LESSON 1 – VOLLEYBALL: Game Characteristics

INTRODUCTION – Volleyball is a simple game which can be played by anyone, at any level; its worldwide popularity stems
from the fact that it can be played almost anywhere — inside a sports hall or gymnasium, or outside, on grass or sand. All
that is needed for a friendly game is a ball and a net or rope to knock the ball over.

GAME CHARACTERISTICS

✓ Volleyball is a sport played by two teams on a playing court divided by a net.

✓ The object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponents court, and to prevent
the same effort by the opponent.
✓ The team has three hits for returning the ball.
✓ The ball is put in play with a service: Hit by the server over the opponents’ playing court.
✓ The rally continues until the ball is grounded on the playing court of the opponent, goes “out”, or a team fails to
return it properly.
✓ Each rally wins a point (Rally Point Scoring).
✓ When the receiving teams wins a rally, it gains a point and the right to serve, and its players rotate one position
clockwise.
 LESSON 1 – VOLLEYBALL: Game Characteristics

HISTORY

Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G.

Morgan, physical director of the Young Men’s Christian
Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was
designed as an indoor sport for businessmen who found
the new game of basketball too vigorous. Morgan called
the sport “mintonette,” until a professor from Springfield
College in Massachusetts noted the volleying nature of
play and proposed the name of “volleyball.” The original
rules were written by Morgan and printed in the first
edition of the Official Handbook of the Athletic League of
the Young Men’s Christian Associations of North America
(1897). The game soon proved to have wide appeal for
both sexes in schools, playgrounds, the armed forces,
and other organizations in the United States, and it was
subsequently introduced to other countries.

In 1916 rules were issued jointly by the YMCA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The first
nationwide tournament in the United States was conducted by the National YMCA Physical Education Committee in New
York City in 1922. The United States Volleyball Association (USVBA) was formed in 1928 and recognized as the rules-making,
governing body in the United States. From 1928 the USVBA—now known as USA Volleyball (USAV)—has conducted annual
national men’s and senior men’s (age 35 and older) volleyball championships, except during 1944 and 1945. Its women’s
division was started in 1949, and a senior women’s division (age 30 and older) was added in 1977. Other national events in
the United States are conducted by member groups of the USAV such as the YMCA and the NCAA.

Volleyball was introduced into Europe by American troops during World War I, when national organizations were
formed. The Fédération Internationale de Volley Ball (FIVB) was organized in Paris in 1947 and moved to Lausanne,
Switzerland, in 1984. The USVBA was one of the 13 charter members of the FIVB, whose membership grew to more than
210 member countries by the late 20th century.
 LESSON 1 – VOLLEYBALL: Game Characteristics

International volleyball competition began in 1913 with the first Far East Games, in Manila. During the early 1900s
and continuing until after World War II, volleyball in Asia was played on a larger court, with a lower net, and nine players on a
team.

The FIVB-sponsored world volleyball championships (for men only in 1949; for both men and women in 1952 and
succeeding years) led to acceptance of standardized playing rules and officiating. Volleyball became an Olympic sport for
both men and women at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

European championships were long dominated by Czechoslovakian, Hungarian, Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian, and
Soviet (later, Russian) teams. At the world and Olympic level, Soviet teams have won more titles, both men’s and women’s,
than those of any other nation. Their success was attributed to widespread grassroots interest and well-organized play and
instruction at all levels of skill. A highly publicized Japanese women’s team, Olympic champions in 1964, reflected the interest
of private industry in sport. Young women working for the sponsoring company devoted their free time to conditioning, team
practice, and competition under expert and demanding coaching. Encouraged by the Japanese Volleyball Association, this
women’s team made its mark in international competition, winning the World Championship in 1962, 1966, and 1967, in
addition to the 1964 Olympics. At the end of the 20th century, however, the Cuban women’s team dominated both the World
Championships and the Olympics.

The Pan American Games (involving South, Central, and North America) added volleyball in 1955, and Brazil, Mexico,
Canada, Cuba, and the United States are frequent contenders for top honours. In Asia, China, Japan, and Korea dominate
competition. Volleyball, especially beach volleyball, is played in Australia, New Zealand, and throughout the South Pacific.
 LESSON 1 – VOLLEYBALL: Game Characteristics

A four-year cycle of international volleyball events, recommended by the FIVB, began in 1969 with World Cup
championships, to be held in the year following the Olympic Games; the second year is the World Championships; in the third
the regional events are held (e. g., European championships, Asian Games, African Games, Pan American Games); and in
the fourth year the Olympic Games.

Beach volleyball—usually played,

as its name implies, on a sand court with two
players per team—was introduced in
California in 1930. The first official beach
volleyball tournament was held in 1948 at Will
Rogers State Beach, in Santa Monica,
California, and the first FIVB-sanctioned world
championship was held in 1986 at Rio de
Janeiro. Beach volleyball was added to the
roster of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta,
Georgia.

