By Hannah Lee En Xi (Girls’ Captain), Xerxes Goh Zhexi (Boys’ Secretary), Natalie Ng Xin En (Girls’ Secretary)
The crowd watches on eagerly as the opponent server tosses the ball high in the air. In three quick steps, the player jumps and serves the ball to the opposite court. Players clad in green, black and white ready themselves for the incoming ball.
The first one bends low, provides a perfect platform for the ball to bounce off, and it flies back up in a high arch.
An agile setter weaves between players and goes for the set. The ball lands in his hands before being launched from nimble fingers to the left of the court.
The spiker has been waiting for this moment. He takes two steps, bending low with his arms behind him, and with that third step he leaps into the air. His arm swings like a whip and his palm contacts the ball with precision.
BEEEP!
The referee blows the whistle as the ball hits the opponent court with a thundering boom. Players gather and cheer “RAFFLES, ACE!” in unison as the crowd goes wild at the amazing point.
YOU, too, can be part of the action in Raffles Volleyball.
What is Volleyball?
In the words of our coach, volleyball is about “play creation”.
In a 9m x 18m court, 2 teams of 6 players are separated by a net. The game starts with a serve behind the service line. Each side is allowed a maximum of three touches—receive, set, hit—before it has to be sent over the net. To score a point, one must send the ball over the net and make it hit the opponent’s side of the court.
Team of Batch ‘24!
Of course, that’s not all. Volleyball is also a sport that requires discipline, determination and grit. In an intense game ranging from 3-5 sets of 25 points, matches can go over an hour long with little rest in between.
Players need to be able to communicate with their teammates and work well under pressure. Skillful plays, strength and endurance will provide the upper hand in a fast-paced, high-stakes competition.
What is Raffles Volleyball like?
“Raffles, ace, ace, ace!”
We kick off our training routine with our signature energetic team cheer, before diving into warm-ups and physical training. This involves a circuit of exercises curated by our coaches that build up our strength and skills, as well as a time for peppering (we’re not talking salt and pepper here… see below!)
Pepper
/ˈpɛpə/
(volleyball) to practise your ball control passing, setting, and hitting with one or more partners
Next, our coaches conduct ball drills for us to practise a variety of skill sets, such as spikes and service receives. These help us to focus on engaging in specific movements, so that we can apply them during a game. Last but not least, to put whatever skills we have picked up into action, we play practice matches!
To reward ourselves after a long day at school and training, we head out for a batch dinner at our usual haunt of the Junction 8 sky garden!
Our training sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5-8pm at the Indoor Basketball Courts. Leading up to competition season, for students participating in the National School Games (NSG) team, we have additional training on Saturday mornings, 9am-12pm at the Indoor Sports Hall.
Being a member of Raffles Volleyball, otherwise affectionately known as RIVB, what milestones and events can you look forward to?
Every year, we compete in the Volleyball “A” Division NSG, which typically occurs in Term 2. In collaboration with the Students’ Council, we have Team Raffles Games (TRG) for schoolmates of various houses to engage in inter-house competitions in a game of modified volleyball.
Take a look at some of our schoolmates in action at Volleyball TRG 2023, which was held in early August of this year!
2 participants going up against one another in a joust
Something else you can look forward to is the Old Rafflesians League (ORL), which will be held in Term 1 of 2024. It is an annual event where past batches of RIVB members are invited back for a friendly competition.
An alumni participant in mid-flight to spike a ball (ORL 2023)
Alumni get to play together, catch up with their past teammates and reminisce about the good times they had spent together in their JC CCA days.
A team of alumni coming together for a group hug (ORL 2023)
Here at Raffles Volleyball, the team becomes your family, the ball becomes your best friend, and CCA becomes a place where core memories and lasting friendships are forged.
For updates on the RIVB experience, you can find us on Instagram @raffles_volleyball.
If this is an experience you can’t bear to miss out on, we look forward to seeing you at our trials next year!
