Typical outfit (414)

There are different outfits and things to wear for different days, but mostly they all look pretty similar. The most strict is a match or tournament. For a tournament, a typical outfit would be a jersey, spandex, kneepads, socks, volleyball shoes, and of course your hair up. There is a rule that everyone needs to match, so everyone needs to be wearing the same jersey and spandex. Usually you will bring 2 or 3 jerseys to a tournament and a couple paris of spandex since most of them are multiple days. In those tournaments,  we will switch which jersey we wear every day. In a school game, it is mostly the same, but just a few things are different. We still wear a jersey, spandex, socks, kneepads, and volleyball shoes. There is a rule with the spandex that says you can only have one logo on them, so the Nike Pro spandex with the band on them would be illegal.

In practice what you wear often depends on the coach or club. In some clubs and schools you can wear whatever shirts you want, but in others there are certain colors or practice shirts that they want you wearing to practices. For Kennedy High School, we get gray practice shirts that we have to wear every practice and we have to wear them with black shorts unless they say otherwise. At our club, we have practice shirts that we wear with black or navy blue spandex. There are two different colors of practice shirts and each one is designated to one practice night, so the black one is for Tuesday night and the gray one is for Wednesday. Some coaches are really strict with the uniform rule, like our club director who makes you run for wearing the wrong thing, or they can be more relaxed about it and not really mind when you wear the wrong thing as long as it only happens once in a while. 

There are also some optional things that some people wear, like bows. Some teams will get matching bows to put in their hair for tournaments, which I personally don't use. Teams can also decide to match things, like kneepads and socks, by all wearing the same color. 

There are also some things that you are not allowed to wear when you play a match. You can not wear jewelry, bobby pins, and any other accessories that might cause a problem or fall of when you play. 

Teamwork (433)

In volleyball, teamwork is a HUGE part. This sport requires everyone on the court to play a role, and if just one person isn't doing their job it affects the whole team. Unlike basketball or soccer where one or two people could make a play by themselves, volleyball requires the teamwork of everyone on the court and not just one or two people. Because the other team controls who gets the first contact, everyone has to be ready. Also, the play that you run depends on the first contact.

You also have to use teamwork in a different way. Not only does everyone on the court have to be ready at all times, but every contact depends on the previous one. For example, the hitter can't hit well if they do not get a good set, the setter can't give them a good set of they do not get a good pass, and the passer's pass depends on how the other team hits the ball over. So, again, it all stems back to the pass. It is almost like a chain reaction or a domino effect. If the very first thing goes wrong, it affects the rest of it, but if the very first thing is good, that will also affect it in a positive way.
Everyone needs to be ready and able to adjust to things at all times, and one way to work as a team doing this is to communicate. The more you talk to your teammates, the more everyone knows about what is happening on the court. Also, part of working together is knowing who's going to take a ball. Sometimes it is obvious, like how the setter takes the second ball on a decent pass. However, other times it is not so obvious. These balls would include serves or hits that go in between two players, a bad pass that the setter can not get to, and a bad set or out of system ball that didn't go to anyone in particular. On these balls, players need to talk to one another to figure out who is going to take the ball. This isn't something they can take their time with either; for most of these balls they only have about a second to decide who's going to take the ball, and with hits and serves even less time.
Since communicating and teamwork are such a huge part of the game, it is important to have a team that gets along, works well together, and has good team chemistry. If you don't, things might not click very well. 

