Thumbs up or facing each other....

And so it began...

My assistant coach and I began a mini debate at practice about the virtues of pushing your thumbs to the cieling when you press for a block as she had been taught playing for her Junior College and Univeristy teams. The other side was to lead with your palms over the net and fingers spread but middle finger to the cieling, thumbs facing each other.

After our debate, we decided to take our question to the tight knit volleyball community for their opinions.

A Senior member of the USOC's Competitive Analysis and Research department had never seen a study done of the virtue of hand placement on the block but did say, "My gut tells me thumbs up creates a wide lateral area while middle up creates a higher vertical area. Perhaps it's a function of the blocker limitation; if they're shorter or not the greatest jumper, perhaps they need the extra inch 'middle up' gives them."

The biomechanical side covered, we started asking coaches their opinion. An assistant coach from the Big East conference who has given presentations on blocking for USA Volleyball was solicited and he replied, "Thumb up is what we teach for a couple reasons: 1) safer because this technique lends toward leading with the palm of your hands when penetrating over the net to block vs. fingers leading; 2) one has a more natural ability to angle their wrists thus allowing the palm of their hands to face the middle of the court."

Another call went out to a coach from Florida with some extensive USA Volleyball coaching background. His take was, "Common perception is that thumbs up locks the elbows to create a sturdy blocking platform. We don't specifically train one way over the other. We just tend to focus in sealing the net and holding the block as long as possible."

I had heard the thumb up locks the elbows argument before but wasn't sure that was a biomechanical certainty. Back to the USOC Competitive Analysis and Research department asking that specific question, to which he replied, "I don't necessarily think 'thumbs up' locks the elbow, per se, but I wouldn't argue over the rest of it."
 
A coach from the West Coast Conference fired up,"The ball knows angles, in this case the angle of your hand. So I say get over with big hands and make sure they're facing in the court."

Another Coach weighed in, a former National team assistant who has coached at just about every level. "I prefer hands over the net! But to answer what you ask I like thumbs up. Your hands cover a little more area but most important if your fingers are up and you turn your hand in (to deflect the ball into the court) it opens a hole in your hands (try it). If your thumbs are up and you turn your hand in it doesn't open a hole because your hand kind of pivots around your thumb (try it). Also, your thumbs are the strongest parts of your hands , by far so I like the idea of exposing that in the middle of my block."

A first year coach with an extensive background brought this to the party,  "I have always taught thumbs to ceiling. There are a couple of things to consider here: 1) thumbs up serves a similar purpose as a shoulder shrug in passing. The shrug serves to lock in the platform into a ready position just before contact. Rolling the thumbs up essentially does the same for your blocking platform. 2) thumbs up also aids in placing the hands in a correct position to redirect the ball back into the court, aka, you're not as easy to tool! 3) consider also what method of blocking is being used. Thumbs up may not be as feasible a position for the hands during a swing block movement where as in a static block method I believe it's vital."

A final e mail of the day on the topic trickled in late last night from a PAC-12 Assistant Coach. "I don't talk about either. I try to keep it simple. The ball knows angles. So, if you're a right side blocker, your outside hand needs to be turned in a little bit, and your inside hand should be straight. To often blockers hands are "in the shape of a ball" which creates bad angles. Asides from that, I just talk about big strong hands getting over the net. Doesn't mean I'm right, but that's all I talk about with our kids (who aren't very good at blocking yet)."

More than anything, I wanted my Coach to know that I valued her opinion and that instead of just taking the easy road and teaching how we were taught, let's go the extra mile. Questions are good, challenge is good, research and opinions are good! It's what helps makes coaches life long learners.

The volleyball community is a small one and many coaches are very happy to share their opinions and research with you. If YOU have a question you would like answered, let us know at the Region Outreach. We'd love to help!