Monica Wright, Head Women’s Volleyball Coach. Otterbein
Full video on Glazier Drive: Designing Competitive Hitting Drills & Games That Translate to Match-Day Success
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PRACTICE PHILOSOPHY
The coach starts practice with competitive 6-on-6 play right after warm-ups, rather than jumping straight into an hour of technical drills.
They’ve found this boosts energy and engagement in the gym, and kids simply love playing volleyball. Drills follow after this competitive start.
BLOCKY BALL
A free-ball chipping drill (borrowed from Volleypod) with a twist: a team can’t score until the ball touches the block. This forces teams to attack the block more, which in turn demands better coverage — making it a great tool for developing a stronger coverage team. It’s fast-paced and builds communication and teamwork.
HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT
A simple 6-on-6 drill: if you set the first ball over the net, your team gets three touches; if you dig with a platform, you only get two touches. This rewards hand-passing on free balls (helps speed up offense) and heavily reinforces communication and teamwork. Note: skip this drill if you don’t want players hand-passing frequently.
BASEBALL (COMPETITIVE WASH DRILL)
An older but still popular drill (roughly 16 years old, found online). Format:
- The serving team is “at bat” and gets 3 outs.
- Losing a serve/rally = 1 out for the serving team.
- Once a team earns 3 outs, the other team serves.
- After winning a serve, the batting team gets free-ball opportunities to score “runs” — each won rally scores a point, and errors on free balls don’t count as outs (just missed scoring chances).
- Play continues until 3 outs, then the sides switch, with the new serving team going to serve-receive.
COACHING TAKEAWAY
The coach emphasizes intentionality — don’t just pull a drill off the internet because it’s trending. Make sure it matches your team’s purpose, mission, and skill set before adding it to practice.