Status of the Volleyball Team: Basis in Proposed Training Program

Ever wonder what it takes to be a successful volleyball team? In every endeavor or in every winning, there is a program, a person, an inspiration and a reason behind which maybe a teacher, a parent, a love one, or a professional whom they call as coach or a trainer. A training program is one of the biggest assets of the school for the team where growth and development of sports are improved. Capabilities of good sports performance and conditioning process should be evaluated by the factors such as training program history, process, and priorities. Based on the experienced of the practitioner, when asked which factor most influences the success of teams, it points to training by Quilebio, (2011). Placing so much emphasis on training is understandable when you consider the specific types of skills members need in order to function effectively in a self-directed work team (Wellins, Byham, Wilson, 2004). After all, people do not automatically possess these skills; past work environments may have reinforced habits contrary to those that are needed for successful teamwork. This is not a motivation problem; rather, people don’t automatically know how to solve problems as a group, reach consensus decisions, or make presentations of ideas. Until their skills improve to the point where they feel comfortable, they will avoid performing these tasks at all costs. Fortunately, training for effective team performance will help, given enough time, planning, and resources (Welling et al. 2004).

Shona L. Halson (2014) states that many athletes, coaches, and support staff are taking an increasingly scientific approach to both designing and monitoring training programs. Appropriate load monitoring can aid in determining whether an athlete is adapting to a training program and in minimizing the risk of developing non-functional overreaching, illness, and/or injury. In order to gain an understanding of the training load and its effect on the athlete, a number of potential markers are available for use. However, very few of these markers have strong scientific evidence supporting their use, and there is yet to be a single, definitive marker described in the literature. Research has investigated a number of external load quantifying and monitoring tools, such as power output measuring devices, time-motion analysis, as well as internal load unit measures, including perception of effort, heart rate, blood lactate, and training impulse. Dissociation between external and internal load units may reveal the state of fatigue of an athlete. Other monitoring tools used by high-performance programs include heart rate recovery, neuromuscular function, biochemical/hormonal/immunological assessments, questionnaires and diaries, psychomotor speed, and sleep quality and quantity. The monitoring approach taken with athletes may depend on whether the athlete is engaging in individual or team sport activity; however, the importance of individualization of load monitoring cannot be over emphasized. Detecting meaningful changes with scientific and statistical approaches can provide confidence and certainty when implementing change. Appropriate monitoring of training load can provide important information to athletes and coaches; however, monitoring systems should be intuitive, provide efficient data analysis and interpretation, and enable efficient reporting of simple, yet scientifically valid, feedback.

Sports play a vital role in society not just only to amuse oneself and conveying fulfillment but also an area where people socially interact and promote good human relationship. In gaining and developing desirable values such as teamwork, discipline, courtesy, fair play, honesty, and sportsmanship are all enabling an individual in sports. Sports program activities serve as the preparation ground for character building (Quilebio 2011). Intending to meet necessary necessity and desires of individuals by organizing and implementing sports properly for the progress of sound mind and sound body among the athletes, sports can also propose greater possibilities for it when efficiently managed. The school plays a significant role in the training and development of athletes, marked as the essential place for sports development of athletes through the Sports Development Program of the schools, students with worthwhile activities reaction to their physical, emotional, mental, and social development. Bernelt (2015) cited that the newly elected government ’imported’ sport development programs from England and Australia is to facilitate the development of a broad participation base as a potential pool of sporting talent (Burnett Hollander 2005) Yet, it was evident that only a very small percentage of participants will eventually become elite athletes and that sport can also be utilized as a tool for community development and peace building (Keim 2006). It was thus inevitable that government program would launch not only to develop sporting talent, but also to use sport as a mechanism for addressing the social ills (Houlihan White 2002).

In the study of Crawley (2015) Sport for Development is intended to act as a “conduct” or “vehicle” for achieving various social development. Volleyball is a team sport that has earned his place in every competitive level, based on very quick and explosive movements, such as jumping, hitting, diving and blocking (Mario. C Marques, Roland Van Den Tillaar, Tim J. Gabbett, Victor M. Reis, and Juan J. Gonzalez-Badillo, 2009). The squad consists of 12 players with team positioning depending on the attributes the player has, the positions are broadly defined as setters, hitters, opposite and outside hitters (left and right), middle blockers and liberos, each of the positions have a specific role within a match (Mario C. Marques et al. 2009). The left and right outside hitters positioning is at the net, and the priority for these players is to spike the ball and block opponent attacks. The percentages of attack and block jumps performed according to the position played in the court were 33 and 67 % for Position 2(right side outside hitter), 29 and 71 % for Position 3 (middle blocker), and 59 and 41 for position 3 (left side outside hitter). The left outside hitter focuses more in spike jumps than blocking because the right outside hitter is the one that helps more the middle blocker, focusing mostly in block jumps (Black, 1995). Every spike is made approximately at 100MPH, the player with the greater strength blocking or spiking will be the one that wins the joust (Scates et al., 2003). The athletes in volleyball generate a great deal of force when landing after performing an approach jump, blocking a spike, during a spike and while diving (Gadeken, 1999).

