AVCA Video Tip of the Week: Blocking Fundamentals - Ready Posture

University of North Carolina Head Coach Joe Sagula goes over ready posture blocking fundamentals.

- Medium posture, knees flexed, keep back straight, shoulders slightly forward
- Feet shoulder width, weight balanced on feet
- Elbows bent – shoulder height/hands just above eyes
- Drop into your jump (1/2 squat, especially for smaller blockers)
- Fingers spread wide, relaxed hands, and hands do not go below shoulders
- Penetrate the net – reach with hands over the plane of the net
- Tall blockers that can penetrate the plane of the net (stuff block) start slightly off the net (15-18 inches). Kill blocks for athletic blockers/MB – “reach for the back line”
- Smaller blockers - control/soft block – their job is to start close to the net (6-12 inches from net). Prevent the hitter from hitting down
- General positioning tendencies – if a set is tight to the net, the hitter typically will hit LINE or off the block, if the ball is off the net, they typically attack ANGLE (cross court)