The Volleyball Sports Attack is billed as a must have item: “Thousands of college, high school, club and international teams rely on the Sports Attack Volleyball Machines to deliver thousands of reps in daily practice of jump serve receiving, digging, and spiking.” After using it, I have to say that it does deliver reps at game speeds, but you must be careful not to take too many reps away from players with this machine; something you can easily do.
I was able to purchase a used VB Sports Attack for Neenah boys volleyball program from coach Paul Schlomer at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. While the one I got was the smaller model used for women’s teams, I have never had a problem using it as a spiking machine over a men’s net height.
Marketing versus Real-World
Here is the breakdown of the machine as told by the company with some insight from The Volleyball Teacher (TVT):
- Precise Repetition Training: The Sports Attack volleyball machines will deliver thousands of reps in daily practice of serve receiving, digging and spiking. Accuracy and repeatability are assured in every drill, eliminating time wasting errant hits.
TVT: This is true for all skills. The only issue I have is coaches using this too much. Sometimes the errant hits are necessary for coachable moments. For example, using this machine for serve receive drills constantly takes away reps from players who could be serving. The result would be a team that is great at serve-receive, but horrible at serving. Can you image how long of a match this would make if it were still side-out scoring? - Serving: A full range of spins is provided by all three machines, throwing both sharp topspins and breaking floaters to simulate match situations. The machines can also be easily rolled along the serving baseline, changing the angle of serves. The Attack and Attack II provide a realistic serve release point and can deliver a jump serve at international level speeds and quality.
TVT: This is an amazing aspect of the machine. The fact that I can launch 70 mph topsin serves or floaters at my serve-receive line-ups is a great challenge that the players actually enjoy. “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge the ball.” -Patches O’Houlihan, Dodgeball. - Spiking: The Attack and Attack II machines provide actual angles from over the net and top speeds to make real game conditions a part of every digging drill. The Skill Attack training machine is great for digging drills on the same side of the net.
TVT: This seems like a really good feature. In practice, it really isn’t game-like. Do I want my players learning how to watch a machine line up to their direction, then launch a ball at them? Or do I want my players learning how to read an opponent’s set, hitter’s approach and shoulder/arm swing? I have used this as a end-of-practice challenge to develop a no-fear attitude among my defensive players. This seems to work and it teaches players that fast attacks are actually easier to dig than slow ones. - Setting: Rapid reps with varying intervals will meet the requirements of any setting drill. Accurate and consistent soft sets with no spin are provided at any angle and height. Our machines can be set to release the ball from a realistic height, not unrealistically from floor level like some competitive units.
TVT: This is the company’s answer to the AirCat. The AirCat does these types of lobs better, but the Sport Attack does it just fine too. The AirCat always seems like it’s ready to fall apart at a moments notice too. I do like that the Sports Attack can set Slow, Medium, and Fast tempo sets. If your OH wants a quick, the Sports Attack can do it, while the AirCat cannot. - Horizontal throwing head movement allows the coach to point in any direction, working straight on, in the seams or to an individual’s weak side to really extend any player’s range. Vertical movement coupled with the horizontal movement, means the coach can instantly throw the ball to any point on the court, creating game situations & challenging the players to perform in progressively more difficult circumstances.
TVT: The motion is a good thing but it can very hard to trick players as the metal apparatus gives away the coach’s intentions. I don’t have a solution for this issue, I just think it’s inherent with this device, no biggie really because coach’s shouldn’t be using this device at every practice anyway. - Team drill machines for all ages and skill levels, Sports Attack machines will allow coaches to improve the quality of standard drills and to create new machine drills for every phase of the game.
TVT: It is pretty easy to place the Sports Attack into your existing drills. But again, it takes reps away from players. It is tempting to use it everyday, but it’s a training aid, not an assistant coach. - Portability: Locking casters provide instant mobility on the court and stability during use.
TVT: The Sports Attack is very portable. I picked it up from Edgewood college in my GMC Yukon, but it could easily fit in a small pickup. The ball delivery wheels section separates from the stand and can be moved from one gym to another. - Storage: All machines fit through any standard door for safe storage. The throwing head can be removed from the Attack and Attack II machines, allowing storage of the frame in the open gym. A machine cover is available separately and is used to protect and secure the two larger machines during storage.
TVT: The Sports Attack wheels can be lowered so that it is wheeled through a small door. Since my storage area is used for many sports, I use the cover all the time. The cover is a little long and the wheels can run it over, but there are grommets that you can use to tie a rope around the bottom of the cover. - Machines can be safely operated by any assistant coach, player, student or parent. This frees the coach to be by the receiving players to teach proper mechanics effectively. No more yelling across the court.
TVT: The machine is safe to use and includes a chain to ensure the operator does not slip backwards off the machine. The only issue as a coach is that you need to be on the same page as the Operator. As long as the Operator knows what you want from them, you can take advantage of this capability.
Wheels versus Compressed Air
This is the big question for coaches. Two big points; compressed air cannot launch balls at high speeds nor can it spin balls like the wheeled systems. Many coaches who chose the AirCat do so because they hear horror stories about wheeled ball delivery systems wrecking havoc on their volleyballs. The Sports Attack wheels are soft and leave only minor marks on your volleyballs. It does not tear them as advertised by some competitors. I have over 50 balls for use by the program and I have about 25-30 that I use for this machine only.
Final Analysis
I don’t really have anything against the AirCat, I actually use one of those too as it belongs to the girls volleyball program at Neenah. What I was looking for when I purchased the Sport Attack was an aggressive machine that could raise the speed of my program. In starting a new program or reviving a stagnant one, a lot of players don’t understand the tempo of the game until after the first match. By that time, weeks of valuable practice time is wasted. The Sports Attack allows me to simulate faster serves and harder hits. Mission Accomplished.
Company Website: Sports Attack
Price: $3,199 for the Mens, $2,799 for the Womens
Does it fulfill marketing promises?: Yes
Durable: Yes
Ease of Use: Good
Final Rating: 
