Hey guys! It's-a me! Hasami! And I'll be your guide in this month's How-To Help Column. First of all, I would like to share to you a very interesting thing that happened this month for me.

You see, I used to be part of our school's volleyball varsity club but I quit a while back because of personal reasons. I still play it leisurely during sports festivals and the like. Now, I'm still close to a few of my old teammates, and I used Haikyuu in one of our presentations and I was genuinely surprised to see her know what Haikyuu was! Apparently, the coach asked them to watch it! It was hilarious!

Well, enough sharing time. Today, we'll be talking all about defense. Volleyball is a very demanding sport. You aren't allowed to let the ball drop. Since I'm one of the tallest girls in my class, I get asked to join in a lot of sports festivals. Usually, basketball is my game, but volleyball was a different thing entirely. I was never really a big fan of it but that doesn't mean I disliked it. I was asked to play Middle Blocker a lot and during that time, I learned how to play the defense.

So today, we shall channel the strength of our Mid-Blockers, Kuroo, Tsukishima, and many more. :)

When blocking, jumping is very, very, very, VERY important. When you think your jumps are too short, then try to do some jumping exercises. I used to do 100 calf raises and 100 jumps a month before our game, but since I'll be taking volleyball seriously in this year's sports festival, I've been doing it for 4 months now. Just 100 calf raises and 100 jumps with 3 reps.

Stamina, stamina, stamina. Work on your stamina. Run for 30 minutes as a warmup, take a short 5 minute break, then start running another 30 minutes. Do 2 reps. It's also important to stretch before running, wouldn't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a horrible cramp!

Strengthen le core. Do simple core exercises for 30 minutes.

Keep your arms up, in basketball, it's to keep your opponent from getting in an easy shot. Keep your arms up to show them that you won't give them an easy time at all. Keep your arms straight and apply strength in your blocks.

Aside from your arms, your hand and fingers have to be equally strong as your arms. If your arms are strong but your hands are all floppy, the ball's just gonna get past you.

Never lose heart. That speaks for itself because there's no fun in playing with a person who just gives up. Even when you are losing by a lot, never lose heart. Anything can happen as long as the game clock isn't up yet.

Never ever lose your cool. There's no fun in playing with an unsportsmanlike player.

And there you have it. Some of my personal experiences as an amateur middle blocker. Hope these tips helped you! Until next time. <3