“I love outdoor sports, like volleyball, and I play them whenever I can.”
Gisele Bundchen, Model
Advantages & Disadvantages of Volleyball
You are interested in playing volleyball but are not sure whether this is the right sport for you or not?
Great! Stick with me since I show you all pros and cons of playing volleyball in the following chapters so that you can better decide whether you want to play volleyball or if you want to go for other sports instead.
Contents
Advantages of Playing Volleyball
- Volleyball is a team sport
- You can learn how to lead people
- Playing volleyball can make you more confident
- Volleyball can help you lose weight
- You can become fitter by playing volleyball
- You can find many new friends
- Playing volleyball can help you relax
- You learn how to compete
- You learn how to deal with losing
- You can play indoors
- Almost everyone can afford to play volleyball
- May help you with getting a college scholarship
- Volleyball can help you to unplug from your daily life
- Some people are able to play volleyball on a professional level
- You can become a volleyball teacher in the long run
Volleyball is a team sport
One advantage of playing volleyball is that volleyball is a team sport.
This means that you can socialize with many different people and that you can meet many interesting people along the way.
You also learn to trust in each other and will learn to think for your teammates as well to ensure the success of your team.
Learning to play volleyball can also be great in case you just moved to another region and don’t know anyone yet.
In such a case, it is a great way to connect with locals and to build your social life from there.
You can learn how to lead people
After a certain period of time, you will also be able to get a good standing in your team.
Your teammates will appreciate your efforts and will value your opinion.
At this point, you will also be able to take a leading role in your team since your teammates will respect you and learning how to lead people is a quite important skill, not only for succeeding in volleyball but also in various other parts of your life.
Playing volleyball can make you more confident
Another benefit of volleyball is that you will also be able to increase your level of confidence.
Many people in society suffer from low confidence levels and don’t think that they can achieve things in life.
If you are one of those people who struggle with self-confidence, chances are that should join a volleyball team since you will get the support of your teammates.
Moreover, since you will learn a lot during your volleyball career, you will also become more confident in a natural manner since you will see what you are actually able to achieve if you work hard on it.
In turn, you will also become more confident in your professional and private life and also much more likely to succeed in various aspects of life in general.
Volleyball can help you lose weight
Since volleyball is a physically demanding sport, it can also greatly help you to lose weight.
In fact, obesity has become a global problem and causes serious health issues for millions of people.
Hence, if you currently suffer from overweight, you may want to join a volleyball team so that you can lose weight in a playful manner and can avoid the long-term health problems that come along with excessive weight.
You can become fitter by playing volleyball
Not only will you be able to lose plenty of weight by playing volleyball, but you will also become fitter in general.
You will build up muscles and will your body and your brain will also be aligned much better.
Chances are that also your coordination will benefit from playing volleyball since you will often have to make decisions quickly if you want to succeed in volleyball games.
You can find many new friends
If you play volleyball for a longer period of time, chances are that you will also make many new friends on your journey.
In fact, you will hang out with your teammates after work and on other occasions that have nothing to do with volleyball at all.
As mentioned before, volleyball can help you socialize and especially if you feel lonely right now and have difficulties finding new friends, joining a volleyball club can be great in this regard.
Playing volleyball can help you relax
Many people who play volleyball also report that playing volleyball helps them relax quite a lot.
In our current state of the world, many people work in demanding office jobs for long hours every day and need something to release pressure to stay mentally and emotionally healthy.
If you are one of those people who are stressed on a continuous basis and you don’t know how to deal with this stress, chances are that playing sports like volleyball can be great for you since physical exercise is a proven method to relax.
You learn how to compete
Another upside to playing volleyball is that you will also learn to compete with others.
When you play volleyball games, you will have to give everything to beat your opponents and this will also show you how good you are in comparison to others.
In turn, in case you lose, chances are that this will motivate you to become a better version of yourself.
Moreover, learning how to compete is crucial for success, not only in volleyball but also for your private and professional life.
Life is one big competition and if you don’t learn how to compete and to outwork others, chances are that you will be left behind in life in the long run.
You learn how to deal with losing
Not only is it crucial to learn how to compete, but volleyball also shows you how to deal with losing in a playful but yet effective manner.
To be honest, nobody actually likes losing. Yet, losing can also give you the chance to get better since it gives you information on what doesn’t go well right now.
