The volleyball spike is a gross, open, and continuous skill. The skill uses a lot of large muscles when running and jumping into the spike. It is also an open skill, with unstable environments, a lot of thought and environmental changes. A spike usually follows a set that can alter every single possession. You need to be on your toes and ready for every possible situation, like a short set, long set, tight set, etc. Being a continuous skill, just means that there is no particular beginning or ending. The swing can start anywhere out in front of the body and end anywhere across or back behind the body. All of the classifications are put together to make this skill complete.

There are three stages in information processing; stimulus identification, response selection, and response programming. The volleyball spike uses stimulus identification mainly for sight. Simply seeing where the ball is in the air and where the blockers are standing helps a hitter. The response selection is what you decide to do with your hit. For example, deciding to hit a line drive or a tip depending on the blockers. The last stage, response programming, is how the skill is going to be done. Once the decision is made the player as to decide what approach to take to see the best result.

            Reaction time plays a big role in the spike. Being able to time the ball leaving the setters hands and starting the approach are factors in the hit itself. The spike would be considered a choice reaction time, because one of several stimuli and one of several responses are available. Factors that affect reaction time are number of stimulus-response alternatives, stimulus-response compatibility, practice, and anticipation. The set, stimuli, can be in many different areas at many different heights, so determining which response to use slows down reaction time. If the hitter chooses a particular approach for the stimuli, and guesses right than reaction time will be quicker, if they guess wrong then reaction time will be slowed. Practice between the hitter and setter can also improve reaction time, if they learn to get a feel for each other. Anticipation can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the decision. Spatial anticipations would be trying to decide what the set is going to be and temporal anticipations is deciding when the ball is going to be at its peak for perfect contact.

            Since volleyball is a competitive sport, arousal and anxiety levels can increase altering performance. The Inverted-U-Principle, the relationship between arousal levels and performance, shows that an increase in arousal will increase performance. But too much arousal can be found to have a negative affect on performance. A volleyball game can be an intense atmosphere. If a player knows that he/she must get this hit over the net and in play to win the game a lot of pressure is put on them. Some players do not perform well under circumstances like this, so arousal can cause them to miss the ball or hit it into the net.

            Volleyball can be affected by attention and the factors that come along with it. If coaches practice players to much without a break they become irritated and distracted, thus losing concentration and lowering performance. Simplicity vs. complexity also affects attention. If the skill is difficult then attention demands are greater. As more sets and hits are added into the rotation then the complexity rises. The environment can also affect attention. During beach volleyball sun, rain, sand, etc. can all become problems for the players. Variety and emphasis on specific skills keeps players challenged and attentive.

            With practice and time the volleyball spike can become a natural process. When a player can approach the ball automatically without thought then movement and timing will be right. Automatic processing is involuntary with little attention to the skill. The Psychological Refractory Period is the delay in a person’s reaction time to the second stimuli presented. If the hitter only has to worry about making contact with the ball, it is easy for them to focus and be successful. But when blockers come into play more stimuli is presented thus altering reaction time and affecting the outcome.

            Memory is for not only hitters but for all players on the volleyball team. Short term memory is where the information goes first. Hitters need to practice the approach and swing over and over to get the timing just right. Enough practice and the information moves from short term to long term memory making it easier because it is less conscious. If a player can store information based on what the other team is doing wrong they can make improvements. If a hitter remembers from the hit before that the setter isn’t playing the sideline then a line drive should be hit again. Remembering weaknesses will help the team.

            A volleyball spike is considered an open-loop system, because feedback can not be giving back until after the approach. Once the decision is made to approach the ball from the 3 foot line, feedback can not be given until the next possession.  Unlike if it was a closed-loop and feedback could be given during the skill to improve accuracy. Feedback can be carried over from each hit but it will take practice and time to relate to your setter and avoid blockers.