ACTIVITY – Answer the following questions comprehensively.

1. From your own knowledge and understanding, how would you define the sport volleyball?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Why do you think William Morgan invented the sport “mintonette”? What do you think is the purpose?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
 LESSON 1 – VOLLEYBALL: Game Characteristics

____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. If you were to become a coach in the future, how would you encourage a child to learn and play volleyball?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Aside from the physical benefits of playing the sport, what benefits can you get in playing such sport? What is the implication
of playing sports during this pandemic?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
 LESSON 1 – VOLLEYBALL: Game Characteristics

PERFORMANCE TEST – Create a vlog explaining the timeline of history of

Volleyball (The video should show yourself and your voice in presenting the timeline). Use
this video link as a sample and guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfZH3bca6_0

CRITERIA OF PERFORMANCE

CRITERIA 4 3 2 1
Focus Very focused; not Focused on the task Sometimes focused Nor focused on the
distracted from the most of the time on the task; often task
task at all distracted
Pacing/Flow Task appeared very Task appeared well Satisfactory flow and Task appeared
well practiced; practiced; good flow timing; more practice unpracticed
superb flow and and timing required
timing
Consistency, Extremely clear and Most actions in task A number of actions Little effort was put
Exaggerated believable; great were clear and were unclear; little forth to make task
Resistance, attention was paid to believable; some attention was paid to clear and believable;
Expressions and the details of the attention was paid to the details of the very few details of
Gestures; Attention performance the details of the performance the performance
to Detail performance were considered
Text and Vocal Clear, expressive, Mostly clear and Hard to understand Could not
Work articulate, and ease to understand, majority of the understand the
appropriate use of but some words or spoken text spoken text; student
volume phrases too quiet or was too quiet or
mumbled mumbled throughout

REFERENCES:

1. Edwards, J. 1997. Crowood Sports Guide. Crowood Pr.

2. Golds, Mark. 2016. High Performance Volleyball. Crowood Press
3. Brahms, B. 2014. Volleyball Handbook. Meyer & Meyer Sport
4. Retrieved from http://dl.booktolearn.com/ebooks2/sport/9780736072298_volleyball_2b90.pdf
 LESSON 2 – VOLLEYBALL: Facilities and Equipment

COURT DIMENSION

The game is played on a volleyball court 18 meters (59 feet) long and 9 meters (29.5 feet) wide, divided into two 9 m
× 9 m halves by a one-meter (40-inch) wide net placed so that the top of the net is 2.43 meters (7 feet 11 5/8 inches) above
the center of the court for men's competition, and 2.24 meters (7 feet 4 1/8 inches) for women's competition (these heights
are varied for veterans and junior competitions).
 LESSON 2 – VOLLEYBALL: Facilities and Equipment

VOLLEYBALL NET

Determining the right volleyball net height for a volleyball match is important for many reasons. As a coach or a trainer,
knowing accurate volleyball net heights is crucial for following the rules of the game, as well as being prepared for the officials
on match day! Regulation heights of indoor volleyball nets and outdoor volleyball nets vary between age groups, genders,
abilities, and the number of players on your team.

No matter what type of team you coach, official regulation volleyball net heights are always measured in the center
of the net, and the net’s sides can’t be more than ¾ inches higher than the regulation height. While there are differences
between the height of men’s and women’s volleyball nets, co-ed games use men’s net height settings.

Men’s Volleyball Net Heights

While the standard regulation volleyball net height for men is 7 feet, 11 ⅝ inches or 2.43 meters (this is the same for
standing disabled men’s volleyball teams), men’s teams that fall into older age brackets (55-70+) are allowed to lower their
nets to certain heights.
 LESSON 2 – VOLLEYBALL: Facilities and Equipment

Standard Men’s Volleyball Net Height: 7 feet, 11 ⅝ inches or 2.43 meters

Men’s Volleyball Net Height Ages 55-69: 7 feet, 9 ⅝ inches or 2.38 meters

Men’s Volleyball Net Height Ages 70+: 7 feet, 6 inches or 2.29 meters

Women’s Volleyball Net Heights

Similar to men’s volleyball, the official regulation volleyball net height for women’s volleyball is allowed to be
lowered for certain age groups. The net height for women’s disabled standing volleyball teams follows the same height
regulations as a standard women’s volleyball net.
Standard Women’s Volleyball Net Height: 7 feet, 4 ⅛ inches or 2.24 meters
Women’s Volleyball Net Height Ages 45+: 7 feet, 2 ⅛ inches or 2.19 meters
 LESSON 2 – VOLLEYBALL: Facilities and Equipment

Sitting Volleyball Net Heights

Sitting volleyball teams play on a smaller court, and the volleyball net sits lower to the ground than standard
volleyball nets do. The international net heights for sitting volleyball teams are 3 feet 9.28 inches or 1.15 meters for men’s
teams, and 3 feet 5.34 inches or 1.05 meters for women’s teams.

