Definition Essay - What Is a Pancake?

A pancake, in addition to being a good breakfast food, is a pass that has you diving for the ball, lying flat on the ground, and using the back of your hand to put the ball in the air. A pancake is created by a player who has anticipated where a ball is going to hit the ground, and places her hand with her palm down on the very spot on the ground so the ball will contact her hand instead of the floor. The pancake play is overused by players, but it can be very effective if you have completely extended yourself to get to a ball and the only option you have left is to extend your hand so the ball hits it, instead of the floor. If you talk to your coaches about using this technique they normally tell you to only use it as a last resort instead of all the time. Performing a pancake is not just falling on the floor, or even sprawling across the ground and reaching your hand up to hit the ball. A pancake is much more than that. To be able to perform a pancake more it takes some practice to do with a little perfection. A pancake is a type of dig that is performed by the player. By performing a dig it is preventing the ball from touching the floor after an opposing player has spiked the ball to your side of the court. A pancake is usually performed in indoor volleyball games since the floor is more even and sometimes easy to slide on. If you perform a pancake outside, it would be uneven and would definitely hurt to slide on the ground. When you're trying to do a pancake you want to lie all the way out, extend your body to its fullest ability, and try to get your hand under the ball; therefore, ball pops straight up into the air. In indoor volleyball it's very effective because you have a hard ground and a lot of times you need to sprawl out for a ball. When sprawling out for a ball you want to dive and stretch out your body. When you stretch out your arm, you have to make sure that your hand is flat on the ground and underneath the ball. In beach volleyball, it is used every once in a while because the sand is very unstable, and it is hard to sprawl; therefore, you can't get your hand flat on the ground and have a flat surface to get the ball up. A pancake can be very difficult to perform; however, it is a type of dig that is performed in the sport of volleyball, and volleyball is not an easy sport.