            Improving accuracy and speed in the spike can be rewarding and detrimental. The relationship between accuracy and speed states that the faster a skill someone tries to do something the less accurate it is. If a hitter tries to swing extremely fast to get a harder hit, more likely they will hit into the net because form is being changed.

            When beginners start to learn volleyball, people need to be aware of the general motor ability vs. specificity theory. The general motor ability also referred to as “natural athlete”, is the ability and skill of a player in many different sports. Some students may be naturally athletic will a high vertical jump, a lot of upper strength, and agility. While some fall in the specificity theory, independent motor skills. These players only exude qualities in specific areas. Lots of hand-eye coordination and agility are used in the spike. Being able to see the ball and blockers at the same time may be difficult for someone who exemplifies specific skills. Typically someone who is good in endurance athletics can exceed in volleyball because a lot of techniques can be transferred from one to the other.

            When teaching a skill it is important that students are standing where they can see the teacher. Making sure everyone is paying attention is a key to seeing that everyone understands what is going on. It is also an important implication that teachers be in the right stance where the skill is going to be used. So a hitter needs to be standing at the 3 foot line ready for the approach to the net. If the teacher is not standing where they need to be then beginners may not know where exactly to stand on the court either. To avoid students and players from getting distracted make sure there are plenty of volleyballs available for every student to have at least one, to avoid long lines and lots of standing.

            When setting a goal it should be challenging, realistic, and measurable to make it attainable. There are three types of goals, outcome, performance, and process. First you need an outcome goal what you want to achieve. A volleyball team wants to win state. Second is the performance goal, how self improvement will help achieve the goals. A hitter wants to improve her hitting percentage from 55% to 65% over the year. Last is the process goal, how the performance is actually done. Player will see the ball leaving the setters hands, make contact with the ball at its highest point, and follow through across the body.  This how a goal should be set and executed.

            Transfer can be used in volleyball to help new learners understand the steps and motion. Inter-transfer is the transfer among different sports with similar skills. For example the swing in a volleyball spike is similar to the serve in tennis. If players know how to serve a tennis ball then they can transfer that motion over to volleyball. The vertical jump is also incorporated in the spike. Beginning the approach a few steps back from the net allows the players to gain power by taking a few steps, staying low, and exploding up. Some intra-transfer, same skill within the sport, is also used in the spike. A player hitting a spike against a wall and then moving it onto the court is an example of intra.

            Volleyball spike is a continuous skill so whole practice is recommended. Whole practice is when parts depend on the performance of the previous part. However, some part practice can be used to help master the whole motion. First players can practice just on the approach; one, two, jump. Next players can worry on spiking the ball down against the wall. Then lastly, they can move to the net and work on putting timing of both together. When practicing the swing, breaking it up is not recommended because it is just one motion. For beginners blocked practice would be better to allow them to work merely on the spike. Hitting spikes over and over and over will help beginner’s performance but may not help with learning. Once players become skilled than random practice is recommended because all aspects of the game can be practiced. Bump, set, spike, block can all be incorporated into one drill making more time out of practice to work on every aspect.

            Feedback is knowledge and information that performers gain from movements. Volleyball hitters can use intrinsic feedback, internal, after every hit they make. A hitter can feel how they hit the ball and what they need to change either about their jump or the contact. They can also see if they ball was inbounds or out-of-bounds and decide what they need to do for the next hit. External sources can also be used in volleyball. A coach telling a player that they need to start their approach farther back to get the best hit is an example of augmented feedback. Average feedback is an average of what you are doing with all of the trials. This allows the player to do a lot of reps and find out what needs to be fixed.

            Volleyball is a game that everyone can enjoy and be good at. It takes practice, patience and motivation. The spike is one of the best skills in the game because if you can master it and be a threat you can be a successful player. It can build confidence and attitude for the player and the team. Volleyball is also a good sport to play in physical education classes with large groups of students. Everyone can practice hitting the ball and spiking, making it a fun environment at all. During class if people are struggling to get it over the net then teachers can improvise by lowering the net making it even more enjoyable for everyone.