Things I Don't Understand about Volleyball

[Wolfgang]

These are mysteries to me:

1. Rotation issues

I know what rotation is. I just never keep track of it as a spectator. I wish TV commentators had some sort of graphic that informed viewers where the various players are supposed to be. In the preseason tournament in Hawaii, almost every match had lengthy stoppages due to rotation violations -- and some coaches were very confused as to what the rotation was supposed to be.

2. Blocking fingers

How the hell are players' fingers not bent and broken after block attempts? I once tried to set a ball during a friendly picnic game and I jammed my fingers. Swollen like it was pregnant. In collegiate matches, fingers must get dislocated and bent backward all the time, am I right? Which reminds me, why aren't setters' fingers broken after every set?

3. Health hazards from diving for a dig

How are players' rib cages, shoulder blades, backs, and elbows not broken or bruised while diving for digs? I took a tumble while simply jogging around the neighborhood -- the sidewalk was uneven and I wasn't looking -- and I dislocated my shoulder, bruised a couple of ribs, and almost broke my neck. WTF? Also, come to think of it, why aren't they breaking their jaws when diving for balls?

4. Bench players not sitting on bench; standing instead

The only reason I would hate to be a bench player is that I have to stand back there for 2 hours. Torture. Why aren't they allowed to sit on chairs like basketball players?

5. Intermission length

Intermission, I think, only lasts about 10 or so minutes. How is it possible that all the players and coaches are able to use the toilet and freshen up AND still have time to go over strategic game adjustments AND have a rousing rah-rah-go-get-'em speech by the team captain and an equally awkward one by the assistant coach AND make their way to/from the locker room and the playing court? How is it logistically possible within that short time span?

[Mocha]

How about players celebrating after losing a point? Sometimes can't tell which team looks the happiest.

[Phaedrus]

On #5, it is the longest 10 minutes for the team that won the first two. It is hard as hell to stay focused during those ten minutes. And it is hard as hell to keep the momentum going. So the team that won the first two is dying to get it over with quickly, while the team that lost the first two is taking its time.

[vballfreak808]

1. Most TV commentators aren't paying attention to that as well so they don't know what is correct.
2. Just depends on how hard the hitter is and how you line up the block.
3. If you can do it correctly then your only worry would be court burn.
4. Basketball players are constantly running back and forward when they play. Volleyball at least get breaks between points. Plus volleyball rosters are always larger so not enough seats. Mainly injured players get to sit if they need to.
5. If you have to use the bathroom during intermission then you're not working hard enough to sweat or made the mistake of not going before. Speeches should be short and convincing.

[rampageripster]

For #5, it's the perfect amount of time to run out of the stadium, go to your tailgate, chug a beer, and run back into the stadium... I fail to see the problem

[Gilmoy]

1.  Heck, I want that for soccer!  I can't tell when the 3-5-2 has morphed into a 4-1-4-1 ...

2.  Fingers are durable.  Basically, the ball's force was imparted by fingers (and palm), and so we know it's less than the tensile strength of bone + connections.  Fingers splayed orthogonal to the ball's path are quite springy.  We teach (and learn) while young to never point our fingers or thumbs directly along the ball's inbound vector.  (I learned the hard way to rotate my left palm thumb-upward when a Brasilian is spiking tight cross -- the standard fingers-up posture points the left thumb directly at the ball.  My thumb rotated 90 degrees in the socket and got stuck that way until the ER doc rotated it back by force.  Years after that, I got tangled in a blanket and hopped on one foot, landing on my other big toe pointed vertically downward, and broke off a triangular flange at the base of the big toe joint, which healed in place without requiring a splint.  So -- don't do that.)

3.  They do push-ups!  (psst lose the beer belly and everything is easier)  The jaw does not break for the obvious reason that it never touches the ground.  Textbook diving posture kicks one leg upward to lift the CoG into the plane of the spine, so that the torso can go nigh-parallel to the floor.  And you pull your head back -- if not the first time, then thereafter.

(NVBR: Paleontologists have seriously used this to argue that T. rex must have been a scavenger and not a sprint-hunter, because any trip-and-fall at its presumed speeds of ~40 kph would drop 10 tons onto its jaws/skull, with those dinky forearms no help at all.  Hence, every T. rex would live its life with 0 trips, and end at 1.  Nonetheless, nowadays canon holds that T. rex did a little of both.)

========

Here's my mystery:
6.  Rita Crockett's forward-dive-dig-into-front-somersault   When does she have time to tuck the neck in?  And how young should we start teaching that?

7.  Submarine tool.  With some team (ahem)'s 6'6"/6'8" block penetrating the net, why not deliberately shoot-set to jumping-shoulder-height (yes, below the tape), and do a reverse-windmill swing that launches the ball upward at 60 degrees, off the block, and into the rafters?  You could use the bottom of a closed fist, i.e. your bent fingers and palm heel.  Bonus: the natural follow-through looks like a certain gesture -- just hold that pose and land

[durtpile]

I don't get the broken/not broken finger thing, either.

If the ball is traveling at 50 mph when it leaves the attackers hand, how does it not do damage 1-2-3 feet away?
I can understand it if the blocker gets her entire hand on it, but when it hits the upper half of the fingers (high hands), how do they keep from snapping?

