It starts with the feet
Those who start learning to spike focus on the arm. In reality, a successful spike is made of three things in sequence — approach, takeoff, hit — and the first two determine almost everything. If you reach the right spot in the air at the right time, even a modest arm can score; if you arrive poorly, no arm can save the shot.
The principle to keep in mind: you jump forward towards the net but almost vertically, not into the net. The approach is used to convert horizontal speed into height, not to carry you under the net.
The three-step approach
This is the most common pattern and the easiest to learn. For a right-handed player:
- First step, left, short: used to get the body moving.
- Second step, right, long and low: this is the accelerating step, with the body lowering.
- Third plant, left closing next to the right: both feet land almost together, the body is low and the arms are already back.
For a left-handed player, the footwork is mirrored. Some prefer a four-step approach, which adds an initial closing-in step: it makes little difference and is a matter of preference.
Two things matter more than the exact sequence:
- The last step is the longest. This is where you load.
- The arms go back during the final plant and swing up powerfully at takeoff. The arms are half of the jump, and in an amateur team, they are the correction with the most immediate return.
The jump and the body in the air
At takeoff, you push off with both feet, the arms swing up, and the body extends. In the air, the correct posture is an arch: the shoulder of the hitting arm goes back, the elbow stays high, the hand is behind the head, the other arm points towards the ball and then drops.
Typical mistakes in the air:
- Low elbow. Hitting with a bent arm sends the ball into the net. Correction: think about "bringing the elbow up and the hand behind the ear".
- Arm starting too early. Hitting the ball on the way up. Correction: wait for the highest point, hit with an extended arm.
- Rotated body. The torso twists and the ball goes out. Correction: shoulders parallel to the net at takeoff.
- Contact in front of the forehead instead of above and in front. You lose height and power.
The hit
You hit with an open, firm palm, high and in front of the shoulder, with an extended arm. The wrist snaps forward and downward: it is the wrist snap that gives spin to the ball and makes it drop inside the court. Without the wrist, every hard spike will go out.
The hit should be learned in this order:
- Hard cross-court shot, the most natural hit, towards the opposite side from the takeoff point.
- Hard line shot, rotating the shoulders just before contact and hitting more on the outside.
- Tip (or dink): same movement, same approach, but the arm slows down and the hand guides the ball into an empty space. If the approach is identical, the opponent won't notice.
- Tooling the block (the so-called block-out): hitting against the blocker's hands, aiming for an outward deflection. This is the right choice when the block is solid and the ball is off the net.
Attacking bad sets
In amateur play, most sets are not perfect, and this is where a useful attacker stands out:
- Ball tight to the net: do not spike. Tip it over the block, or push it with the wrist towards the back of the court.
- Ball behind your shoulders: turn your body and tip it over. Insisting on a spike will result in an error or a net touch.
- Ball too high and far back: wait and hit with less power, aiming for the back of the court.
- Low, fast ball: shorten the approach to one step and hit with a short arm.
The rule that wins the most points of all for an amateur attacker is another: look at the opponent's court before hitting. A medium-power attack into an empty space is worth more than a blast into the blocker's hands. In practice, this means glancing at the defence as you rise, rather than staring at the ball.
Back-row attack
A rule to know even if you rarely use it: a back-row player can attack, but if at the moment of takeoff they have touched or crossed the 3-meter line, they cannot hit a ball that is entirely higher than the top edge of the net. It is the foot at takeoff that counts, not where you land. If the ball is lower than the top of the net, however, you can hit it from any position.
Training in pairs or threes
- Wall hits. Standing, without jumping, hit the ball against the wall using the full arm and wrist movement. A hundred repetitions teach the wrist snap better than ten spikes.
- Dry approach. Twenty approaches without a ball, checking the last step and the arms going back. Boring, but decisive.
- Attacking off a tossed ball. A teammate tosses the ball underhand from near the net, always to the same spot: work only on takeoff and contact.
- Targets on the ground. Two chairs or two backpacks in the target zones: count how many times you hit the zone, not how many times "the ball goes in".
A health warning that is worth more than any technical advice: landing must be done on both feet with knees bent. Landing on one foot, with a straight leg, is the most common way to ruin an ankle or a knee in the gym.