During a visit to the Race Course grounds, I met T. Prakasam, the district sports hostel coach for volleyball. He had earlier made some attempts to draw my attention to the game. But all went in vain. This time round, however, when I watched the group of agile boys moving effortlessly and operating the ball like a magician’s wand with supreme confidence, I suddenly felt attracted.
A change in my mind returned me to the court on a perfect evening, with the sun providing a sanguine backdrop. I felt dwarfed in the company of beanpoles. Soon their youthful exuberance caught on me and I started to feel one among them.
The customary warm up routine involved jogging (two to three rounds of the ground), stretching exercises (concentrating knee, shoulder, wrist, ankle and back) and circuit training, which included push ups, sit ups, side and forward rolls.
“Depending upon the nature of the group and match condition, we use six or nine routines for the circuit training. But once you go through this arduous drill, you become fit,” Mr. Prakasam encouraged me.
Besides, there were also some game specific work outs like, passing the ball, lifting and spiking (a jargon for smashing the ball past the 2.48 metre high net).
The warm up session went on for about 15 minutes before I could set out for the game. After five minutes or so I felt as if I am attending a military training session as I was asked to do a push up for 10 counts, then move along the ground in the same position for about 10 feet and then run to take on the ball which was passed on to me. Without a breather, I had to be ready to set the ball in motion for the spiker to smash the ball. It all went on in one motion. At the end of the routine, I wished I could have lungs as big as a hot air balloon.
“Volleyball coaches from countries like United States don’t advocate preliminary stretching exercises and suggest match practice as the best form of training. They start their session with couple of push ups and then straightaway plunge into action exposing the players to the real match situation by asking them to do ‘position-specific’ actions such as stopping and lifting the arriving ball, setting the ball, spiking and blocking the ball. They say these routines suffice for the players to gain match fitness,” said Mr. Prakasam.
At the end of the day, he also introduced some lead games which were also called recreational routines. First on the list was the horse ride game, wherein you had to lift your partner and run as fast as you can. Next , was the touch and go sprint session in which one had to touch the partner and reach the target before the partner could reach the place.
It turned out to be quite an eventful evening. Though the session started on a serious note, the day ended cheerfully as we had loads of fun. For more information dial 9486017940 for Mr. Prakasam.
