Volleyball and Development
Motor Structures in Female Volleyball Players Aged 14–17 According to Technique Quality and Performance. Ratko Katic Coll. Antropol. 30 (2006) 1: 103–112
volleyball-development-study.doc
This is a good read but as usual is just a study on one small group of kids. Not the written word. The problem that occurs is that people read studies or books or websites ( or blogs HA) and believe what they read. Belinda Gabbe presented at the AFL hamstring conference Sept 06 and explained that the only real study that might be relied upon is a cohort study. Thus one would have to get the whole AFL and get half the players to do programs used for Hamstring injury prevention and the other half nothing. Then one simply has to let them go and for example 5 years later check the statisitics. Unethical, impractical and won’t happen. Other studies are called case studies and cross sectional studies and can be very useful but may not be scientifically validated. So when you read these research article or anything I write, take it in and store it away for future reference. Thats all.
ANYWAY ONTO THE STUDY:
There were 2 age groups 14–15 and 16–17 . The study pinpointed 2 groups. Those more efficient at the net (explosive strength + agility) and those more efficient in the field (psychomotor speed + agility). Also some stats were provided as possible benchmarks for varied qualities (elite) female volleyball players aged 14–15 and 16–17.
Tests used for explosive strength assessment
1. standing long jump 2. standing vertical jump 3. approach vertical jump – jump both legs after volleyball 3-step approach 4. throwing medicine ball from supine position – 1-kg medicine ball
Tests for agility assessment ( should be change direction!)
1.6mx6m run – Change of direction test 2. 9-3-6-3-9 m run – Another change direction test. 3. T test 4. Hexagon test: Jump test
Tests for assessment of movement frequency ( reads like a dance to me!)
1. hand tapping 2. double hand tapping 3. foot tapping 3. foot tapping against the wall –
6 variables were used for assessment of volleyball technical efficiency
1. service 2. serve reception 3. setting 4. spike 5. block 6. field defense
*They also ranked the girls for volleyball qualities and also team qualities
MY GENERAL SUMMARY or INTERPRETATION of this study
I have copied the conclusions below from the article. From my perspective relative to development and relative to many team sports what this article says is that at 6 to 10 kids should learn the sport and all its skills and also grab the window of opportunity and play fast sports and do activities that assist co-ordination. At 10 to 12 ( before puberty?) work on change of direction and agility with training and varied sports and specific volleyball training and maybe throw some medicine balls around and get off the ground with sprints for example. Not advanced plyometrics! Then at puberty onwards do some light strength work and related basic jump and jump technique training to enhance volleyball skills. Again general work that creates a base and complements volleyball skills. At 14 to 15 work hard on most aspects but still work more on change of direction and general strength needs and individual needs. Then at 15 to 17 power them up and speed them up. If the girl is mature and has a good training age then work hard but of they are down on qualities go back to square one and get these “topped” up. So ideally at 17 the base should be set and they are on their way. Ideal! This is one way I would interpret this study?
ACTUAL CONCLUSIONS FROM THE STUDY
*at age 9, selection should be based on psychomotor speed and coordination on solving complex motor problems. These motor abilities will ultimately limit
elite game performance: psychomotor speed by facilitating technique performance, and coordination and/or motor intelligence through faster motor learning and efficient solution of game situations;
*at age 11, selection should be based on coordination in terms of agility and explosive strength facilitating performance of basic technique elements, e.g., service and serve receipt;
*at age 13, selection should be based on explosive strength and agility that facilitate performance of techniques, e.g., block and spike;
*at age 15, selection should be based on specific motor abilities that are primarily related to body height, strength and spike precision, i.e. specific explosive strength and specific agility-mobility; and
*at age 17, selection should be done by evaluation of all specific motor abilities, especially specific speed and specific agility-mobility, enabling elite female volleyballers to efficiently manage all possible game situations and facilitate their technique performance, especially those in field defense
Article ok for Volleyball basics
This is a simple article that has nice pics of some good foundation exercises or even ok for inseason maintenance for volleyball. After all a muscle doesn’t know if it is saving a penalty or doing a massive block! It just contracts maximally.
http://www.behindthemask.net/potenza/Goaile%20leg%20strength.htm
C Grade Italian Womens Volleyball Fitness Program
I translated this, or moreso copied it from an Italian website for volleyball . Pretty big focus on strength and power and proprioception. Just some information and hope it is interesting. I dont know if Serie C is semi pro. Seems so given they only train 4 days a week.
Womens National Volleyballers in Melbourne
FRIDAY 7pm: UNI BLUES vs UTS SYDNEY at Melbourne University
SATURDAY 11am and 5pm Dandenong Stud Rd Dandenong Basketball Centre
SUNDAY 11am Dandenong Stud Rd Dandenong Basketball Centre
The “Athletic Position” the Squat and Volleyball
Young Volleyball Players should learn the basics of proper movement ASAP. So simply learning how to do a bodyweight squat and understanding what good posture is seems simple but is often overlooked. The obvious aim is to land or explode from what is called the “Athletic Position”. Knees in line with feet and head up/shoulder back and butt out and soft resilient landings. So lots and lots of repetitions of proper basic bodyweight squats and proper coaching and feedback is needed.
