How bad is goofy-foot?
David Fisher
Actually, I don't know if this is considered true goofy-footedness. My
approach is normal, except that I take off left-right, not right-left. I
face the correct direction, my left foot is ahead of my right, and it looks
fairly normal.
The reason I'm asking is that I have been flirting with changing over to a
more textbook approach, and I'm having a heck of a time getting my timing
back, and I'm just wondering what it is I'm going to gain by changing. The
only thing anyone has told me is that it will help reduce shoulder injury,
but I don't have shoulder problems. (yet)
Oh, I forgot to give some details:
I am a righty, mostly hitting opposite or middle, 6' tall, and I have a
reasonable vert (36"), so perhaps I have been masking some hitting problems
with basic athleticism...
Thanks for any input.
-Dave
Diane Wms
you hit more easily with a correct right-left approach for a righty hitter.
I've helped several Division I men change their footwork by simply hitting
"two's" and taking only the last two steps of the approach. Once you master
just the right-left plant-jump-armswing-hit, you can more easily add any
preliminary steps that are needed for longer approaches. Think of it as leaning
a new dance. It's just choregraphy.
Diane Williams
"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind." --Emerson
1996 Olympic Beach Volleyball photos at http://volleyball.org/ladydi
Rob Peglar
"David Fisher" <spr...@apple.com> wrote in message
news:B6776B97.9935%spr...@apple.com...
>
> Actually, I don't know if this is considered true goofy-footedness. My
> approach is normal, except that I take off left-right, not right-left. I
> face the correct direction, my left foot is ahead of my right, and it
looks
> fairly normal.
If you are right-handed, and your last two steps are left-right, in that
order, you are goofy-footed.
> The reason I'm asking is that I have been flirting with changing over to a
> more textbook approach, and I'm having a heck of a time getting my timing
> back, and I'm just wondering what it is I'm going to gain by changing.
The
> only thing anyone has told me is that it will help reduce shoulder injury,
> but I don't have shoulder problems. (yet)
My experience from starting out 20+ years ago as a goofy-footer, and
quickly changing, tells me to warn you about foot and knee problems as
well.
The impact of the left heel/foot striking the surface and changing the
momentum
from horizontal (approach) to vertical (jump) is fierce. In a goofy-footer,
it is
only the left that does all this work. The right is all vertical additive.
If you can
really jump 36" using a goofy approach, you may be able to increase that by
executing a correct RL takeoff, where both the right and left contribute to
the
change from horizontal to vertical. The heel strike of the right leads to a
'roll'
where the left helps finish the rolling. Both R and L provide vertical
force as
well, where in the goofy takeoff, it's all or mostly R for vertical.
On the injury side, the knee absorbs a lot of force when literally stopping
the
horizontal motion and changing it to vertical. This tends to play havoc
with
the patellar tendon in particular. It's also hard on the forefoot and the
toe(s)
which impact first, since they are usually at a slight negative angle (toes
pointing downward) on the goofy takeoff.
Rob
Greg & Janette
paying very close attention to the best middle hitters in the world....
they could and would hit the ball with a correct approach AND a goofy
foot approach. Which makes sense coming out of the middle, as the ball
could be transversing from behind the left or right of the hitter.
My opinion, (humbly offered here), is to learn to hit the ball properly,
AND to have the ability to approach as a goofy foot with a formidable
attack. It wouldn't help as much as a power or offside hitter, but
definitely an asset out of the middle.
Good luck!!
Martha
David Fisher wrote:
> Actually, I don't know if this is considered true goofy-footedness. My
> approach is normal, except that I take off left-right, not right-left. I
> face the correct direction, my left foot is ahead of my right, and it looks
> fairly normal.
Yikes! I do the same exact thing! I guess that makes me goofy-footed too.
The thing is, I was always TAUGHT to take off left-right, ever since I was in
high school. So the real way to do it is right-left? I will have to try that
sometime. But like you were wondering, I am wondering: what advantage does
taking off right-left have over taking off left-right for a right-handed
hitter?
