Most of these apply to many sports and physical endeavours, however for volleyball specifically, these are important to me at a high level. I always find myself saying variations of these same things, over and over. Most players will have heard these too. In no particular order, here is some of the little I know about volleyball.
Strength train
So you can play like a freight train. Being generally strong will help you in all aspects of life. You will resist bone fractures and breaks, jump higher and be able to move easier weights relevant to volleyball with ease. Explosiveness carries over too, if you can bridge the gap of general to sports-specific training.
Build muscles
Suddenly it’s easier to move up and down stairs after a tough session. I can stand up out of my car when I’m cold, instead of crawl out and struggle to find my balance, as well as my keys. I can jump in volleyball games over two hours long, with energy to spare. This is separate to strength. I think of muscle as “padding” for my tendons and joints. Muscle tears and repairs relatively quickly. Tendons, not so much.
Mobility is king
Lunge, roll, dart, hop, twist, swing. All the movement patterns involving your torso, shoulders, neck, hips, knees, feet, even your hands, will set you apart and allow you to make moves others won’t. For decades to come. Your defensive zone gets wider, your ability and window to punish anything coming your way grows wider.
Obsess over quality
Playing social pick up games is fun - up to a point. You will hit a wall. Or the net. Over and over. In order to improve form, you need to pay attention to it. What is an orthodox pass? A rock-step? A roll shot? A pancake? A well formed block? Deliberate practice, not just practice, is what will get you going further.
Defence first
No good pass - no chance in hell you’ll get to do your super hax 3 metre line bounce. It’s a team sport, be part of the team.
Reps, reps, reps
Some people are talented, and pick things up almost immediately. And they still need practice. For the rest of us mere peasant mortals, we train our brain to move our bodies in certain ways until those ways become the default.
Feel the game
This one’s a bit more personal, and not everyone I know experiences a similar thing. Momentum, mood, pace, rhythm, all play a huge role in the game. Two equally skilled teams could play and have vastly different outcomes, because of how they are differently affected by the experience they are having.
Strength is technique, technique is strength
Trick your opponent by concealing your form midair so you can drop a roll shot and win the point. Jump so high and spike so hard that you don’t need to trick the opponent and win the point. Both work. Both need work.
Learn the rules, so you can break them
At higher levels, everyone is good. Everyone knows the rules. Everyone knows the techniques. The meta. This is a strength, but also a weakness. If you can understand the system, then you can understand its weak points. A blocker will follow me all the way out here next to the antenna, so what can I do with that? What else is there? What’s my answer? This is where creativity and self expression in volleyball become incredibly satisfying for me. Find unique solutions to timeless problems.