College (423)

 Many athletes have hopes of playing a sport in college. This is a dream tons of athletes around the world share. Some have higher aspirations of going professional and earning a living off their talent and hard work. While going to college for sports is great, you must know the dedication it takes. There are many things you need to take into consideration before you jump right into the whole college athlete thing.
High school sports are very different than college sports. The coaches in college take sports much more seriously most of the time. These coaches are payed a lot of money to train you in college. Playing a sport in college is a year-long dedication. As long as you are a part of the team, you will always have some responsibilities. This includes working out in the off season, going to open gyms, and practicing daily for long periods of time when you are in-season. The responsibilities of playing in college are much higher and it is something athletes need to take very seriously, especially if you have a scholarship.
Knowing I am a high school athlete shows that I have not learned and experienced these things for myself. I think the amount of commitment to your sport depends on the school you go to and the division your sport is in. Division 1 sports seem to be the biggest commitment, while maybe a division 3 school is still very committed, but a lot less stressful. When it comes to choosing a college to go to there are a lot of things to take into consideration. The NCAA website shows sample questions to ask yourself when debating colleges. Not only is stress, commitment, and responsibility of playing a sport important, but going to a school that suits your hopes for your future. You want to make sure that the college is the right fit for YOU and not just your sport.
           Playing sports in college takes a lot of dedication, no matter what school, if you hope to be successful. The amount of effort you put in will ultimately determine how far you go in the sport. Each school has different levels of commitment to their sport. When choosing a college, it is extremely important to think about your life later on. Don't choose a school simply for athletics. Make sure it fits the subject you want to go into and make smart decisions. College is supposed to be the first step towards adulthood, so really really think through your decision.

Pep assemblies (261)

The biggest school wide competition is the spirit stick. What is the spirit stick? Well, the spirit stick is a prize for the most spirited class, although most of the competitions that determine a winner have nothing to do with spirit. Don’t get me wrong, some do, but others really do not measure spirit, but luck or chance. Also, the pep assemblies are originally about introducing our new season’s sports, clubs, activities, getting students excited for them, and recognizing the past sports’ accomplishments. Although they do this, the main purpose has moved away from this and towards winning the spirit stick. The students are way more focused on what class is the best than the actual reason for the assemblies. Even though the students probably don’t think of it this way, the competition for the stick may cause the classes to go against each other, because only one class is happy with the end result. This also somewhat goes against what the whole purpose of the spirit stick is for also. If the stick is meant to create spirit and pride in your school, and pride and spirit in a school promotes teamwork and a good environment. But, since the other three classes didn’t win, they are not going to be super happy about the outcome, but at the same time, they expected. Most of the student expect the seniors to win every time, so when they do it is no surprise. Because what school doesn’t want their seniors to win? Of course, you don’t want to lose your senior year!

Nationals

Nationals is what everyone looks forward to at the end of the season. It is the end of the year event that everyone tries to qualify for all season and train for. Nationals are one of the reasons for qualifiers, so that teams can qualify, other than at their regionals.
There are two different types of nationals: USA and AAU. The main difference is that you have to qualify to get into all the divisions except one at USA Nationals. In AAU, you don't have to qualify; you sign up for the division you think you should be in. Also, USA Nationals changes their location every year to a different city, and AAU Nationals is always in Orlando, Florida.
In USA Nationals, there are four different divisions: Open, National, American, and Patriot. You have to qualify for Open, National, and American, but not for Patriot. Patriot is the only one that you sign up for, so there are a lot of teams that want in on Patriot, just in case they don't qualify. They only take a certain amount, so in order to get a spot in that division, you have to sign up fairly early. Now, if you are signed up in Patriot early in the season, but you later qualify, then you can drop out of Patriot and join the division you qualified in.
There are multiple ways to qualify for nationals. One way is to get a bid through regionals. In Iowa, the first place team gets a National bid, and the second and third place teams get American bids. Another way is to win one at a qualifier. At qualifiers, you sign up for what division you want to play in and that is what bid you are fighting for. In different divisions the circumstances are different, for example; in the open division the top three teams get bids, but in the american division just the top team gets a bid. One last way to get a bid is a trickle down bid. This means that you placed just under a qualifying place at a tournament, but the team ahead of you either declined the bid or already has a different bid, so the bid then "trickles" down to you. For example: if you placed fourth at regionals, but the third place team already got a bid from a qualifier and they chose to keep that one, then they would decline the region's bid and it would go to you, the next one in line.
AAU Nationals, however, are different. There is no qualifying for them, you sign up, similar to the Patriot division. It is different though. There are four divisions: Open, Premier, Club, and Classic. The club will enter the tournament for a tournament fee and select a division based on their skill level and where they think they should be.
I have been to both nationals, and both are very competitive and are worth going to. Here is a link for more info about AAU Nationals: http://aauvolleyball.org/Events/NationalChampionships/2016GirlsNationals.aspx
Here is a link for more info about USA Nationals: http://www.teamusa.org/usa-volleyball/events/indoor/girls/2016-girls-jnc