Thanks,
Martha
Devin Grant
finishes an approach with left -right and the left foot is in front of the
right foot then the momentum built up by the approach is now finishing in
the opposite direction of the approach. Second, if the right foot ends up
landing in front of the left then the shoulders must be relatively parallel
to the net as opposed to perpendicular. This will put a large amount of
stress on the shoulder joint and limits the rotation of the torso. there are
a few other reasons but these two seem to be the major ones. Hope this helps
Devin
"Martha" <mw...@ofr.com> wrote in message news:3A54B7D1...@ofr.com...
Yo
opposite from the direction of your swing. I think.
Martha" <mw...@ofr.com> wrote in message news:3A54B7D1...@ofr.com...
>
>
Collin Powers
relative to the net, you are basically dragging your dominant-side leg
behind the other. This means that your nondominant-side leg is doing almost
all of the braking for the transfer of approach momentum to jump momentum.
You can really screw up the knee of this leg. If you are not able to change
your goofy foot approach (takes hard work), make sure you do a lot of inner
quad exercises for this knee to keep the patella tracking correctly (the
inner quad is responsible for last ten degrees of leg extension).
Many coaches emphasize focusing on the last two steps when correcting the
goofy foot. Also, it's important to relearn the timing of your arm swing
with the reverse steps that you are used to. In a correct approach, you are
throwing your arms back as you take your biggest step forward with your
dominant-side leg. This is not natural and it must be specifically
practiced (people will tend to want to naturally throw their arms forward
when taking a big step). Work on taking that big drive step (don't just
step, but jump forward) to land on your dominant-side leg as you throw your
arms back. You will find this to be very difficult, and you may not be able
to do it at first, but it's the hurdle you must cross to correct footwork.
One of the biggest problems I have noticed, even when I have corrected goofy
foots, is that they try to maintain close foot positioning (sort of a quick
hop) for their plant step prior to the jump. In a regular approach, there
is more of a step-step tempo as you let your nondominant leg step beyond the
other leg for the plant step. Even if it's fast, there should a noticable
step-step that helps you to torque and load your torso for the hit.
By the way, your back will hurt when you first learn the correct use of your
torso with proper footwork. But this is not the same thing as the over-use
problem that occurs in the lower left back (for right-handed hitters), so,
this soreness usually goes away with practice.
From former goofy-footer (if you couldn't tell).
David Fisher
"Collin Powers" <cpo...@cavtel.net> wrote:
>
<<< excellent suggestions/cautions/etc deleted for brevity
>
> From former goofy-footer (if you couldn't tell).
>
You certainly got most of the things I'm going through right now. It makes
me a little more confident that I can work this out without trashing what
little correct technique I have... One of the problems is that I'm not
young anymore (38), so I have lot of built-in bad habits that are hard to
break.
Thanks for the info from all of you...
-Dave
Martha
of the maltracking patella on my left leg. Besides the fact that my quad on
that leg was mushy, and that I have bio-mechanical issues, and that my hams were
too tight, I was also goofy-footed! I had no idea that goofy-footedness could
lead to injury. Thanks for this tidbit of info. I am printing out your post
and will try to start changing my approach at practice tonight.
Very gratefully,
Martha
Michael Borga
>cause
>of the maltracking patella on my left leg. Besides the fact that my quad on
>that leg was mushy, and that I have bio-mechanical issues, and that my hams
>were
>too tight, I was also goofy-footed! I had no idea that goofy-footedness
>could
>lead to injury.
Don't worry, once you change your approach you will find the same problem, only
on your right leg, or so i have been told.
And We'll See You on the Beach,
Michael Borga -- Jersey Shore Volleyball Association (JSVBA)
jsvba.com -- 732-506-9449
<A HREF="http://members.aol.com/jsvba">Link to JSVBA Website</A>
Collin Powers
"Michael Borga" <js...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010116205444...@ng-fv1.aol.com...
> >Holy cow! Thanks for all the info. Holy cow because I have found
another
> >cause
> >of the maltracking patella on my left leg. Besides the fact that my quad
on
> >that leg was mushy, and that I have bio-mechanical issues, and that my
hams
> >were
> >too tight, I was also goofy-footed! I had no idea that goofy-footedness
> >could
> >lead to injury.
