What Video Analysis Tells Us About Contacts, Injury Risk, and Safety in Youth Volleyball

Volleyball is an incredibly popular sport around the world. As one of the top five most popular sports nationwide, volleyball has grown in Canada in recent years following the success of our men’s and women’s national teams on the Olympic stage.

Volleyball is often considered a non-contact, low risk, safe sport, especially when compared to other popular Canadian sports like hockey. This has been based on assumption, as limited research has explored the risk of contact and injury in volleyball compared to contact sports. Head contacts are of particular concern in volleyball. Players often get hit in the head by the ball and ball speeds can reach over 100 kmph at elite levels. Therefore, concerns regarding concussion risk and long-term sport participation have prompted important questions regarding injury rate and mechanisms in volleyball. My master’s thesis aimed to address these questions by providing the first video-based analysis of head and body contacts and suspected injuries among Canadian adolescent club and university volleyball athletes.

Using previously validated and systematic video review protocols, this study calculated the rates and mechanisms of body contacts, head contacts, and suspected injuries across male and female athletes at the club (15U–17U) and university levels. The strengths of video analysis lie in its ability to capture the full spectrum of contact exposure, including events that may not require medical attention but may still be relevant for injury prevention and prolonged athlete participation.

One of the most important findings was that males experience 1.6 times higher rates of body contacts than female athletes in both club and university leagues. Male club athletes also had 3.2 times higher head contact rates than females. These differences highlight how age, competition level, and sex interact to shape contact exposure in sport.

Contact risk was not the same for across all players, positions, or court locations. Middle blockers and outside hitters experienced the highest rates of both body contacts and head contacts, particularly during blocking actions near the net. These findings suggest that risk is closely tied to the specific player positions and their tactical demands and movements, rather than the sport in general.

There were on average 3.3 head contacts per match, which is higher than most people might have expected. Ball to head contact was the most common mechanism for head contact and often occurred when blocking or performing defensive actions which underscores the importance of training anticipatory court awareness in all ages. Suspected injuries and concussions were rare, and the vast majority of contacts that were observed were low intensity and did not result in serious injury.

An important finding was that how we measured playing exposure changed how risk appeared. Depending on whether risk was based on time played, number of matches, number of sets, or number of points scored, the results varied. This matters because it affects how injuries are tracked and how players, parents, coaches, healthcare providers, and decision-makers understand and compare injury risk across sports, age groups, and levels of play.

Overall, volleyball is largely a safe sport with low rates of serious injury, including head injury. The results of this study also highlight the need for clear, targeted injury prevention strategies such as position specific training and education by age, sex, and league. From a child health perspective, these results support continued participation in volleyball amongst youth athletes. With appropriate injury prevention efforts and awareness, volleyball promotes physical fitness, coordination, teamwork, and development while providing a relatively low risk of serious injury.

Published February 2, 2026

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jack Tyrrell (he/him)

Jack is currently pursuing a PhD within the College of Community and Global Health at the University of Manitoba with a research focus on sport-related injury in youth, particularly pediatric concussion care and injury prevention in volleyball. With an academic and professional background in biochemistry, nanomedicine, and public health, Jack brings a multidisciplinary approach to athlete safety and sport performance. His goal is to bridge the gap between academic research and applied coaching practice, contributing to the development of safer sporting environments through evidence-based strategies.