volleyball game A competitive sport

volleyball game A competitive sport

In recent years the FIVB has made great strides in adapting the game to a modern audience.
This text is aimed at a broad Volleyball public - players, coaches, referees, spectators, commentators -for the following reasons:
- understanding the rules better, allows better play - coaches can create better team structure and tactics, allowing players full rein to display their skills;
- understanding the relationship between rules allows officials to make better decisions.
This introduction at first focuses on Volleyball as a competitive sport, before setting out to identify the main qualities required for successful refereering.
VOLLEYBALL IS A COMPETITIVE SPORT
Competition taps latent strengths. It exhibits the best of ability, spirit, creativity and aesthetics.
The rules are structured to allow all of these qualities. With a few exceptions, Volleyball allows all players to operate both at the net (in attack) and in the back of the court (to defend or serve).
William Morgan, the game's creator, would still recognize it because Volleyball has retained certain distinctive and essential elements over the years. Some of these it shares with other net/ball/ racquet games:
- Service
- Rotation (taking turns to serve)
- Attack
- Defence
Volleyball is, however, unique amongst net games in insisting that the ball is in constant flight
- a flying ball - and by allowing each team a degree of internal passing before the ball must be returned to the opponents.
The introduction of a specialist defensive player - the Libero - has moved the game forward in terms of rally length and multi-phase play. Modifications to the service rule have changed the act of service from simply a means of putting the ball in play to an offensive weapon.
The concept of rotation is entrenched to allow for all-round athletes. The rules on player positions must permit teams to have flexibility and to create interesting developments in tactics.
Competitors use this framework to contest techniques, tactics and power. The framework also allows players a freedom of expression to enthuse spectators and viewers.
And the image of Volleyball is increasingly a good one.