Getting the most out of your shots in volleyball has a lot to do with making sure your mechanics work in your favor. Here are three specific areas to focus on in that regard to be the best hitter you can be.

Develop a proper approach

Everything in hitting a volleyball starts with your focus. If you don’t have a strong and explosive focus, the rest of the attack will be less than optimal. A good approach includes proper footwork with the last two steps from right to left (left to right if you’re left-handed), with your hips wide rather than square to the net. It goes from slow to fast in that the first step or two are used for direction and timing, the second to last being an explosion, and the last one is used to transfer forward momentum into upward force. A suitable approach is also high to low in which the hitter starts standing or in a slightly flexed position, but on that penultimate step he reaches a fully rolled position in preparation for a maximum jump.

Focus on a quick movement of the arm

Many players fail to get the most out of their shots because they think of “hitting hard” instead of “swinging fast.” The power in a spike comes from the speed of the hand on contact. A good arm swing starts with an open torso (which should come from proper approach mechanics), while power starts by rotating through the core with the elbow back. That is then transmitted through the shoulder as the elbow progresses. It ends with the arm extending at high speed until contact with the ball. Players get into trouble when hitting from the shoulder, not only in terms of inefficient spikes, but also a higher chance of injury.

Contact in full extension

Executing a proper quick arm movement as mentioned above will cause the player to hit the ball at the highest point of contact possible. This is critical in many ways. Obviously, create the best angle of attack possible. Players, however, will often drop their arm. This is not only less efficient, but also leads to a lot of hitting errors. This is particularly noticeable when hitters are trying to hit down the line and when they have no block.

If you can get your hitting mechanics to work properly, that will only make you a much better hitter. From there, you can work towards being able to mix things up. Good hitters have the ability to change speed and hit all areas of the court, especially in terms of being able to show off a cross hit and hit a line shot or vice versa. However, all of those skills require a solid mechanical foundation, so start with that and you’ll see it progress nicely.