About 300 members of the Italian Volleyball Federation were greeted in the Vatican by Pope Francis, to whom he provided instructions starting from the foundations of volleyball. "The serve is the first shot that begins the game: it teaches us that in the game, like in daily life, we must take the initiative, assume responsibility, and get active." After the serve comes receiving the ball, and "as you must be prepared to receive the ball in order to guide it in a certain direction, so it is vital to be open to ideas and to listen with humility and patience." The Pope then discussed a crucial portion of volleyball, the set: "The passage to the partner charged with completing the move. There is always someone to pass the ball to, so you are never alone." Finally, the defense, or "the wall”. A word on which the Pontiff dwells: "it is not a sign of division and closure, jumping high means detaching oneself from the ground, from materiality and therefore from all those business logics that affect the sporting spirit". Finally, volleyball teaches above all that "in life there is not only the individual dimension, but you are part of a group".
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