USA Volleyball Sitting Volleyball Net System

 LESSON 2 – VOLLEYBALL: Facilities and Equipment

INDOOR VOLLEYBALL NET HEIGHTS FOR YOUNGER PLAYERS

YOUTH VOLLEYBALL NET HEIGHTS

If you coach youth volleyball teams, the net height for boys and girls teams is the same unless you coach girls who
are age 10 or under.

Standard Boy’s & Girl’s Junior Volleyball Net Height Ages 11 – 12: 7 feet or 2.13 meters

Boy’s Junior Volleyball Net Height Ages 10 and under: 7 feet or 2.13 meters

Girl’s Junior Volleyball Net Height Ages 10 and under: 6 feet, 6 inches or 1.98 meters

MIDDLE SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL NET HEIGHTS

Volleyball net heights for players in middle school vary. Always refer to your state governing body for
measurements as each state is different.
 LESSON 2 – VOLLEYBALL: Facilities and Equipment

TIPS FOR MEASURING A REGULATION VOLLEYBALL NET

As you are measuring your volleyball net height, keep the following things in mind to ensure that you don’t make
any mistakes while measuring:

✓ Always measure your net’s height from the center of the playing court with an appropriate measuring device (net
chain).
✓ As you measure, make sure that the two ends of your volleyball net (over the sidelines) are the same height from
the volleyball playing surface.
✓ Never exceed the official volleyball net height by more than ¾ inches.
✓ If you coach beach volleyball, remember that your beach volleyball net height measurement must be taken at the
sand-raked level.
✓ If you coach outdoor volleyball in grass, remember to measure your volleyball net height from ground-level and not
from the top of the grass blades.
 LESSON 2 – VOLLEYBALL: Facilities and Equipment

THE BALL

A Volleyball is the official ball used to play indoor Volleyball, beach Volleyball, and other variations of the Volleyball sport.
A Volleyball has a sphere form and has 18 rectangular panels that are made of synthetic or genuine leather. The panels are
arranged in 6 identical sections of 3 panels each. The Volleyball has a valve that allows its internal air pressure to be adjusted
is available in a Youth or Adult version size. An indoor Volleyball is a solid white or a bright yellow color. A beach Volleyball
is slightly larger than a standard indoor Volleyball, had a rougher exterior surface and a lower internal pressure.

Volleyballs have a diameter of 8.15”-8.39” (20.7-21.3 cm) and circumference of 22.59”-26.34” (65-67 cm). The mass of
a Volleyball is between 9-10 oz (260-280 g) with a pressure between 4.26-4.61 psi (29.4-31.8 kPa).
 LESSON 2 – VOLLEYBALL: Facilities and Equipment

ACTIVITY – Answer the following questions comprehensively.

1. Why is it important to have standard (exact measurements) facilities and equipment in playing volleyball?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. If a person wants to play volleyball but lacks the facilities and equipment, what ways can you suggest to encourage them to
continue playing the sport?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Draw the different facilities and equipment in volleyball in a short coupon bond putting the exact measurements.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
 LESSON 2 – VOLLEYBALL: Facilities and Equipment

PERFORMANCE TEST – Create a video on how to use/set up the equipment in

Volleyball. The video must show a step-by-step process with voice over.

CRITERIA OF PERFORMANCE

CRITERIA 4 3 2 1
Focus Very focused; not Focused on the task Sometimes focused Nor focused on the
distracted from the most of the time on the task; often task
task at all distracted
Pacing/Flow Task appeared very Task appeared well Satisfactory flow and Task appeared
well practiced; practiced; good flow timing; more practice unpracticed
superb flow and and timing required
timing
Consistency, Extremely clear and Most actions in task A number of actions Little effort was put
Exaggerated believable; great were clear and were unclear; little forth to make task
Resistance, attention was paid to believable; some attention was paid to clear and believable;
Expressions and the details of the attention was paid to the details of the very few details of
Gestures; Attention performance the details of the performance the performance
to Detail performance were considered
Text and Vocal Clear, expressive, Mostly clear and Hard to understand Could not
Work articulate, and ease to understand, majority of the understand the
appropriate use of but some words or spoken text spoken text; student
volume phrases too quiet or was too quiet or
mumbled mumbled throughout

REFERENCES:

1. Edwards, J. 1997. Crowood Sports Guide. Crowood Pr.

2. Golds, Mark. 2016. High Performance Volleyball. Crowood Press
3. Brahms, B. 2014. Volleyball Handbook. Meyer & Meyer Sport
4. Retrieved from http://dl.booktolearn.com/ebooks2/sport/9780736072298_volleyball_2b90.pdf