1. Here is a Grade 4/5 introduction to ‘the ball’ – to use before volleyball if hand eye coordination is not great.
Grade 4’s have some trouble before Christmas with regular volleyball.
2. I have also found a some great ideas for ‘team play’ from Holland and a International Volleyball Federation’s conference. It’s based upon 4 vs 4 volleyball. I really like a lot of the ideas here….
See this video.by Wilco Nijland, Netherlands Volleyball Federation and this teaching progression
adaped from Wilco Nijland’s paper by Doug Reimer, UBC’s Varsity Women’s coach
Ray Myrtle
Thanks to Tammy Richardson for editing the unit below for us.
Go to the Premier Sports Award Program to order badges and materials such as posters etc.
A Volleyball Unit for Intermediate Classes in September- October
by Ray Myrtle
Goals: Games are one of the best ways to learn movement, and are an important social and cultural activity. Games involve strategy, thinking while acting, and coordinating with others.
Best Resource: Premier Sports Awards. (Premier’s Sports 604-737-3062) Manuals on many sports are available for about $15 as are free badges for participants when they complete skills level tests.
Also Volleyball BC has a program called Atomic Volleyball for elementary schools and may come to your school and help.
These descriptions assume a 40 minute period.
Week One: These classes are used to introduce the following:
Procedures for preparation for gym class: putting on runners, T-shirts and shorts.
Students change for gym upon arrival at school or at the end of lunch.
Students and put their clothes back in their locker or cloak room.
Try to get gym time just before lunch, because you won’t loose class time changing after class.
Students without shorts participate, but miss a recess.
Usually explaining these procedures take some time so for the remainder of the period I usually play minor games such as Eco-tag. This tag game has three groups: Blue Pinnies (who ‘save’ whites, and tag Reds); Red Pinnies (who tag Whites and are tagged by Blue); and white (no Pinnies) who are tagged by blues. Usually I select 2 blue and about 5-6 red players. Players must stand with arms out (in a T shape), when caught; they are ‘saved’ when someone runs under their arms. Utilize a freeze signal, and rehearse so that students will stop quickly when needed. Freeze signal can be a whistle, or using a drawn out ‘and stop’ (aaaannnndddd stop).
This game is a great warm-up game. By the way, you may have recognized it as a predator/prey simulation game (eg. White represent grass; red represent deer; and blue represent wolves), (adapted from Project Wild).
By varying the numbers you can see what happens to the ecology… what numbers are stable?
Week Two First Class:
Volleyball: (If possible use foam volleyballs or equivalent available form SporTime, Sparlings, etc. or remove some of the air from regular balls so they stay round but you can depress the surface with a strong finger)
1. Warm up activity- Ecology Tag game described above – 5 minutes
Students begin the game immediately as they enter the gym.
While Eco-tag is going on, get out the volleyballs.
First Lesson: Fore arm pass ‘Catch and throw’. (Catching and throwing is a fundamental life skill, volleyball provides an important context to learn this)
2. Demonstrate the ready position:
Teaching Points:
Feet shoulder width apart.
Toes pointing forward (not outward)
Knees slightly bent.
Elbows in front of hips.
Slightly bent over (the posture is like the position one would take if starting a sprint from standing). Have students demonstrate, and move around in that position.
3. Demonstrate: Underhand Catch and Throw against the wall.
Each player has a ball or works in pairs takes turns passing against the ball. Stand about 1.5 meters from the wall in ready position and throw to a wall using straight arms.
Aim to hit the wall about 2 m. above the floor.
Try to throw the ball so that the ball bounces back to your knees. Throw using both hands, and straight arms (the idea is to use a motion like a forearm pass to throw the ball). This is a real challenge for most students.
Circulate around the gym. Watch for ready position, and stop the class by using your freeze signal and sit where they are when you see a common error, and have a student demonstrate the correct way and then continue. Try to keep these ‘interruptions’ very brief, about than 45 seconds. Have the student demonstrator ready before stopping the class. Try to show the skill done correctly, and then BRIEFLY mention a key point or two: “Notice her knees are bent.” Or “Show me where her arms are.”
4. Once the students have some the idea. Introduce short movements side to side, that is, toss the ball, move sideways 2 meters, and catch the ball near your knees. Continue to correct and circulate. As students successfully do this, select pairs to do the toss underhand in pairs in ready position (begin without sideways movement for the first few weeks).
5. When most are able to do this, pair them up by ability, pair high with low, and medium and medium. These are the partners for pairs work.
Have students remember their partners so that they can begin practice quickly. Students without partners RUN to you and are paired up by you.
Continue with underhand Toss (throw) and catch in pairs. The ball should go the height of the top of a basketball backboard. Demonstrate.
Try variations such as: Catch and throw on one leg. Catch and throw with one hand. Catch and throw when back to back to back.
Dismiss.
I reply to requests of: ‘Can we play a game?’ with, ‘We’re not ready yet.’
The structure of each class following the first one is similar:
I send a monitor ahead to get out the pinnies (2 blue and 5 red)
3-5 minutes: Ecology Tag, This continues until all the bath room requests etc. are done and everyone is in class.