Data gathered within the past competition seasons tells us that the athletes that are involved in volleyball sport do short run distances, vertical jumps and change directions frequently in a matter of seconds during the games. The trainings made by coaches should be based on this data to increase the attributes needed for a maximal performance but keeping a minimum reduction in performance due to fatigue (Black, 1995). According to Gadeken (1999) players must have a solid strength, plyometric and conditioning foundation in order to be able to absorb the forces generated while performing jumps and sudden movements. Certain abilities must be developed during training activities such as the high jumps, hand-eye coordination, fast response to change positions rapidly maintaining body balance, short distance running amongst others. Volleyball is a high speed sport in which anaerobic training is needed to gain energy; the source is the phosphagen system which provides ATP (adenosine triphosphate) (Scates, et al. 2003). Athletes according to Scates, et al. (2003) do not only have to be in good physical condition to play volleyball, an athlete has to be in volleyball condition in order to be able to perform as expected, this involves the capability of the athlete to perform high jumps at the same height during a match, and must have the energy to maintain the physical feats while sustaining their levels of strength, power and agility. Timothy J. Piper tells us that in women’s intercollegiate volleyball the most important factor for success is the upper-body strength and for spiking velocity the main factor is the shoulder extension strength at high speeds. The major muscle groups utilized while hitting, blocking, passing, setting and moving at a volleyball game or training drill were studied to determine the movement patterns. Balance and coordination are required in order to comply with the demands of body movement while the athletes are on their feet (Gadken, 1999).

In order to produce a greater force while jumping the gluteus, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves work together to produce the power necessary to impulse the body up (Scates, et al. 2003). According to Marques et al. (2009) there are differences in anthropometric, muscular strength and power characteristics of volleyball athletes according to the position they are playing. The outside hitters have a significant difference in maximal bench press strength, parallel squat and throwing distances than the setters and liberos, demonstrating to have greater lower-body strength. Outside hitter skills and drills are different from a setter or libero, while the setter focuses in well set passes, an outside hitter will focused on block jumps, backpedaling for 4 m, rapid spike approaches and spike jumps, every exercise done within a short period of time (Allen Hendrick, 2007). Volleyball training is in need of anaerobic conditioning due to the short and explosive movements and high power outputs, games may last a long period of time but the game plays are not continuous with many breaks during the game (Scates, et al., 2003). Specificity and overload are necessary to increase the body efforts and improvement, according to Black (1995) the overload training must be stimulus; this means that the weights, speed, height and duration must be greater than usual in order to have a direct impact in body resistance, strength and conditioning. Increasing the speed, power and overall coordination is important and it can be achieved by doing Olympic-style lifts and Power cleans to develop the hip and back power (Timothy J. Piper, 1997). The volume of strength training varies depending on the exercise. Olympic style lifts never exceed 6 repetitions in some programs due to the fact that performing more than 6 repetitions may place the athlete at risk for injury (Gadeken, 1999). The use of free weights and of upper and lower body ballistic training is important in developing strength and power (Gadeken, 1999). Like basketball players, volleyball athletes need to be able to leap with agility and power but also be able to hit the ball with an enormous force while suspended in mid-air (Scates et al., 2003). Importance made on movements in which the athletes are on their feet, the exercise is similar to the demands of volleyball, and balance and coordination are required (Gadeken, 1999). It is necessary for the volleyball player to have a great upper-body strength, stability of the shoulder socket, and functional trunk strength to allow the athlete to swing faster and more powerfully (Scates et al., 2003). The shoulder joint musculature and rotator cuff muscles are of major concern because of their roll in stabilization of the shoulder and because of the high forces produced while spiking and blocking (Gadeken, 1999). According to Uppal (2013), the game of volleyball places very high demands on athletic ability of players.

Small size of volleyball court requires different running pattern than in football, hockey other games. There are 100 to 200 jumps with optimum height from relative short approach. Without jumping power, an effective smash is not possible, without adequate speed and agility the player cannot accomplish good performance on defense, without specific playing endurance it will not be possible to last long in tough competitions. According to Singh (1991), whenever a sportsman does an action he has achieved some performance. During training a sportsman is regularly doing different types of exercises. An estimate of his performance in different exercises is indispensable for training and performance analysis. Seeing the modern trend in Volleyball in terms of technique, it is evident that, powerful spike by back zone player, short balls spike, jump service, anticipatory double blocking defense by libero has become integral part of modern volleyball. It has been noticed that, team those who are consistently performing well at world level are able to block the opponent attack. All these skills require high level of fitness which can be improved by systematic scientific training considering game situation individual ability to perform. While spiking blocking a player has to jump vertically in order to make contact with the ball from maximum height. In every branch of sports, including volleyball, the aim is the realization of tasks in order to achieve the end result - success. Reaching the final results with maximum efficiency, it is not possible without making adequate plans and programs, and setting guidelines on the way to success.