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Pin hitters (554)

Pin hitters are the name for the hitters other than the middles. They are the right sides and left sides. They can also be called outside and opposite. Outside hitters are supposed to be one of the best hitters on the team. They also should be a decent passer and some even play all six rotations because they are good enough passers to stay in for back row. Right sides, or opposites, are supposed to be good blockers, since they are blocking the other team's outside, or best hitter. You can either run a 5-1 or a 6-2 offense (either one or two setters) and some teams run a 6-2 so that they can have a right side hitter and blocker in at all times. 

There are 2 outsides and one right side in the rotation  of six players, but any of these players can be subbed out by a DS or a libero when they get to the back row. The 2 outsides are always opposite each other, or 3 rotations away from each other. 

The outsides usually get the majority of the sets, especially when there is a bad pass or they are out of system. On these bad passes, the set probably will not be perfect, so the hitter has to be ready and be able to put the ball in play and be able to adjust to the set. Since these hitters get a lot of the sets, they can also get tired faster than the other hitters, especially if they are playing six rotations. A lot of the time, a coach will tell their players to try and serve or hit at the other team's outside and make her pass to try and fire her out. If it works, she might not hit as well as when she wasn't tired. This might be because she isn't jumping as high, moving as fast, or hitting as hard. 

The opposites, on the other hand, usually have someone come in for their back row and are not usually six rotation players . The person who comes in for their back row is almost always a DS, not a libero, since liberos typically come in for the middles. 

Also, whenever the setter passes the first ball and the libero has to set, it is almost never going to the middle, so that means that all the balls that the libero sets have to go to the pin hitters. That's another reason why the pin hitters always have to be ready for the ball and be able to adjust to any set. A big part of being ready for a set is transitioning. Transitioning is literally the "transition" between defense(blocking or off block coverage) and offense( being ready to hit). When they transition to their hitting spot, they are supposed to go just past the ten foot line outside the court, although this could change depending on height, quickness, age, and if you are a righty or lefty. For example, if you have long legs and take bigger steps, then you would want to transition further off the net so you have more room for your hitting approach. Also, if you are left handed, you want to start your approach slightly to the right of where a right handed person would start their approach. 

Silent signals and signs (444)

Like terminology in a sport there are also hand signals involved. Hand signals are just as important as terminology. Depending on the sport hand, signals can be used differently. They also mean different things for different people playing or reefing the sport.

For the sport of volleyball hand signals are used to be secretive and faster for communicating what the hitters want. Because everyone that plays volleyball knows what a 1 ball is or a 31 ball etc., so the setter will use hand signals to replace the numbers to make it more secretive. To make it secretive, the setter will pull their jersey to make it act as a wall and then hold up a number or a signal for the play. There are different plays for different situations. In serve receive the plays are going to more simple and not so complex. When there is a free ball plays are going to be complicated and hard for the opponents defense and block.  You will see more pin hitters hitting faster and different kind of sets than they would on a serve receive ball.

For the reefing point of view, they have a huge amount of signals to give. They don't communicate by yelling out number usually. Reefing is a hard job. If you would like to be a ref I would suggest to have the personality of toughness and standing your ground. Parents, coaches and players get on their back for the type of calls they make. When they give the right away to serve, their signal will be, their arm coming across their chest to hit the opposite shoulder. Every type of call they make has to be accompanied by their whistle. By making a call they will have to do the following;  they will blow their whistle and then point to the side that received the point, then signal what happened on the side that made the mistake. By calling a lift, they will move their hand up looking like they are carrying a tray. A double hit will be called sometimes and that is referred to just the number two being held up with their fingers. If one of the players touches the tape or hits the net, they will give the signal to the team that won the point and then give the signal by slightly touching the net, while telling the coach what number it was by their fingers. If the setter or one of the players trying to save a ball crosses the center line the ref will point at the center line with their pointer finger. There are a lot more signals refs will give.