15-30 minutes: Passing against the wall. Either fore-arm pass. Begin with forearm pass (it’s harder and takes more time to learn, and is easier for children who are not strong). Watch for bent arms, and encourage using legs for power instead of swinging arms. The key to keeping the students focused is to keep challenging the kids by reminding them of their focus…. pass the ball to the wall so that it returns to their knees etc. and changing the activity every 5-10 minutes.
During this phase, gradually (through the unit) progress more quickly through the early stages to the later activities.
Forearm Pass: Teaching Points.
1. Practice hand position. Check
2. Practice putting hands together quickly with arms straight.
3. Arms at right angles to spine, and about parallel to thighs.
4. Neck almost in line with spine (not looking up too much)
5. Use legs for power, not swinging arms.
6. Contact the ball just above the wrist.
Forearm pass drill sequence.
Practice with the Wall
Note: as much as possible, only allow those who can do each skill to go to on.
1. Underhand 2 handed toss to the wall and catch with straight arms near the knees in ready position.
2. As #1 but moving sideways about 2 meters.
3. Toss, (forearm) pass, catch. Repeat.
4. Toss, (forearm) pass, clap hands, catch. Repeat.
5. Toss, clap hands, (forearm) pass, catch. Repeat.
6. Toss, pass, pass, catch. Repeat.
7. Toss, pass continuously but catch when you are losing control. Repeat.
8. Toss, pass continuously and count the maximum consecutive number of passes you can do in one minute.
Practice with a partner
1. Toss, (forearm) pass, catch. Repeat.
2. Toss, pass, pass, catch.
3. Toss, pass, until not in control, catch.
Teaching points for the volley:
Index fingers and thumbs form a triangle.
Contact the ball using all the fingers and most of each finger touches the ball.
The volley is similar to a chest pass in basketball, but done upward and from the forehead. It is not a slap or hit.
Follow through upwards in the direction of the path of the ball.
Volley Drill sequence…
Practice with the Wall.
9. Toss, volley, catch. Repeat.
10. Toss, volley, clap hands, catch. Repeat.
11. Toss, clap hands, volley, catch. Repeat.
12. Toss, volley, volley, catch. Repeat.
13. Volley against the ground check hand position (like a triangle), and smoothness
14. Toss, volley continuously but catch aim for a target and collect the ball. Repeat.
15. Toss, volley continuously and count the maximum consecutive number of passes you can do in one minute.
5-20 minutes Repeat the same activities in pairs, about 5-6 m apart.
0-15 minutes Serving.
1. Serving against the wall
2. Serving in pairs over the net from about 5 m from the net. Partner catches the ball with two hands
0-20 min. Team play.
Begin with 6 or 7 aside catch and throw volleyball.
Usually group students by skill: high, medium, low, (the games will be better for everyone; high courts will move on quickly to games, low courts will move to playing a game but maintaining catch and throw).
Play on badminton courts. Begin using foam or soft volleyballs if possible or reduce the air pressure in the ball slightly (pain is not fun).
Game Sequence:
1. Serve, Catch and volley, Catch and volley, Catch and volley over the net. Continue until an error. Rotate and repeat (don’t keep score).
2. Serve, Catch and volley, Catch and volley, volley over the net. Continue until an error. Then rotate and repeat (don’t keep score).
3. Serve, Catch and volley, volley, volley over the net. Continue until an error. Then rotate and repeat (don’t keep score).
4. Serve, Forearm pass or volley, Catch and volley, volley over the net. Continue until an error. Then rotate and repeat.
5. Regular volleyball.
Complete the unit with Premier Sports Awards tests then games (usually 2-3 periods) while you evaluate, and give out badges when they arrive.
Rough Sequence:
During the unit my classes will change from 90% against the wall to 20% against the wall. Gradually increasing the time spent on the later activities and reducing the early ones.
Weeks 1-3 Introduce Fore arm pass
Wm up 5 min
Forearm pass with the wall: 25-30 min
Practice with a partner. 5-10 min.
Weeks 3-5 Introduce Volley and serve and catch and throw volleyball
Warm-up 5 minutes
Forearm pass with the wall: 15-25 min
Volley with the wall: 5-10 min
Forearm pass in pairs 5-10 min
Volley in pairs 5 min
Serve against the wall. 2-5 min.
Catch and Throw volleyball position, rotation, no scoring. 0-10 min.
Weeks 5-8 Introduce Game.
Warm-up 5 minutes
Forearm pass with the wall: 10-15 min
Volley with the wall: 5-10 min
Forearm pass in pairs 5-10 min
Volley in pairs 5-10 min
Serve against the wall. 2-5 min.
Catch and Throw volleyball 0-10 min. and regular volleyball on other courts for those ready. Introduce scoring.
Record movement to the ball, positioning in the game for report cards
Final 2-3 lessons;
Warm-up 5 minutes
Set up Premier sports tests and record for badges.
Evaluate for report cards.