Blocking: Show Up & Show Hands

I subbed on a team of six last night and our opponents had only four players -- but very good players. They won all three games.

Hey! It wasn't a blow-out. We lost the first game by only one point in overtime. And the next two were close. Mostly.

My two male teammates did some fine blocking but our opponents' men are both great hitters.

Definitely, their hitters are better hitters than I am a blocker. I didn't complete any blocks myself except a few soft blocks (in which I took some of the speed off the ball but it continued coming into our side of the court).

On the other hand, I was rewarded five or six times just for getting into a good blocking position, timing my jump well, and sticking my hands over the net toward the ball.

What happened? The same thing that usually happens, sometimes even against great hitters.

Each of the hitters, while he was approaching the ball and about to hit, noticed I was making a block attempt. So he adjusted his aim to hit around my hands. This resulted in two or three of their hits against me never clearing the net and three or four others sailing entirely out of bounds.

Did I touch the ball? Nope.

Did I hear that very satisfying THUMP-THUMP as the ball first struck my hands and then their floor? Nope.

But, did I help get a point each time? Yessssss!

And my teammates got some no-touch blocks, too.

Here's a formula for you: Points for my team + frustration for our opponents = I'm happy.

It would be hard to prove it but I'd say 80% -- maybe 90% -- of blocking success is in just showing up.

1. Your block cuts off access to a big section of your own side of the court. (Think of that area as being in a shadow created by your hands and the ball is the source of light.) This means your teammates have less court area to cover to dig their attack hit.

2. Your presence and movement distract the hitter, at least a little, as he approaches and swings.

3. Your hands will often or usually, depending on how good you are at predicting the hitter's intended angle, cause the hitter to shift his aim from where he wanted to hit when he started his approach and swing.

So don't give any good hitter a free shot. Show up and let that hitter know your hands are going to be there.

P.S. Thanks, Lori, for asking me to sub again!