Volleyball Offense: How to Create a Strong Platform

Keeping your hands, wrists and elbows in proper form plays a major factor in creating a successful pass.

Having a strong, flat platform for passing or digging the ball is very important. Your platform is what will guide the ball to your target. By using a platform, you can create different angles for the ball to hit off of, which can change the direction for the ball so that it heads where you want it to go.

“You want to have your wrists and hands together, elbows locked,” says professional volleyball player Nicole Fawcett. “You want your forearms facing upwards. This is going to create a surface area for the ball to bounce off of.”

You also want to keep your platform away from your body so that you can create the proper angle for passing the ball to your setter. As you pass, you want to hold the angle of your platform as a follow-through to get the ball to go where you want it to go.

PASSING

When passing, the angle of your platform will change based on where you are on the court:

• If you’re closer to the net, you want to have your platform farther away from your body so that the ball goes higher and not over the net. You want it to go more up in the air with this pass.
• As you go deeper into the court, you’ll have your platform a little closer to your body so that you can have more power to get the ball farther to your setter.

Make sure to also use your legs during the pass. You want to let your arms stay strong and locked and hold the angle while you gain power from your legs. Try not to swing your arms, as this will impact your angle and create inconsistency in the location of your passes.

“Remember, a good, strong platform will give you more surface area to create angles and direct the ball in the location where you want it to go,” Fawcett says.

Setters are involved with almost every offensive play on the volleyball court. This makes it crucial for them to work on their footwork and body position.