In turn, you can improve on those things and can come back stronger than before.
However, many people in society don’t see this chance.
They rather avoid risk at any cost since they don’t want to make mistakes.
By playing volleyball, you can learn how to deal with losses in a proper manner, which can also greatly help you in various other parts of life.
You can play indoors
Another advantage of volleyball is that you can play it indoors as well as outdoors.
This gives you a great level of flexibility since you can play outdoors during good weather and can still play indoors during cold and rainy periods of the year.
Thus, while many people who play other sports are only able to do so during some months of the year, you can play volleyball all year long and don’t have to worry about outside conditions that much.
Almost everyone can afford to play volleyball
Volleyball is also a great sport since almost everyone will be able to afford playing it.
In fact, you don’t need any equipment apart from a volleyball.
Sure, you could buy fancy shoes and so on. Yet, for learning volleyball on a beginner level, you will not have to get any fancy equipment.
Instead, you can just play with what you have and if you decide that volleyball is a good sport for you, you can still get better equipment in the long run if you really want to get serious about it.
May help you with getting a college scholarship
If you are willing to work really hard and become really good at playing volleyball, you may even be able to get a college scholarship that allows you to go to college for free or at least for reduced costs.
This can be great, especially if you come from a poor family and your parents would not be able to finance your college education otherwise.
Sure, not everyone who plays volleyball can get a scholarship and the competition will be fierce in this regard.
Nevertheless, it is still possible if you have natural talent and are willing to work harder than almost everyone else.
Volleyball can help you to unplug from your daily life
You can also use volleyball as a tool to unplug from your daily life for a while.
In our current state of the world, we are often overloaded with information through our social media channels.
In turn, many of us feel overwhelmed and our brains don’t know how to deal with all this information in a healthy manner.
Consequently, it is crucial to take some time off during the week where you can turn off your smartphone and just focus on other things instead.
One way to do this is to play volleyball since you will be busy focusing on the game and will not have any time to have a look at your smartphone.
Some people are able to play volleyball on a professional level
If you have lots of talent, you may also be able to play volleyball on a professional level.
Top volleyball players are able to make good money from what they are doing and if you are willing to work hard and to spend plenty of time on your volleyball career, you may also get to this point in the long run.
Sure, most people will never reach this point and you should therefore have a backup plan and not going all-in on your volleyball career.
You can become a volleyball teacher in the long run
If you stick with this sport for quite a while, you may also be able to work as a volleyball teacher.
Sure, most volleyball teachers will not be able to make a living out of what they are doing.
Yet, it can still be a nice side hustle to make some extra money and to socialize with people on weekends or after work.
Now that we talked about all the advantages that come along with playing volleyball, it is time to also talk about the downsides related to this sport.
Disadvantages of Volleyball
- Learning volleyball is not that easy
- You have to invest some time
- Potential injuries related to playing volleyball
- You may need to take volleyball lessons
- Talent plays a major role
- You can’t play volleyball alone
- You may need a referee
- Your volleyball career may conflict with your corporate career
- Trouble with your teammates
- Only a small minority of people can make a living out of it
- Pressure can be significant on a professional level
- Injuries may end your career
- You may lose interest in playing volleyball soon
Learning volleyball is not that easy
One disadvantage of volleyball is that it is not an easy sport to learn.
Compared to learning how to play soccer, it usually takes more time to learn how to play volleyball in a proper manner for most people out there.
Of course, there are exemptions to this rule.
However, most people still struggle to learn volleyball skills since hand-eye coordination is pretty demanding in this sport and you have to practice quite a lot to learn the basics.
You have to invest some time
If you want to become really good at playing volleyball, it is also crucial that you are willing to invest lots of time in your hobby.
Especially if you want to get to a level where you can make some money out of this sport, it will not be enough to practice just a few hours a week.
Instead, you will have to invest many hours a day to become better so that you can get to the top quickly.
Hence, before you decide for a volleyball career, make sure that you are willing to put in the time and the work that it takes to become successful in this field.
Potential injuries related to playing volleyball
It doesn’t matter whether you play volleyball on a professional or at a beginner level.
Almost every volleyball player out there suffers from minor injuries sooner or later.
Scratches and bruises are quite common since volleyball is a physical sport and you will fall to the ground on a regular basis.
Therefore, you should also not be the type of person who cries because of every scratch if you want to become a volleyball player.
