VOLLEYBALL LEARNING GUIDE

GUIDE INFORMATION

This learning guide provides the learner with the necessary knowledge of the game of volleyball.

The game provides knowledge on;

 The values of the game

 Playing skills

After reading the guide, watch the video lesson one each of the rules of the game and playing
skills. The video lessons are set out as rule 1 to 9. Each lesson tackles the areas covered in the
learning guide. Therefore watch the video following the hard copy learning guide.

GUIDE TOPICS

RULE 1: THE PLAYING COURT

18 meters net line

5 4 2 1

9 meters
6 3 3 6

1 2 4 5

Substitution box

Attack line service line

 The court is 18 meters long (side line) and 9 meter width service line.
 The attack line is 3 meters from the center line (Net line)
 There is a substitution box that is 3 meter long on the side line and on the side of the 2nd
referee for each team.
 The court playing positions are 1 – 6.

Court equipment’s and official’s equipment’s

 There should be net posts, low high?

 There should be a net. What length and width?
 There should be an antenna of what length and what color?
 There should be a referee chair
 There should be a:
 Time keepers stopwatch
 A table and chairs for;
- Time keeper
- Recorder
- Match commission
 A substitution bench for substitutes.
 Electronic board (for scores display) when the game is played indoor.
 A score sheet
 A reliable whistle (fermi)

Playing requirements

 A ball/ what is the weight of a volleyball ball.

 Player attire;
 Shorts and jersey
 Sport shoes
RULE 2: NUMBER OF PLAYERS

In a live game only 6 players are allowed in court. A team is allowed to have 6 substitutes.
Among the substitutes may be a liberal player.

The liberal player (bold only)

 He/ she wear a different color from the other players.

 He must be registered as such.
 He can only play at the back court i.e. position 1.3.6 only
 He cannot serve the ball
 He can substitute anybody at the back court any time the ball is dead without informing the
referee.
 He cannot play at the front court i.e. position 4.3.2.
 He cannot cross the ball over the net.

RULE 3: THE START OF THE GAME (SERVE OFF)

 Captains toss for ends or service

 The winner of the toss can choose either to start the service or to choose from which side of
the court to start.
 Teams take playing positions 1 to 6.
 If a player takes position 4 for which is called strong in (playing terms) he cannot stay
position 3 (center) in the set. The same applies to each position for each player.
 First referee and second referee take the refereeing positions.
 The referee must blow his whistle (firimbi) for the server to serve the ball. So in volleyball
we start the game by a service.

RULE 4: HANDLING THE BALL

 The ball is played using the hands, the foot and any part of the body. It is mainly played
using hands.
 Service must be done using the hand.
 A team is allowed a maximum of three touches of the ball before the ball crosses the net.
 If there is a simultaneous touch of the ball involving two opponents (normally during
blocking over the net) the touch is not counted as a touch so a team can still touch the ball 3
times after the simultaneous touch.
 A liberal player is not allowed to cross the ball over the net.
 If the ball touches either a referee, net post or the antenna, it is a dead ball and is a score to
the opponent of the team that lastly volleyed the ball.
 If a ball lands (falls) on the ground it is a score to the opponent if the ball landed inside the
court.
 If a ball is volleyed and it goes out of the court of play, it is a score to the opponent of the
team that volleyed it.
 Double touch is not allowed i.e. volleying the ball to you twice or playing the ball twice
before another player touches it.

RULE 5: ROTATION

 Any time a team gains a service, it must rotate. Gaining a service means your team has killed
the opponent’s service.
 Explanation;
- If team A serves and loses the service through a foul in their play, team B gains a
service. Team B has killed team A’s service. Team B must rotate.
 Rotation is done clock wisely i.e. the player in position 1 rotates to position 6, 6 to 5, 5 to 4, 4
to 3, 3 to 2 and 2 to 1. So the player who was in position 2 before rotation is the one who
takes position 1. Position 1 player is the one who serves the ball.
 Faulty rotation leads to a score to the opponent and the opponent also gains a service.
 Check the rotation rules for a liberal player under rule 2.
 When a team gains a score from its own service, it does not rotate. The player who served
continues to serve.
RULE 6: MAKING A SCORE (POINT) AND WINNING A SET AND A MATCH

 Any time a team makes a playing mistake, the opponent team makes a score or point.
 The playing mistakes include the ones already listed plus;
 Touching the net
 A service that does not cross the net
 Volleying the ball more than 3 times.
 Ball landing inside the court
 Ball landing outside the court
 Wrong substitution
 Double touch

Winning a set

A volleyball match between team A and B is made up of 5 sets.

 Each set is made up of 25 scores – except set 5 that is made up of 15 scores.

 For a team to win a set it must make 25 scores. If team A scores 24 points and team B 24
scores, the two teams go to 26 points. In other words, there must be a difference of 2 scores
for a team to be declared a winner of a set. In the 5th set the team must also win by a margin
of 2 scores, meaning the game can go beyond 25 or 15 scores.
 The winner of a match is the team that wins 3 sets out of 5.
 If the teams tie at 2 sets each, they play set 5 to break the tie.
 After each set, teams change sides

Set 5 rules

 It is played when the 2 teams tie at 2 sets each.

 Team captains must toss for service or side.
 At the 8th score, teams change sides again but must retain the playing positions held prior to
changing.
 The winner must win by a margin of 2 scores as seen earlier.
RULE 7: SUBSTITUTION

 Substitution of the whole team can be done.

