Update (12/20/19)

The next revision and update of this article is now available! It’s some of my best writing and much clearer than this one. Click here.

Update (9/20/18):

I am working on the next version of this article and more volleyball related topics. If you subscribe to our update you’ll be amongst the first to know about it. Additionally, we have a free Apiros Movement Vitamin Series to help improve the qualitative movement properties of anyone. This stuff can be like jet fuel for athletes. Click here to subscribe.

UPDATE: Here is the instructional video series designed to teach you the skills taught within this article.

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A long, long time ago, in a website no longer working, resides a series of blogs about the biomechanics of volleyball. This is a long-awaited follow-up to the arm swing post from 2012. The original has disappeared and I cannot find the link to the most popular one (Update- I apparently looked for it the week that it did not exist...the link is here scroll down. Not all are tagged volleyball). Oops, :-). These posts circulated far beyond my expectations. I thank you to those who enjoyed and shared my last post. I can only hope the same comes for this one. Thank you also for your patience as this has been a back burner project for some time. After nearly a two month break from all things social media, I have a renewed drive for sharing what I believe about volleyball and the athletic life.

Over the last few years, I have deepened my understanding of the swing (and other volleyball skills of course). This post has been written, edited, and rewritten several times throughout this last year. I must precede this analysis with a few key points. There’s no right or wrong. That is too rigid, too reductionist, too binary. Rather, we should consider the spectrums of:

Better vs. Worse: This is a continual process and if we are not getting better, then we are getting worse. If you’re not trying to get better, why are you here? Close this tab, seriously. I did not write this for you. Sustainable vs. Unsustainable: Maybe your arm swing works now, but will it be as effective or better in 6 months? A year? Creating Legends through maximized potential: Here are a few examples. Everyone knows Usain Bolt does not have the best start in his 100m dash. He is still the fastest man in the world and holds the world record. But how long will he own that record? Will it last 5 years? or 80? Kerri Walsh-Jennings, she’s had five shoulder surgeries now. Or is it six? I don’t know, I’ve lost count. Could she have earned another medal in Rio this year if she didn’t have two dislocations and another surgery within the year prior to Rio? My passion and day dreaming gravitates towards legendary stories that last for lifetimes. Helping people create stories that last and are fabled like Babe Ruth’s home run record.

I love to ask questions of where can potential be cultivated within an athlete’s life. These are visions I have every one of my athletes. As the great John Lennon said, “You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us.” I am not writing this to keep people mediocre. While I am satisfied with wherever the athlete is during this moment, I am passionately driven towards the questions of “what’s next?” and "what's possible?"

My aim with this post is to satisfy the layman, the coach, and the sports scientist. The prior post contrasted the high elbow versus the low elbow and the professional volleyball players that utilized each. It summed up that those who started with a low elbow did not have any shoulder injuries, that I could find. Those who drew their arm back into a high elbow position did have injuries. I compared it to the much more well researched baseball pitching mechanics, which are not much different in my eyes. The main target for my argument against the high elbow is Kerri Walsh-Jennings. Who has continued to have shoulder injuries since the writing of my first article. This is just what I think is best as of today (2/9/17), but it may change. Strong opinions I have. Weakly held, they are...hmmmm. (Huge Star Wars fan, couldn't help it. #Yoda)