Pic: Shayman(USA)
Written By Dave
The Volleyball World Cup is a great tournament, with the best teams from around the world battling it out for a place in the Olympic Games. But what makes these teams the best teams in the world? Of course, any team competing in this tournament must be good, but what separates 1st from 12th?
I have reviewed the average age, average number of games (national representations) and average height of each of the teams, to try and identify some trends and figure out the role these variables play in the make up of a successful team.
Pic: J.Star
I like big butts. Not big flabby ones. Big, powerful, strong ones. The kind you see on 100m sprinters. A big, strong butt, generally means you can generate a lot of power. Why do we want big glutes? We jump a lot, and when you jump, your glutes play a massive role.
Why Are Your Glutes So Important?
‘Ankle braces will weaken your ankles mate, don’t stay on them too long’. I don’t know when or how this myth started, but guys, it ain’t true. We play Volleyball. We jump at the net, surrounded by many other people, land from crazy heights, into even more dangerous positions, feet are everywhere, uncoordinated idiots jumping under the net…please, protect your ankles.
What is Proprioception?
Proprioception is an important sense in the body. Unlike, sight, touch, hearing taste and smell, it focuses on only internal feedback from the body. Proprioception is the process by which you body can vary muscles contraction in immediate response to incoming information about your body in space. It is basically a sensory feedback for muscle control and posture.
Pic: hugovk
Injuries happen in every sport, and we get a fair share of them. A study was done in Australia by Monash University in 2001 on Injury rates and severity amongst Volleyball participants. There is really no comprehensive source of injury data in Australia. This study used insurance claims, and hospital admissions. They also took lots of data from previous studies. This means there are big limitations with these stats, but hey, its all we have and we are going to share them. We have summarised the massive report just a little for you, hopefully provides some interesting stats.
Hip mobility is important for Volleyball players. The ability to get low is imperative in many skills. My philosophy is, if you want to get lower, then get low more often. Basically, if you want to be able to get low, then you simply need to do exercises in which you are getting low. Simply squatting deep all day is pretty boring, and there are a few other exercises which target some of the muscles that are often limiting factors in why you can’t get full range.
