Volleyballs, Soft Volleyballs

1. Students will show ability to track an object to their hands/fingers/forearms.
2. Students will be able to contact the object and control the direction of the of the object.
3. Students will show understanding of basic vocabulary associated with the overhead pass/set, forearm pass/bump, and underhand serve skills.
4. Students will be aware of appropriate time to use each skill during volley tennis play.
5. Students will be able to cooperate and communicate with team members.
6. Students will demonstrate knowledge of volley tennis game rules including: Serving Position, Rotation, Scoring, Side Out, etc.
7. Students will demonstrate competency of skills so that an enjoyable game can be played.

• Have students practice skills with a partner or as part of a small group prior to gameplay.
• Walk students through the game using a demonstration group, asking questions asthings happen during play. (Who gets the ball? What is that called? Who gets theserve?)

Review techniques for skills - when they are used during game play. Check to see if any students have played volley tennis or volleyball in an organized manner before.

Today's activity to will be a Volley Tennis Game. Use a volleyball court and hang nets at tennis height. Basically there are 6 students on each side - 3 in the front; 3 in the back. The center back is the serving position. Servers use an underhand serve and must serve from outside of the court, behind the back line. (Modify if necessary)

1. Following the underhand serve (which must go over the net without touching it), the receiving team must return the ball; They have up to 3 hits to send the ball back over the net. The ball may not touch the ground between hits. If the team is working to return the ball and after a hit it moves out of bounds, they still have two more hits to get it back into play and send it over the net.
2. Volleying continues until a violation occurs
3. a team does not return the ball in bounds using 3 or less hits.
4. If the serving team wins the volley, they receive a point and the same student continues to serve.
5. If the non-serving team wins the volley, it is a "side out" they win the serve, and the team rotates one position clockwise (the first side-out does not require a rotation).
6. Server should call out the score, serving team's score first, then opponents, prior to hitting the ball into play.
7. If the ball hits the line it is "in." The line in volley tennis is considered part of the court. (If a ball comes close to the line, encourage students to go for it and make a judgement when it gets near the area.)- If the ball hits the net during volleying (not a serve) it should be played.
8. Teacher can choose to allow downward hits, or any variation of hits (The best thing to do is to concentrate on focus on using the basic skills - bump, set, and serve.)
9. Teacher should recognize and point out teamwork, positive comments or peer coaching, proper use of skills.
10. Play continues for a specified time or until one team scores 15 points; Play best out of 3; Round Robin tournament.

Review rules of play: Check for understanding; Allow time to discuss "how the game went" - Was the game enjoyable? How did your team do? Did you work together? What happened when the game was over? Did the class react in a positive way, demonstrating good sportsmanship or did they brag and argue? (If the behavior was not positive, review skills, rules of play, and re-evaluate readiness for a somewhat "competitive" situation.)

• Mark areas for students to play for each position.
• No score is an option - but students should be aware of when a point is awarded and when a side out occurs.
• Teacher can have a group of students record specific hits for teammates, referee, or help with rules of play. (especially if class size is large)
• More than 6 students can play on a side - either rotate them in, or make teams slightly larger, but not too large.
• A practice area can be set up for students that are not ready to apply skills to a game-play situation.
• Students that are ready can play with the net raised to volleyball height.
• Use a ball that best fits the comfort and ability of players.If necessary, set up more than one game of different levels and let students choose which best fits them - Training - Recreational - Challenging.
• Smaller games can be organized, say 3v3 or 4v4 if space and net areas are available.
• Games can be played on grass with moveable nets.