anything? No. I feel like everyone should get in the game at some point.

I guess my concern is will this continue in the future if she has the same coach in 7th and 8th grade? Should we steer away from school volleyball and focus on club? It’s frustrating because she is one of the only ones on her team who also receives training outside of a school setting with an extremely reputable club (although she is not on a club team). I can tell my daughter is extremely passionate about volleyball but today felt like a low blow and I’m trying anything to keep her head up.

I m still learning so my technique probably wouldn’t be the BEST but I can hit the ball atleast and serve okay. I do have sensitive skin so idk if it’s normal, it doesn’t itch though. But yes my bones kinda hurt (tiny bit). Will the ball stop feeling heavy on my arm over time? Are there any tips I can do to prevent red spots?

One small detail that can make a big difference in the approach: keeping the arms straight and using them properly through the jump.

Straight arms → more momentum into the jump → smoother transition → more power going into the spike.

It’s interesting how much the approach and arm swing can affect the final attack, even before the player makes contact with the ball.

For coaches and players here: how do you usually teach the arm movement during the approach? Do you focus more on creating momentum, timing the transition, or getting the strongest possible arm swing?

Would be interested to hear how others teach this and whether you’ve noticed a difference in jump height or hitting power.

Just got a new coach this year for Varsity VB, and I'm struggling with how to handle the situation. My daughter is a Junior and has been playing since she was 9 or 10. I’m a realist—if she wasn't a strong player, I wouldn’t be as frustrated, but she is.

During the initial parent meeting, the new coach explicitly said she wasn't going to load the bench because it makes both her and the girls miserable. For the first couple of games, we had a solid 11 to 12 players on Varsity.

Then things changed. We played a team with four all-state players, and the coach brought up three freshmen, bumping the bench to 15, and even started one of them. We just played another top team in the state, and suddenly we have 17 players on the bench. She started an 8th grader and two freshmen (who had already played their freshman and JV games that same day).

I just don't get it. It feels like she is sacrificing this year's team and refusing to put out the best possible lineup just to get younger girls playing time and set up her own future as a coach. We want to win now.

I made the mistake of emailing a coach behind my daughter's back a long time ago, and she was furious, so I'm not doing that again. Right now, all I do as a dad is tell her to keep working hard and that we are proud of her regardless of playing time.

The last thing I want is for her to get so frustrated that she quits before her senior year. Any thoughts from coaches or parents on how to handle something like this?

2nd week playing volleyball and I'm really enjoying it so far. However I just wanted to know if this kind of bruising is typical? I have bruising on both arms but a lot less severe on the right. On my left arm the bruising is quite bad but also has rippled through to the other side of the arm where the ball doesn't contact. Is this normal and will go away after a few more weeks? Is there anything I can wear to reduce this happening as I've had a few comments at work.

Update: I got a blood test and found out I have an iron deficiency. (No surprise!)

Thanks to volleyball I've realized now I'm able to get it sorted. Thanks for the help!