Beginning Volleyball Drills

Focusing on fundamentals helps develop good volleyball skills and habits, such as ball control during passing, footwork during serve-receive, and approach when hitting the ball during an offensive attack. Most importantly, some of these drills do not need a lot of volleyball equipment and can be done with a partner.

  1. Passing

    • Good passing skills become cornerstones for a solid offense and defense. Players must be able to consistently pass the ball to the specified target no matter what position they play during a rotation. Beginners can usually focus on ball control with simple drills. For this passing drill, players form two lines facing each other. To start the drill the coach tosses the ball in the air and one player passes it to the player in front of her. Once a player makes contact with the ball she runs to the back of the line. The drill runs approximately for five minutes. Players get one point for every successful pass. Coaches usually set passing goals anywhere from 15 to 20. Players must meet their goal before time runs out or coaches may make them run laps or do push-ups. This incentive helps players concentrate on form as good passes are the only ones that receive a point.

    Combinations

    • It becomes important for all players to learn how to pass, set and spike the ball with some sense of ball control. The pepper drill helps players work on all three passes at one time. The series is as follows: bump, set, spike. For this drill, players work with a partner. To begin the drill, Player A tosses the ball to the Player B, who then proceeds to bump the ball back to Player A. Player A sets the ball up in the air so that Player B can spike it to her. Player A then digs the ball and the rotation starts over. The drill should last anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.

    Blocking

    • Blocking is an essential part of a player's defensive game. Timing, footwork, and hand placement become key elements to effectively blocking a ball. Blocking drills help improve upon these key points. For this drill, players form two single-file lines at the left-front positions on opposite sides of the net. When the coach blows the whistle, players run up to the front of the net, jump and extend their hands above the net. Once their feet touch the ground, they shuffle over to the middle-blocker and right-front positions to repeat the sequence.