I'm thinking some 12 gauge steel taped to the back of your fingers would do the trick.

[BuckysHeat]

Aug 29, 2016 17:32:49 GMT -5 Wolfgang said:

5. Intermission length

Intermission, I think, only lasts about 10 or so minutes. How is it possible that all the players and coaches are able to use the toilet and freshen up AND still have time to go over strategic game adjustments AND have a rousing rah-rah-go-get-'em speech by the team captain and an equally awkward one by the assistant coach AND make their way to/from the locker room and the playing court? How is it logistically possible within that short time span?

There are speakers and monitors piped into the stall so they can stay on top of things

[Deleted]

I want more for #1. It's fine to show us the rotation wheel as a graphic, but also tell us how the teams are doing in each rotation -- how many points have they scored and given up. This is no different than expecting to know how a batter has done in his previous at-bats in a baseball game.

[mikegarrison]

Aug 29, 2016 18:46:06 GMT -5 Gilmoy said:

(NVBR: Paleontologists have seriously used this to argue that T. rex must have been a scavenger and not a sprint-hunter, because any trip-and-fall at its presumed speeds of ~40 kph would drop 10 tons onto its jaws/skull, with those dinky forearms no help at all.  Hence, every T. rex would live its life with 0 trips, and end at 1.  Nonetheless, nowadays canon holds that T. rex did a little of both.)

Have they never seen birds run?

[Wolfgang]

Aug 29, 2016 21:31:59 GMT -5 @ruffda said:

I want more for #1. It's fine to show us the rotation wheel as a graphic, but also tell us how the teams are doing in each rotation -- how many points have they scored and given up. This is no different than expecting to know how a batter has done in his previous at-bats in a baseball game.

I want that, too. The more the better.

In the Hawaii telecasts, the Hawaii announcers sort of do this by simply identifying some of the stronger rotations vis-a-vis points scored and discussing it, usually in the form of:

"Well, Kanoa, I think they need to score as many points as possible while Taylor and Magill are in the front and Higgins is serving."
"That's right, Chris. That's their most productive rotation."

But they don't use graphics, tables, or charts. I want all the stuff that football and basketball telecasts have.

[zero-rotation outside hitter]

Aug 29, 2016 18:49:36 GMT -5 durtpile said:

I don't get the broken/not broken finger thing, either.

If the ball is traveling at 50 mph when it leaves the attackers hand, how does it not do damage 1-2-3 feet away?
I can understand it if the blocker gets her entire hand on it, but when it hits the upper half of the fingers (high hands), how do they keep from snapping?

I'm thinking some 12 gauge steel taped to the back of your fingers would do the trick.

Remember that volleyballs weigh 10 ounces. It's hard to produce a lot of damage at that weight, even at 50 mph.

[mikegarrison]

Aug 29, 2016 21:48:59 GMT -5 Wolfgang said:

Aug 29, 2016 21:31:59 GMT -5 @ruffda said:

I want more for #1. It's fine to show us the rotation wheel as a graphic, but also tell us how the teams are doing in each rotation -- how many points have they scored and given up. This is no different than expecting to know how a batter has done in his previous at-bats in a baseball game.

I want that, too. The more the better.

In the Hawaii telecasts, the Hawaii announcers sort of do this by simply identifying some of the stronger rotations vis-a-vis points scored and discussing it, usually in the form of:

"Well, Kanoa, I think they need to score as many points as possible while Taylor and Magill are in the front and Higgins is serving."
"That's right, Chris. That's their most productive rotation."

But they don't use graphics, tables, or charts. I want all the stuff that football and basketball telecasts have.

I wanna see overlaid images, so the announcer can show that this set that was hit into the block was two inches lower than the set before that was hit over the block. That kind of thing would be cool.

[kokyu]

When you have to dive laterally for one handed digs and land on your hips, bruised hips for two days at least. But not many players male or female do the side kamikaze much since it is quite painful.

Funny thing about jamming fingers, I set a freeball once with 'lazy' fingers and pulled a wolfgang. Sprained my thumb and couldn't set for a few days, one of the few times I ever felt stupid on the court. Blocking against hard hitters can sprain a digit beyond just a few minutes of after pain but with good technique rarely happens. Pros usually have to worry more about their eyes and nose on the block.

[durtpile]

Aug 29, 2016 21:58:03 GMT -5 zero-rotation outside hitter said:

Aug 29, 2016 18:49:36 GMT -5 durtpile said:

I don't get the broken/not broken finger thing, either.

If the ball is traveling at 50 mph when it leaves the attackers hand, how does it not do damage 1-2-3 feet away?
I can understand it if the blocker gets her entire hand on it, but when it hits the upper half of the fingers (high hands), how do they keep from snapping?

I'm thinking some 12 gauge steel taped to the back of your fingers would do the trick.

Remember that volleyballs weigh 10 ounces. It's hard to produce a lot of damage at that weight, even at 50 mph.

Girls in the back row get knocked down from shots to the face. Air resistance slows the ball down a lot by the time it travels 15 feet or more.  I'm talking about traveling 2-3 feet and impacting a very small area..
My daughter would complain constantly about sore fingers when she played.  I presume - from all the pictures of closed eyes and grimacing faces - that they know what's coming when they go up for the block.
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