Fundamentals are the most crucial part of any athlete's success on the court. Everything you do, everything you have achieved, can be traced back to the way you approach the fundamentals and how you apply them to your abilities.
Fundamentals are the basic building blocks or principles that make everything work. There are many players with great abilities, but if they don't know how to apply those skills to a particular situation, what can they accomplish.
How important can it be to have a 30 inch vertical leap but can't read a block and hit around it? How important can it be to be the best hitter in warmups, but can't adjust to a set off the net and still keep the ball in bounds? How important can it be to have a hard topspin serve, but mis-serve on game point? How important can it be to be a great passer, but can't seem to find the energy to cover the hitter?
Some people don't want to deal with all the responsibilities of playing on a team. They are looking for instant gratification. They are willing to skip learning certain basic skills. They may not learn to overhead pass a free ball. They may neglect to learn tactics and their application in certain situations. They may never learn to correctly attack a ball because they rely on their size and strength to hit the ball through a block. They may never learn to correctly jump and block an opponent's attack because they rely on their size to just stand and reach over the net. An individual can get away with this attitude against a lesser opponent or team, but the inability to apply the fundamentals will eventually catch up to a player. Like during a championship match.
The minute a player gets away from the fundamentals-whether it is proper technique, work ethic, or mental preparation-her entire game begins to break down.
The learning of fundamentals and how to apply them to your individual skills will make you a complete player. When you understand the building blocks, you begin to see how the entire operation works. This understanding will allow you to operate more intelligently on the volleyball court. The mastering of the fundamentals of passing, attacking, blocking, digging and game tactics will enable you to overcome any physical limitations you might have.
Sounds easy. It isn't. You have to monitor your fundamentals constantly because the only thing that changes will be your attention to them. The fundamentals never change.
It comes down to a very simple saying: "There is a right way and a wrong way to do things." You can practice hitting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at attacking the volleyball the wrong way.