Basic Volleyball Drills

When introducing the sport of volleyball, it's important that coaches begin with drills that focus on the basics. Volleyball is a fast-paced sport that requires quick-reaction time, solid passing, consistency and aggressive play at the net. Introducing drills that focus on these skills will help players develop strong fundamentals. It becomes important for coaches to practice these drills on a daily basis and once players become proficient, coaches may move on to more complex offensive and defensive strategies.

  1. Passing

    • Learning to pass consistently is a rudimentary skill that becomes essential at any level. It helps establish a strong offensive attack. For this passing drill two players form a single line in the middle-back position, a setter in the front row, and two hitters form a single line in the left-front position. The rest of the team shags balls. The coach stands on a chair on the opposite side of the net. The coach tosses the ball over the net and the player in the middle-back position must accurately pass it to the setter, who then sets it up so that the hitter can spike the ball over the net. Once the player passes the ball, the person behind her takes the next turn. The coach starts the drill slowly at first, making sure the players gain a rhythm, then picks up the pace by spiking the ball with a little more force and speed. The drill should run approximately three to five minutes before rotating players out.

    Hitting

    • Players must learn to accurately hit the ball over the net. Approach and arm swing become an important part of this equation if the hitter wants to succeed. For this drill two lines are formed on opposite sides of the net. Setters take the middle-front position, while players form a single line at the left-front position. Coaches on opposite sides of the net simultaneously feed the balls to the setters, who then set it up for the hitter to spike the ball over the net. Once the hitter makes contact, she needs to backpedal into position again as the coach quickly feeds a second ball to the setter, who swiftly passes the ball close to the net. The hitter must tap the ball over. This drill helps the hitter focus on footwork, approach, arm swing and timing.

    Serving

    • Teams can't score points unless they can serve over the net. Strategy forms a part of the serving sessions as players must concentrate on hitting a specific target area when serving the ball. For this drill, an even amount of players line up at the service line on opposite sides of the net. The coach places various targets on the court. Different colored place mats work well for distinguishing easy and challenging areas. The coach explains to players that they earn one point for hitting easy spots, such as the back row or center of the court, and two points for more difficult areas such as the front row or sidelines. Once the coach blows the whistle, one player from each team serves the ball and attempts to hit one of the targets. The team who gets the most points wins, the other team may need to run laps or do push-ups for coming in second.