Club vs. School

There are many differences between club volleyball and high school volleyball. Club season can last up to eight months and as short as five months. High school volleyball only last up to three months. Both club and high school have one goal, and that is to get to state and win it and for club to make it to nationals and succeed at nationals. In high school to get to state all depends on how well they do in the beginning of the year. If the high school volleyball team has a winning start of the season they will have a better regional seeding to have their ride to state. Now club volleyball is all about the tournaments the team is in and how well they do. If they are in more qualifiers: tournaments with teams all over America to receive a bid to nationals. Teams can either receive a bid from a qualifier tournament or the state that team is from regionals. If they place first or second in either of those tournaments they will receive a bid to nationals. This is extremely exciting! It is an award of how hard you have worked. 

High school state volleyball is short. It last for three days. Each class plays on a different day. There is 5a, 4a, 3a, 2a, and 1a. Volleyball, basketball and softball are the only sports in high school that have 5a. There is a total of three days for each class that the state tournament lasts. If the team makes it all the way to the championship they would have played a total of three matches, one match a day. This is a big thing to be apart of in high school. Going to state is the ultimate goal for high school athletes. State volleyball is hosted in the U.S. Cellular Center downtown Cedar Rapids. There are two courts set up right next to each other with a curtain between them, so the game balls won't be interrupting the courts. Once you lose you are done with that high school volleyball season. The girls cry and the seniors realize that they are done with high school volleyball and on to the next step in their lives.

Club nationals is a lot different than high school state volleyball. State volleyball is right after regional. Nationals are hosted in June and last about three weeks. There are multiple different age groups ranging from eleven year olds to eighteen year olds. Then on top of that there are different divisions in the age groups. There are five different divisions. Patriot which is the lowest, then there is USA, American, National, and Open. Open is the best of the best. Usually there are only 26 teams that are allowed to be in the open division. This is where most of the college coaches come to scout players. National division still has top teams, because the teams that didn't make open but at a national qualifier ended up in the top 5, but couldn't pull it through to receive a bid got pushed down to the national division. If you make the national division instead of open you still should be ready to compete, because there are tough teams and triple the amount of teams than in open. Winning or even placing in the top 15 at nationals is outstanding and will get your club name out there.
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Diving (365)

How many volleyball players really know how to dive for a ball? Not many actually. When you are learning how to play the game of volleyball they don't usually teach you how to dive. This lesson is usually taught later, because learning the technique of passing is much more important than diving. Playing volleyball you want to pass the ball before you dive. If a volleyball player is always on the floor and not getting balls up then they aren't doing anything for the team. There is a saying that goes, "my grandmother can dive too. STAY ON YOUR FEET."

When on defensive and there is a strong powerful hitter coming up against the defenders, the defense is usually on their heels so when they tip the defenders will dive for the ball, because they aren't ready for it. Coaches and the other teammates get mad if the defender misses the tip.Tips are the easiest kind of balls to pick up.

The correct way to dive is by tucking in your leg and landing on your outer thigh. Knee pads are to protect your knees from brusies and cuts. Because many players don't learn how to dive at a young age, they land on their knees using their knee pads. This is extremely dangerous and bad for their knees. It is important to learn how to dive right, so they can not only save their knees but get balls up that they wouldn't be able to get up before. This helps both them and their team.

When going after a ball you are going to take a big step towards that direction and then tuck your leg and land on your thigh. After the dive you will either do a log roll or a summer salt roll. the summer salt roll is when after the ball is up you will roll over the shoulder that is on the same side of the thigh that you dove on. A log roll is when you roll side ways like a log. The summer salt roll is used more often. It really depends on what the person is doing in the moment on which roll they choose.