There's a New Volleyball in Town

When it comes to the big, wide, wonderful world of volleyballs there are a lot of players on the market, but there are a few that have made a name for themselves as the "go to" brand of champions. Tachikara, for example. You knew it was only a matter of time before Tachikara found itself facing some serious competition, however, and that competition comes in the form of Molten's new line of competition balls.

Currently Molten has four types of volleyballs out on the market:

1) The Elite Competition Ball. This ball is intended primarily for indoor use, is actually made in Japan, and is marketed as the official ball of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championships. Variations on this ball also include the official ball of the Men's National Collegiate Championships and the design and style used most by USA volleyball.

2) Competition Balls. The company offers a line of ten indoor and outdoor competition balls in various styles and colors. My favorite? The simple, oversized 31" yellow ball designed specifically with players age 8 and under in mind.

3) Camp Recreation Balls. Want to put yourself in the pros' shoes? Do it with these authentically imitated camp balls patterned after the ones used by USA Volleyball and the NCAA. These can also be custom designed with your team and logo in mind.

4) Novelty Balls. While most of these are designed to sit on your desk and not do a whole lot else, there's a very trendy gold paneled ball that makes a great gift for coaches, MVPs and anyone else for whom chocolates and flowers just won't do.


Molten might be the new name on the scene, but they're not the only ones making high quality game balls. Come check out our collection of volleyballs at http://www.volleyballproshop.com/.

Guidelines to Buying a Practice Volleyball

I like to spend a little bit of time each week flipping around the question and answer forums on the web to see what issues are on the minds of today's volleyball players, and I found one the other day that surprised me. A young woman new to the game was asking about the best brand of volleyball to buy to guarantee the best training experience possible.

Now, I'm not saying it's not a valid question, because it is. The quality of your equipment is going to affect the quality of your practice and, by default, the quality of your game, so it's an important issue to take into consideration. I was just surprised to hear a new player asking about it. Most players who are new to the game assume that one volleyball is the same as another, and that as long as they can hit it over the net and it's not falling to pieces there's nothing else they need to know.

A good volleyball has two basic characteristics:

1) It's regulation sized. Most sports shops sell regulation sized balls, and any carrier that specializes in volleyball equipment is probably only going to stock competition balls, but if you walk down to your neighborhood Wal-Mart all bets are off. The official size of a volleyball is 25.6 and 26.4 inches in circumference and weighs between 9.1 and 9.8 ounces. If your volleyball doesn't fall in this range your ball control could be seriously affected when you hit the court.


2) It's in good shape. Many people prefer to get second hand balls from friends and neighbors for practice when they're first starting out rather than spending the money to purchase a new one; however, volleyballs that are in poor shape, are not properly inflated and are not considered suitable for competition aren't going to provide a competitive practice experience. Again, your ball control is going to suffer when you get out on the court.

Mikasa and Tachikara make most of the balls used in professional games, so they make great practice balls for novice players.

Come check out our collection of regulation balls at http://www.volleyballproshop.com/.