Females in particular collapse inwards and so technique and strength has to be devleoped hand in hand. Thus if one travels OZ and screens lots of good female volleyballers for example and tells them to lunge and squat and side lunge and so on , one sees the good, the bad and the indifferent. Knees collapsing inwards, bodyweights teetering on the balls of their feet and toes or total collapses of the upper body in a lunge, weak backs etc. So a critical step is first to master the basics of movement and then progress to correct landing techniques.
And even in good players a step backwards is often needed. No use trying to get 16 year old girls to do power cleans with weak backs and no core and collapsing knees. Often though players have weaknesses or range of motion problems that need addressing to allow proper techniques.
Teach kids to squat, lunge, side lunge, stepups and so on and coach them. Get them to balance on one leg and hit good postures and do basic core work. Basic stuff that one sees every day but is not covered in many young athletes. No rocket science here. Then check their landing on one and two legs and see what happens. At the end all movements have to be practiced and learnt at the same speeds as in a game but no use constructing a building without the foundations.
So many players can play Ok and look Okish on court but when analyzed closely that 5 to 10% is missing. We see this a lot in young tennis players in OZ. Great players and their parents have spent their mortgage on tennis lessons but these kids often have poor movement skills or strength and ROM deficits and these issues have hurt the development of the sport of tennis in my opinion.
A simple article with a good shot of bodyweight squats is on this site.
http://www.senecapt.com/_articles/ACL_Prevention.htm
Research by Dr. Hewitt in preventative research for ACL injuries in female basketball athletes and other sports is very interesting. He has promoted the development of a how to jump and land protocol . This research and plyometric based program produced a dramatic reduction in ACL injuries. But before these jump and landing programs are done, in my opinion basic skills have to be learnt and core and strength needs must be addressed.
- Certainly in his most recent research ( 2007) where specific “jump” training was used he alludes to the need to do more specific training on high risk players. Thus drawing from this type of research on ACL’s and looking at general development my opinion is that the basic movement skills must be mastered in many “at risk” players or “poorly conditioned players” before plyometrics and advanced power methods are used a lot.
So keep it simple and make sure basic skills are taught ASAP.Differential neuromuscular training effects on ACL injury risk factors in”high-risk” versus “low-risk” athletes.
Aquatic plyometric training increases vertical jump in female volleyball players
This is already an old article but reviewing some articles on volleyball S&C should be of interest. In the 2005 Med Sci Sports Exerc 2005 OCT journal an article “Aquatic plyometric training increases vertical jump in female volleyball players” was presented and the medline abstract is below. One possible flaw is the age of the players and also the control group that only did stretching. But nevertheless for this age group this method could provide a double whammy by assisting recovery and enhancing general strength and power levels and not injuring the players given there were no injuries in the study and little soreness. This was a progressive programme, consisting of two 45-minute sessions in a swimming pool twice a week. Exercises included power skips, spike approaches, single- and double-leg bounding, continuous jumps for height, squat jumps with blocking form and depth jumps. Thus coaches could mix and match a complete conditioning session by using these results and mixing in some varied volleyball relevant routines. An 11% increase in Vertical Jump in 6 weeks at this age is most promising versus 5% for the stretching group which occured in first month being obviously an adaptation to volleyball training. One of the reasons I reviewed this article was because some players at 15 have done little strength work and so an aggressive plyometric program can often cause more bad than good. Thus maybe in girls who have missed out on crucial developmental phases some work in the water whilst a strength programme is commenced may be a great bridging method.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Numerous studies have reported that land-based plyometrics can improve muscular strength, joint stability, and vertical jump (VJ) in athletes; however, due to the intense nature of plyometric training, the potential for acute muscle soreness or even musculoskeletal injury exists. Performance of aquatic plyometric training (APT) could lead to similar benefits, but with reduced risks due to the buoyancy of water. Unfortunately, there is little information regarding the efficacy of APT. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of APT on VJ and muscular strength in volleyball players. METHODS: Nineteen female volleyball players (aged 15 +/- 1 yr) were randomly assigned to perform 6 wk of APT or flexibility exercises (CON) twice weekly, both in addition to traditional preseason volleyball training. Testing of leg strength was performed at baseline and after 6 wk, and VJ was measured at baseline and after 2, 4, and 6 wk. RESULTS: Similar increases in VJ were observed in both groups after 4 wk (APT = 3.1%, CON = 4.9%; both P < 0.05); however, the APT group improved by an additional 8% (P < 0.05) from week 4 to week 6, whereas there was no further improvement in the CON group (-0.9%; P = NS). After 6 wk, both groups displayed significant improvements in concentric peak torque during knee extension and flexion at 60 and 180 degrees x s(-1) (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of APT and volleyball training resulted in larger improvements in VJ than in the CON group. Thus, given the likely reduction in muscle soreness with APT versus land-based plyometrics, APT appears to be a promising training option.
State of Strength and Conditioning in Womens Volleyball in OZ
There is no state of conditioning from what I can see. What seems to be required is a planned developmental scheme for girls from before puberty through to adult status. How can this be achieved? Seems to me that some time has to be put aside to fitness training even though coaches will argue they only have time for skills development which is a valid one. But windows exist for physical devleopment and movement abilities and if missed are hard to catch up on.
loris bertolacci 