Can You Kick the Ball in Volleyball? The Feet Rule
A ball ricochets off the block, a defender is never getting there with their arms and sticks out a foot. The ball pops up, the team finishes the rally, and an argument starts in the stands. There is no doubt about it at all: this has been legal for well over thirty years.
The rule: any part of the body
The rule (9.2.1) is as short as it is complete: the ball may touch any part of the body. Foot, shin, knee, chest, head, back — all of it counts as a legal contact. There is no lower limit and no exception for particular body parts.
It has not always been that way. Until the 1995 rule change the ball could only be played above the waist; everything below was a fault. The FIVB scrapped that line to make the game more spectacular and keep more rallies alive — with the foot saves you now see in every top match as the side effect.
What still applies
Being allowed to use your foot does not mean the other ball-handling rules disappear:
- The ball must be hit, not caught or carried. A ball that comes to rest on the instep and is then flicked up is a held ball. In practice that rarely happens on a foot contact — a foot is a poor cushion.
- It counts as one of your three contacts. A foot save is not a bonus: if it is your third contact, the ball has to go over the net.
- The double-contact rule still applies. If the ball hits your foot and then immediately your hand, that is allowed on the first team contact — provided it is one action — but not on the second or third. All the nuances are in double contact and technical faults.
- Every other rule stands. Net fault, positional fault, back-row restrictions: a spectacular foot save undoes none of them.
The exception: the serve
There is exactly one place where the body part is prescribed. On the serve, the ball must be struck with one hand or any part of the arm (rule 12.4.2). Serving with your foot, your head or your shoulder is therefore not allowed — that is a service fault. Striking with two hands at once is not allowed on the serve either.
A foot save still counts as one of your three contacts, and in Koach you log which player finished the rally, however messy it looked.
When a foot contact is worth it
Under the rules it is always allowed; in practice it is almost never the first choice. A foot gives you little control and an unpredictable direction. The three situations where it does pay off:
- The deflection off the block. A ball that springs sideways off the block and is too low for the arms can often still be lifted with an outstretched foot.
- The ball running along the net. On a sprint forward the foot arrives before the hands do.
- The ball landing behind you. A player who has already turned has a better chance with a heel flick than with a half turn back.
What it does not replace is a good defensive posture: low, weight forward, arms ready. The technique for that is in defending and diving.
How to train it (and how not to)
You do not train foot saves as a technique, but as a habit of playing on. Most balls are not missed because a player could not reach them, but because they had already stopped. So build drills where the ball is only dead when it hits the floor: game forms without a whistle, defensive drills where the coach deliberately throws impossible balls in, and above all a team culture where a failed foot attempt gets applause rather than laughter.
What you can practise specifically is the second ball after a foot save. It comes unpredictably and usually outside the court; agree that the nearest player plays it high and safe instead of trying to attack immediately — exactly the behaviour described in out-of-system play.
One warning belongs here: a leg stuck out at knee height is a genuine injury risk for a team-mate diving for the same ball. So agree that anybody using their foot calls it out loud, just as with any other ball.
Youth, mini volleyball and beach
The rule is identical for all ages: from under-15 upwards, any part of the body may touch the ball. In mini volleyball the question is irrelevant at the lowest levels, because the ball is caught and thrown there according to the rules for that level. In beach volleyball the same provision applies: there too, any part of the body may play the ball.
Frequently asked questions
Can you kick the ball in volleyball?
Yes. The ball may touch any part of the body, including foot, shin, knee and head. That rule has applied since 1995; before then the ball could only be played above the waist.
Does a foot contact count as one of the three touches?
Yes, as a full team touch. If it is your third contact, the ball has to go over the net. A foot save does not earn you an extra contact.
Can you serve with your foot?
No. On the serve the ball must be struck with one hand or a part of the arm. Serving with the foot, the head or two hands at once is a service fault.
Can a ball played with the foot be 'held'?
In theory yes: on a foot contact too the ball must be struck and not carried. In practice it hardly ever happens, because a foot cushions the ball poorly.
