No matter what position an athlete plays, passing is an essential skill that is needed for team success. The drill below is a simple yet effective way to get the reps your players need to master the skill of passing. Whether you are teaching fundamentals to young players in your program or you are a “back to the basics” type coach with your older players, you will find this drill to be an effective way to get your players reps and stress the fundamental of passing. In the video provided, courtesy of Championship Productions, former Louisville Head Coach Anne Kordes demonstrates her Four Direction Drill.
The drill is from a DVD teaching the fundamentals of passing. For more information on the DVD click the link Passing Fundamentals for Volleyball
In the Four Direction Drill players will partner up and one player will underhand toss the ball to her partner. The partner will control the pass directly back to the tosser. There are five passes in the drill. The first toss is directly to the player. The second toss is over the right shoulder causing the player to move diagonally backwards with short steps in order to pass the ball back. The third toss is over the left shoulder. The fourth toss is short to the left side causing the player to move forward with short steps and the final toss is short to the right. In each case the player must move to the ball keeping their shoulders forward and the ball in their midline. Using proper footwork the player controls he pass back to their partner and quickly returns to the starting position while remaining low at all times
After completing a predetermined number of complete cycles the players can switch roles. This is a very simple drill that could be part of your warm-up and/or an important drill to use in your feeder system to enhance individual player development.