>
> Don't worry, once you change your approach you will find the same problem,
only
> on your right leg, or so i have been told.
>
Just so people working to change their goofy-footed approach know ... he is
not correct in that last statement. The proper footing sequence and
location allows both legs to be much more normally involved in braking and
jumping in an attack approach (reducing excess stress on one knee).
Layne Graham
approach is goofy-footed (hitting, not jump-serving). How sad! Perhaps one
of the coaches on this newsgroup could explain to Karch that if he could
only straighten out his footwork, he could be a really good player someday.
--
Layne
Address e-mail to "layne.graham" in the "bigfoot.com" domain.
Paul Bradford
>While watching beach tapes a few years ago, I noticed that Karch Kiraly's
>approach is goofy-footed (hitting, not jump-serving). How sad! Perhaps
one
>of the coaches on this newsgroup could explain to Karch that if he could
>only straighten out his footwork, he could be a really good player someday.
Karch wrote that he intentionally goofy-foots on the beach, but not indoors.
He gave an explanation (which I can't remember) for why he preferred
goofy-foot on the beach.
Waay2spike
>Karch wrote that he intentionally goofy-foots on the beach, but not indoors.
>He gave an explanation (which I can't remember) for why he preferred
>goofy-foot on the beach.
>
It has something to do with playing on the left side. He feels it allows him
to see the opposite court better, or something like that.
Gary
Goofy foot player for 15 years.
Jason Sinclair
Correct,
he says that it allows him to have his shoulders more parallel to the
net, allowing him to see more of the court and the opposition players.
Certainly an advantage in the beach game, where the outside sets are
not really outside sets.
Also, it looks like more of a step-close approach rather than a full
goofy foot approach. That is, the right foot is parallel to the left
when taking off.
I remember reading an article in volleyball magazine where he
specifically writes "do as I say and not as I do" when referring to
footwork approach on the beach.
If you watch any video of Karch playing indoors, he uses the proper
footwork, as he does when jump serving.
Jason
--
---------------
Jason Sinclair
Victoria Volleyball Association
http://hypbus.com/vicvball
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
Snogfest Hosebeast
right-handers) take off with their left foot first - therefore it's
L-R-L/R, with the last L/R being a brake-step with the L and the
take-off being with the R.
Is this wrong ?
--
but you can call me Henry.
Don't perform heart surgery with a chainsaw,
unless you're dealing with zombies.
RMF
>
[..]
> I'm confused. I coach at a basic level and have my players (OH -
> right-handers) take off with their left foot first - therefore it's
> L-R-L/R, with the last L/R being a brake-step with the L and the
> take-off being with the R.
> Is this wrong ?
hi henry
this approach sounds very much like karch's on the beach (probably he
doesn't use as many steps though?), and hence, yes, I think that's
"wrong" (=goofy).
I usually teach it that way:
L--R-L
actually, from the rhythmic point of view, I find it very near to a
lay-up in basketball.
greetinx
bob
--
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Saul Dobney
step a name in the following way.
First step: START
A small step taken with the same foot as your hitting hand (right handers
start with right foot) to initiate motion. START as the setter releases the
ball.
Second step: DIRECTION
A bigger step taking you towards your hitting point. Adjust for the flight
of the ball with this DIRECTION step.
Third step: POWER
A big step to add speed and height to the approach.
Fourth step: UP
The final step bringing the feet together to convert the horizontal energy
to a high vertical UP.
This gets around goofy footed since you start with the same foot as you hit
with, and once the hitters have the rhythm and names of the steps it's
always easy to remember the correct approach - START, DIRECTION, POWER, UP.
It usually embeds itself a week after it is introduced. You can then use the
names of the steps to introduct different approaches or different aspects of
approach such as a middle two-step approach (POWER, UP).
Saul
Bath VC
"RMF" <f...@bwi.bepr.ethz.ch> wrote in message
news:3A796605...@bwi.bepr.ethz.ch...