You may need to take volleyball lessons
Another problem with volleyball is that you might need a volleyball trainer.
Sure, if you just want to play for fun, you will likely not need a coach.
Yet, if you want to get to a professional level, you will need someone who can show you how to improve minor weaknesses to become better every day.
In turn, this will cost you lots of money in the long run and you should make sure that you are willing to make this financial commitment before deciding for a career as a professional volleyball player.
Talent plays a major role
You should also not underestimate the importance of talent in volleyball.
Sure, working hard is a crucial part for succeeding in this sport.
Yet, it is often not enough. If someone who works as hard as you has more talent, chances are that this someone will become better than you and that you can do nothing about it.
Hence, if you don’t have this natural talent, chances are that you will never make it to the top, even though you may work hard to improve your game.
You can’t play volleyball alone
Another downside to volleyball is that you can’t play it alone.
You will always need people to play with you and in case you find nobody who is down for a volleyball match, you can’t just play on your own.
Consequently, while you may want to play in the evening after work, your mates may be too busy with other things and you may not be able to play volleyball and to improve your skills due to that whenever you want.
You may need a referee
If you want to play in a volleyball league and play games against other teams in a serious manner, you will also need a referee.
However, those referees often don’t work for free and have to be paid as well.
Hence, you will have additional expenses for your volleyball career and you should make sure that you have a little bit of money set aside so that you can afford playing volleyball for a longer period of time.
Your volleyball career may conflict with your corporate career
Since learning how to play volleyball in a proper manner can be pretty time-consuming, your volleyball career may also conflict with your professional career sooner or later.
Especially if you want to become a really good volleyball player, you will have to practice for many hours a day.
However, this also means that you will not have time to work in your day job anymore.
Consequently, at one point in time, you may also have to make the decision whether to go full-time for volleyball or if you rather want to quit volleyball and go for a corporate career instead.
Trouble with your teammates
While you might have a great time with your teammates when you win games and everything is good, you may also get into trouble with your teammates in case you have a losing streak and everyone wants to blame each other for those losses.
Hence, you will also have to learn how to handle those situations and this can be unpleasant from time to time since conflicts will be quite common in those phases.
Only a small minority of people can make a living out of it
You should also not underestimate how hard it really is to make a living out of playing volleyball.
Only the best of the best are able to make really good money and it will take a long time for you to make any money at all from your volleyball career.
Thus, make sure that you have a backup plan in case your volleyball career will not work out as you want it to be so that you can make a living through other jobs instead.
Pressure can be significant on a professional level
Many people also underestimate the pressure that comes along with playing volleyball on a professional level.
You will always be in the spotlight and your mistakes will be seen by many people.
Consequently, people may insult you on social media and will also make snarky comments in case you don’t perform well.
Injuries may end your career
If you are unlucky, you may also suffer from injuries that can end your volleyball career pretty soon.
For instance, if you get injured on your leg and your body doesn’t fully recover, chances are that you will never get back to 100% and that you have to quit your professional volleyball career due to that.
You may lose interest in playing volleyball soon
Many people also just lose interest in playing volleyball pretty soon.
While they are interested in it in the beginning and are eager to learn, they also quickly realize how much work it really takes to get to a professional level and most people are just not willing to put in enough work.
Top 10 Volleyball Pros & Cons – Summary List
| Volleyball Pros | Volleyball Cons |
|---|---|
| You can make many new friends | Playing volleyball is time-consuming |
| Volleyball is a team sport | Not that easy to learn for beginners |
| You can learn how to become a leader | You may need a volleyball coach |
| You learn how to deal with losses | Most players don’t make a living |
| Playing volleyball can release stress | Pressure can be enormous |
| You can unplug from your daily life | Injuries can end your volleyball career |
| You can play indoors | May conflict with your corporate career |
| Some players make good money | Talent plays a major role |
| Can help you get a college scholarship | Trouble with your teammates |
| You can work as a volleyball teacher | Many people lose interest in volleyball |
Should You Learn To Play Volleyball?
Now that we talked about the advantages and disadvantages of playing volleyball, it is on you to decide whether you still want to go for a volleyball career or if you rather want to go for other sports like soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, lacrosse or chess instead.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess
https://www.chess.com/learn-how-to-play-chess
About the author
My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.
As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.
After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.
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