Volleyball is a complex sport game, rich with various forms of motoric movements, so making plan and program is also complex. According to Kostić and Nejić (2008) planning in volleyball is an element of management and development of quality volleyball players and teams. In modern volleyball play, there is a necessity for the existence of systematic work within the volleyball club in which shall be determined degree on the basis of age. Planning and programming are impossible to determine without a certain degree of precise school of volleyball, while the schedule of goals and tasks for each level is going to determine the curriculum of a given degree. Before the trainer is engaged in work with beginners, he should be familiar with the environment of his players, their medical condition, and he must evaluate the psycho - physical capabilities of each individual (Toyoda, 2011). Based on the collected data, the trainer approaches the preparation of plans and programs of training and providing equipment. In planning and programming volleyball, it is necessary to take care of following factors: age characteristics, gender, goals and tasks and material conditions. Age plays a key role in forming the curriculum. Period of rapid development in girls starts at 8 - 9 and lasts until 15 - 16 years, so it’s important to start with the work of the volleyball school at this age, that is the third grade of primary school (Nešić, 2005). In planning and programming, the coach must be familiar with the morphological, functional characteristics, cognitive development and motor skills of a given age in order to make an adequate curriculum.

Morphological characteristics of early school age children are very important for the realization of motor structures, not only as factors which make easier, but also factors that hinder the performance of motor tasks (Rodić, 2000). Boys and girls who belong to the first volleyball school are average equal in height, but when they get ten year, girls became heighted then boys. Girls in age of eight are high around 129 cm, and up to ten year they reach a height of 139 cm, while their weight is less than a boys’, but after ten year comes to a sudden increase (Mladenović - Ćirić, 2008). At this age there is an increase functional capacity of cardiovascular system, while heart rate slows down and is about 90 beats per minute (Mladenović - Ćirić, 2008). Cognitive development is characterized by increase in sensory sensitivity, differentiation of perception, more accurate memory and therefore increase of learning abilities. Thinking in children of this age is built on the experience more than situational. Emotional development of children is more stable than the pre-school age, and aesthetic feelings are more developed. Children in this period are developing friendly relations, so practicing volleyball is ideal for their social development. During growth and development, children go through sensitive stages of development skills, with which the trainer must be familiar. It is considered that a period from 7 to 12 years is “golden time” for the development of the whole spectrum of motor ability (Crnokić, 2007). Besides knowing the age characteristics of children, the coach must pay attention to the gender. At the first level of volleyball in school, there is no major physical differences between genders, so it is often to practice in mixed initial group.

Material conditions can influence plan and program and sometimes limited them. Even when material conditions are not adequate and satisfactory does not mean that it would not be a positive outcome, with good engagement and creativity of coach the deficiencies of materially - technical can be compensated. This study is about annual planning and programming for the first level of volleyball in school. Plan and program are for the girls, aged 8 to 10 years, which make up first degree of volleyball school. The aim is to define the tasks of volleyball school for the first degree, to make the annual plan of training volume and determine the annual program of sports preparations (technical, tactical, physical, theoretical, psychological preparation). Volleyball is an intermittent sport that requires players to compete in frequent short bouts of high-intensity exercise, followed by periods of low-intensity activity (Gabbett,et al., 2006). However, while well-developed physiological capacities are important for team sports, athletes are also required to have well-developed technical skill and decision-making ability. Young players often find it hard to support the traditional fitness training, because of a lack of enjoyment and experience with this type of exercise (Wall &Côt, 2007).

In recent years, an approach called skill-based training has been developed in order to combine the skill and conditioning elements in a coordinated approach (Gabbett, 2002; Gabbet, 2003; Gamble, 2004; Nurmekivi et al., 2002; Sassi, Reilly, &Impellizzeri, 2004). It is an important consideration to optimize skill development in volleyball while still obtaining appropriate conditioning levels. In order to expose players to the intensity, decision making, speed and skill execution required in the competition setting, practice sessions need to replicate actual game events and phases of play. Small-sided games, as a part of skill-based training are a popular training method used to replicate technical skills and tactical awareness, whilst also representing the physiological demands typical of a competitive match (Gabbett et al., 2009). According to Sampaio et al, (2009) decrease in space and number of players in game allow greater self-recreation of players and greater intervention in game. Stated Jones (2008) argues how information collected from insight into desired strategies can act as critical success factors, which if focused on enhances the chances of meeting set participation targets. Along with these benefits, if demonstrate an ability to use insight to create successful initiatives to increase participation, they are more likely to receive. Insight has always been collected by NGBs, but was simply called a different name. The question is, therefore, why did Sport England make the change from research to insight? If the two terms consist of the same principles, i.e. collecting and analyzing data to gain understanding of how to tackle barriers to participation, the benefits of conducting research/insight would be the same.