Volleyball — Improving the Ability of Young Players to Jump

My personal sports-background (Junior and Senior High) is gymnastics; in particular tumbling and floor exercise. These events require great leaping ability — especially the ability to jump high from a standing/immobile position.

Two series of exercises, that I learned starting at about age 11, have served me well in terms of leaping ability; both in gymnastics and in volleyball. These are easy to do in your own home and don’t require much in the way of equipment.

The first exercise, shown in Figure 1, is the toe raiser. This requires some form of broad platform about an inch in height (no more than 2 inches). A 1x6 or 2x6 board works well for this (a good 12” in width). Some people use a book, but this is unstable due to pages sliding against one another.

Begin by placing the balls of your feet up on the board with your heels on the floor (Fig. 1A). Slowly raise your heels off the floor until you are high on your toes (Fig. 1B; not so high that you lose balance or roll over the tops of your toes). Hold for a count of 5 seconds and then lower your heels back to the floor.

The key to this exercise is to lift yourself slowly; don’t bend your knees and pop yourself up off the floor. When you are just starting out, you may have to do this exercise with your arms out to your side for balance (a great skill to develop as well). You may also need to do it with no board at all.

Do at least three times a week; 10 reps in three sets with rest and stretching in between sets. As you develop you can add weights: either dumbbells in each hand or a barbell that you hold behind your head on the top of your shoulders.

Be sure not to add too much weight too quickly and remember to do each rep slowly so that you can monitor your balance and maximize the effects.

The second exercise that is very beneficial is jumping rope. Make sure that: 1) you keep your weight on the balls of your feet (see Fig. 2); and 2) that you use the “double-skip” technique (two jumps as the rope goes around one time).

Jumping rope can be an intense workout for the calves so you may need to work your way up to a 30 minute workout a few times a week. As you get better you can also beat boredom by adding “fancier” rope-jumping techniques (e.g., alternating feet; the double jump — when you do one jump and the rope goes around twice; or the side swing — where the rope passes along the side of your body.

Before you know it, you will be executing much more powerful volleyball jumps. “Jump High, Hit Hard” should be the motivational motto of every volleyball player!