Have you ever wondered how a 4’8″ 11-year old girl can hit a more powerful volleyball spike than a junior high player?
John Kessel, USA Volleyball, provided answers to this and other questions as part of the junior clinic at 40th Annual King of the Mountain Tournament in Vail on Father’s Day weekend. The coaching team, which included top players from the men’s and women’s open draw, showed the youngsters how to hit everything from the bear claw, cobra, and misdirected overhead to the sky ball and topspin serve.
As part of the instruction, Kessel raised a question about the source of power on the spike. He stated that there are four sources of power when hitting a volleyball spike:
• Core – Stomach and back muscles.
• Torque – Hip and body rotation.
• Arm swing/arm speed.
• Wrist snap.
Players were asked to assign 100 points between these four potential sources. Better players were asked to explain their allocation of points.
Long story short, the responses and justifications were varied, particularly among the better players.
How would you answer this question?
Based on research conducted by USAV, 17-18% of the power is generated by core strength, 37-38% torque, 42-43% arm speed, and 2-3% wrist snap.
For more words of wisdom from Kessel, check out his blog – Growing the Game Together by clicking here.