 Substitution is done when the ball is dead.
 Substitution must be done at the substitution box.
 The player getting in must wait for the player leaving the court to leave first before he/ she
gets in.
 The substitute must be registered as a player of the team.
 Substitution can be requested by the captain or the coach.
 The referee must allow the substitution.
 See the liberal player substitution rule also.
 Reasons for substitution;
 To replace an injured player
 To change tactics
 To replace a tired player
 Psychological effect in the opponent

RULE 8: TIME OUTS

 A time out is a break, or stoppage of a game. It can be called;

 By a referee when;
- He wants to consult the other referee or official
- When there is an interruption of the game by fans, power blackout, facility equipment
or a fray.
 By a coach or captain to;
- Rest his team
- Advice the team
 Automatic time out
- At the 8th score and
- At the 16th score
 During time out, the team players leave the court.
 During time out for referee’s consultations, the teams remain in the playing field until the
referee communicates otherwise.
 Time out lasts for a maximum of 1 minute (one minute), except the referee’s timeout which
may take more time or less depending on the situation.
 A team is allowed 3 captains or coach initiated time outs.
 If team A calls for a time out, team B benefits from the time out also.

LESSON 9: PLAYING SKILLS

The following playing skills are demonstrated in the video. You will be assessed practically as
you perform the skills, practice them.

 Service skills allowed

 The under arm service
 The tennis serve
 The jump tennis serve
 Receiving skills allowed
 The dig
 The volley
 The toss or set
 The kick volley
 Spiking skills allowed
 Open palm spike
 The cut spike
 The back hand spike
 The running spike
 Blocking skills allowed
 The one man block
 The two man block
  The three man block
 Covering allowed
 The block cover
 Back court cover
 Combined cover
 HAND BALL

RULE 1: THE PLAYING COURT

RULE 2: NATURE OF THE GAME

 As the name suggests, handball is a game played using hands only. It is only the goal keeper
who is allowed to use any part of his body to defend the goal while he is inside the 6 meter
mark. Once he is outside it he is not allowed to use his feet just like other court players.
 The number of players allowed inside the paying court is 7 i.e. 6 court players and one
goalkeeper. A team is allowed to have 7 substitutes
 The game involves passing the ball, dribbling and scoring. It’s like basketball except that in
hand ball the goals are not elevated like in basketball.
 The game is played for duration of 70 minutes i.e. 35 minutes first half, then rest of 10
minutes or less depending on the age of the players and level of competition.
 The winner of the game is the one who scores more scores than his opponent.
 In case of a tie i.e. both teams score the same e.g. 50 – 50 or 15 – 15 etc. extra time of 5
minutes is awarded. If the tie is not broken in the extra time additional 5 minutes is given. If
no winner emerges, 7 meter throws may be used to break the tie.
 NB:
 Playing rules are reviewed every 2 – or 5 years and may involve a change of a rule or
addition of other rules.
 In high school and primary school competitions or competitions for special needs
persons.
 The organizers of the competition may modify some paying rules.
 After half time teams change sides.

RULE 3: THE START OF THE GAME (THROW OFF)

Process;

 Teams assemble
 Teams inspected for correct hand ball uniform (hand nails, bangles, rings etc. be removed)
 Captain summoned by referee
 Toss for ends or throw off is done
 The winner of the toss chooses either throw off or the side of the playing field to start from.
 Playing seven take their position.
X
X
X

x
X
X
X

Non – starting team

 The non-starting team must be 3 meters away from the starting team. In most cases the non-
starting team forms a wall along their own 6-meter line.
 The referee signal the start of the game by blowing the “Firimbi”

When a score is made

When a score is made by team A, team B will restart the game at the center. The non-starting
team must be 3 meters away from the ball and in their own half. A violation of this rule leads to a
restart of the game or a loss of possession.

RULE 4: SUBSTITUTION

 Is done any time without informing the referee and the game is not stopped except when
substituting the goal keeper.
 The substitute must be registered as a member of the team (among the 7 substitutes).
 The substitute must come from the team bench
 The player being substituted must come out through the substitution mark (5 meter mark).
 The substitute must enter through the substitution mark.
 A team can substitute any number of substitutes any time.
 A breach of the substitution rule leads to a loss of possession and 2 minutes suspension.
Meaning the team remains with less players for two minutes.
 If the number of suspended players reaches 4, the team forfeits the game.
 Un-sportsman like conduct;
 Kicking an opponent
 Illegal tackling of opponent
 Fighting
 Spitting at a player or official
 Refusing to obey referee’s orders
 In any of the above cases the guilty player is shown a yellow card or a straight red card
depending on the referee’s judgment.
 A red carded player must leave the court and he is substituted. He must also not play the next
match.

Question:

 What is the consequence of a second yellow card on the same player?

 What is the consequence of a 3rd yellow card on the same player?

RULE 5: VIOLATIONS IN HAND BALL

 Double dribble i.e. dribbling the ball with both hands at the same time.
 Walking with the ball for more than 3 steps without dribbling or passing.
 Holding the ball for more than 3 seconds without passing, shooting or dribbling while not
tightly marked or guarded.
 Turning with the ball without pivoting (see video for clarity)
 A player entering the 6 meter (D) area to defend.
 Kicking the ball (only GK is allowed to kick while he is inside the D).

9 meter line rule

During a free throw, the defending team should be 3 meters away from the team taking the free
throw.

7 meter line rule

During a 7 meter throw, all players must be outside the 9 meter line except the taker of the throw
and the goal keeper.

RULE 6: GOAL KEEPING RULES (GK RULES)

 The GK must have a different color of uniform from the field players.
 A team must have a substitute GK.
 The GK should not leave the “D” with the ball. If he does, a 9 meter throw is awarded
against his team.
 A GK should not enter the court with the ball. If he does, a 9 (nine) meter throw is awarded
against his team.
 The referee must allow the GK substitution.
 If the GK leaves the “D”, he cannot use his feet to play the ball.
 During a 7 (seven) meter throw, the GK should not cross the 4 meter mark.