An Important Part of Volleyball: Really Good Cheers

Volleyball is a very lively, exciting sport. One of the things that’s striking to newcomers to the sport, is how loud it can be.

Why is there SO much cheering in volleyball? Cheering in volleyball is a huge part of the community and connection that the players share.

Is Cheering Actually Important?

I distinctly remember sitting at one of my daughter, Heidie’s practices in her very first season with the YMCA. The practice was a one-hour time slot, but those typically end up being 45 minutes worth of actual practice time.

Heidie had been invited to join the team by a friend of ours who was going to be the coach. He had an older daughter who was doing very well and now we were going to play along with his younger daughter.

I was stunned by something the coach did in that first practice. About halfway through the session, our coach called the girls together into a huddle and spoke very matter-of-factly to them and I remember hearing bits and pieces of his instructions with words like “important” and “serious business”.

As the girls broke the huddle they giggled and bounced. A few of them twirled and clapped their hands a little. I was waiting, expecting they may learn to serve or something. Nope!

The coach sauntered over and sat down on the bleachers beside me. I gave him a puzzled look, to which he replied, “This is fun, but it’s one of the most important parts.”

I was baffled as I watched a few of them flop onto the floor and quietly start singing or chanting. In about 15 minutes the girls invented a cheer that was completely unique.

They had modified a couple of old cheers, tried a few things that they discarded, and then…voila! They had a cheer that was all their own. I thought this was ridiculous!

In all of my experience of playing men’s sports, I had NEVER seen anything like this! Other teams around the gym were learning fundamentals and our girls were twirling around clapping. Sure it was fun, but was this really important?

As much as I respected my friend, the coach, I thought it was absurd that they were spending half of their first practice inventing a cheer. I look back on that now and snicker at how little I knew. As I would come to realize, he was right, these pre-teen girls were not only having fun, but also beginning something meaningful and wonderful.

Why is Cheering Important?

There are several aspects to cheering that are critical to a girl’s volleyball team. For boys’ sports, the most they do is break the huddle with a short chant – just 2 or 3 words. But for the girls, these cheers evolve and grow and teams may build up a stockpile of diverse cheers for different situations.

1. Creating an original cheer generates team bonding.

It is remarkable to see the difference between some teams who have bonded and others who don’t. Different sports have different rituals and patterns.

For girls volleyball, especially during the younger levels, you can look around a gym at a tournament and have a pretty good idea from the cheers alone, which teams have gelled together and play for each other. The teams that don’t take this step of creating together early on have a piece that’s missing.

They may still be successful without it, but that bond would take their team to another level. Especially at the younger ages playing in front of stands full of family and friends and strangers is a nerve-racking experience. Your team can use familiar cheers to channel nervous energy and help the team get ready.

2. The cheers a team uses create a sense of identity and a personality.

When you face opponents you can tell from their cheers whether they are fun-loving and care-free or competitive and intense. Does your team use old common cheers or do they use loud and obnoxious cheers?

Some of my favorites are the cheers where a leader will start and the team answers back. Each team can find their groove and create their own team identity. Coaches may share some of their favorites or players may bring some cheers from teams they’ve played on in the past.

3. Cheering at the beginning of the match or play gets the players emotionally charged.

As you watch different sports you see all kinds of rituals like this: the batter who takes a precise number of practice swings while he’s on deck, the free-throw shooter who wipes the bottom of his shoes with the palm of his hands, the center in hockey who slowly spirals into position to prepare to face-off.

Coaches preach constantly to players to take that moment and picture in your mind what you are about to do. What moves will you make? Visualize your success.

While these volleyball players are smiling and laughing and doing a cheer – don’t be misled. They are putting everything else in their life on hold. They are looking their teammates in the eyes and sharing their energy to lift each other up to play their best.

Especially during tournaments, you will see teams that can summon and channel this energy and passion and those who cannot. Long gym days with extended breaks test the resilience of your team. Besides just warming up the muscles as they go through their pre-game drills, players need to refresh mentally.

4. Cheering as they are winning can sustain and build emotional momentum.

While every sport can experience swings of momentum, in women’s volleyball it may be the most pronounced. Remember that for a very long time these young girls are highly emotional creatures!

**Teams should capitalize on their momentum by cheering.**

That level of emotion can be both a strength and a weakness. Sometimes it will be both within the same match!

When your team is winning, celebrate! Coaches should encourage this, even getting in on it themselves!

One of the worst coaches my daughter ever played for would consistently bark corrections from the sideline even after winning points. This broke the players’ spirits. Imagine acing a serve or getting a solid kill just to hear your coach start yelling at one of your friends.

By contrast, several of Heidie’s coaches do the opposite. They may squeal, scream, or wave their arms, whatever fits their personality.

Heidie’s current coach has a ritual where she dishes out quick double high-fives to each player on the bench, all the way down the line, for every point that they win. Think about that. Twenty-five points per game, playing best of 5 sets. She even does it throughout tournaments. That’s how important it is that her team sees her passion for their victory.

5. Cheering after a bad play or a bad streak can break the negative feelings and help the players move on to the next play.

Often your team will get into a slump. Coaches will usually save their timeouts for these situations. But you only have a few timeouts, you can’t be calling them over and over.

Teams should have several cheers to pick from that can change their focus and help them get their emotions in check before the next point. The leaders on the team can often help sway the others to move on and face the next point with a fresh outlook with the right cheer.

As the players grow older and move up through the levels, the cheers tend to become less original and less of a focus. But all of the teams still do it.

When you walk into a varsity tournament you will hear the constant buoyant cheers here and there around the gym as this team begins the game and that team breaks the huddle.

It’s part of their community, part of their identity and it will always be an important for of how the ladies play the game.

A Few Favorite Cheers To Help Get You Started

If you’re a coach or player and your team doesn’t have any cheers and is struggling to get started, try a few of these. The tune or notes can be anything you like, just use this as a starting point.

“I Believe” This is a leader-group repeat cheer, usually used at the beginning of the game or coming out of a timeout during an intense match.

I – I I believe – I believe I believe that- I believe that I believe that we will – I believe that we will Together: I believe that we will win (repeat 2 times)

“Ace” Your team should have at least one quick cheer for when they get an Ace. When you earn an easy point from your server’s hard work, celebrate and pour the pressure on your opponents! All Ace! A-C-E ace say what?! (stomp twice all together in the middle of the court) Together: ACE!

“Block” Your team should have a cheer for when they get a block. Celebrate with the blocker as she shuts down her opponent! You want to capitalize on the momentum and make that hitter think twice before the next time she comes to the net. (All go to the middle of the court and but their hands up imitating a block) Together: OOOH!

What About The Crowd Cheering?

As a fan, you can have a substantial impact on the game by being vocal. When your team is struggling, remember these are very emotional girls.

Get them fired up! You’re looking at the scoreboard and watching them get discouraged, do something! Cheer loudly, cheer silly, but whatever you do, cheer!

Some girls love to hear you call their names, others are devastated and get embarrassed. For the most part, they will not be able to hear or focus on what you’re actually calling out, but they feed off that positive noise and it really can make a huge difference. If you know the actual cheers the team does, join in with them!