Need a way to teach tempo and work on multiple skills at once? This two touch tempo drill will help improve a variety of volleyball skills and help players better understand tempo.

In the clip below Marci Sanders, University of Texas-Dallas Head Coach, demonstrates her Two Touch Tempo Drill that helps players understand and recognize different tempos. In order to run specific plays, your players need to control the height of their passes. In this two touch tempo drill, your players will learn and develop an understanding of tempo while they’re gaining touches on the ball.

The drills begins 2v2 on a narrow court and is a cooperative tempo drill. The ball is entered and one player will pass to the other and the second player will send it over the net. Th coach will call out the types of skill and tempo for each of the two hits .  In this clip the coaches uses the following set of passes and tempos.  The drill can obviously be adjusted in many ways. You can call out a wide variety of skill and tempo combinations.

1. First Touch – 4, Pass Over – 4
2. First Touch – 4, Set Across – 3
3. First touch – 4, Down Ball – 3
4. First touch – 4, Jump and Tip 2
5. First touch – 4, Jump Tip 2 to 20 feet
6. First touch – 4, Jump and Roll 3

Clearly you can include a wide variety of combinations as you conduct this Tempo Drill. Simply alter this drill to match your philosophy and your teams needs. This drill will help players learn to identify and name each tempo as well as provide an opportunity to practice several different skills.

This two touch tempo drill is just one on many drills that Coach Sanders shares in her instructional DVD regarding Tempo. If you are looking for a way to take your players to the next level by speeding up (or slowing down) your play but don’t have any idea how to communicate that to your team, take a look at  Coach Sanders’ way of defining tempo and basic drills to teach the language of tempo to your players. For more information about her DVD, click the link Teaching Players How to Read and Understand Tempo

 

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Get drills and techniques for teaching players how to read and understand tempo for all volleyball skills

• Teach your players how to control tempo by varying the height of ball on sets, passes, serves and more
• Get a simple system for communicating your tempo scale
• Learn creative ways to score games and drills to keep players engaged and the competition level high in your gym

Good volleyball teams can attack their opponents in multiple ways from multiple spots. In this post, you will see a competitive back row attack drill to help you improve your attack from the back row.

In the video clip below Jodi Schramm, founder of Premier Volleyball Academy; 18-Onituka Head Coach, demonstrates her back row attack drill that she calls Deep Hit Challenge.

The back row attack drill begins with a setter and three back row players on each side. The middle back should be a hitter. One side is the challenge side.On the challenge side, the middle back (and his team) are trying to score as many points as possible in a three minute time period. The setter can set any of the three back row players, but the middle back is the one competing.

On the other side of the net, the setter will be setting a back row attack also. The difference on this side is that the three back row players must rotate out every time the ball crosses the net. In other words, every time the ball crosses the net three new back row players will come in. The setter remains the same for the three minute period.

Coaches will enter free balls to start the point. They will alternate which side the enter the ball. The only rules are that you can only score on back row attacks. Rolls are allowed, but tips are not. The setters are allowed to block.

This drill is taken from Coach Schramm’s training DVD. In that DVD Coach Schramm offers a wide variety of drills designed to help your team deal with stress and pressure. For more information about that DVD click the link Drills to Simulate Pressure & Increase Training Efficiency Using Time as a Tool

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Would you win more matches if your team blocked better? Would you win more matches if they transitioned better? In this post, you will get a blocking drill to work on both of these key skills.

In the clip below Brian Rosen, Carolina Juniors Volleyball Club Assistant Director and Coach;
Davidson College Assistant Coach; demonstrates a blocking drill that incorporates transitioning off the net and attacking.

The set-up of the blocking/transitioning drill is as follows:

Begin with three hitters at the net and a setter positioned off the net. On the coach’s call, the players will simulate blocks. First the middle and outside will move to block the one and then all three players will swing block to the outside. Once the players have touched the ground on the swing block, they must transition off the net and become hitters. As the blockers are transitioning, the setter must move in and receive a pass from the coach and set one of the three hitters. The three hitters rotate out and three new ones come in.

After a designated number of repetitions, Coach Rosen will now have the players block the three before swinging out to block. Once again the hitters transition off the net and the setter moves in to receive a pass from the coach. The setter will then set one of the three hitters. After several repetitions, add players on the other side to block the attack to make the drill more game like.

This blocking drill is just one of many that Coach Rosen shares in his instructional DVD.The emphasis of the video is to teach blockers not just the proper footwork and movements, but how to read and react to the offense and how to communicate with the other blockers to become an effective defense. For more information about the DVD and how to purchase it click the link Best of Club Volleyball: Blocking

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Do you need to improve your team defense? Do you need to improve communication between players? If you are like most coaches, you are always looking to improve in these areas. In this post you will see a video of Coach Mike Lingenfelter’s Turn and Burn Drill that will give you an opportunity to work on both your defense and communication.

Coach Lingengfelter, Munciana Samurai Head Coach and Co-Director Asics Munciana Volleyball and four time national champion, presents this drill from his defensive training dvd. To learn more about that dvd click the link Developing the Elite Defender. 

This dvd will serve as a blueprint for coaches at every level who want to cover all aspects of defensive training, from mental and emotional, to physical. You will be able to identify the athletes that have the attributes of elite defensive players, and you will learn how expectations, toughness, honesty and discipline are combined with technique, repetition, feedback and encouragement to nourish your athletes into great defensive volleyball players.

The Turn and Burn drill is very simple. Three players begin aligned at the net on one side or the other. The coach will toss a ball deep. The players must sprint to the ball and communicate who will get it.

The players will dig, set, hit and also cover.

Coach Lingenfelter stresses that he also uses this drill with a setter and middle hitter and they work on their middle attack out of this drill.

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Need competitive drills to add some variety to practice or camp? See to simple competitive drills that can be used in practice or camp situations.

In the video clip below Terry Miller, Head Coach at Cherokee Hills High School, shares to drills that he uses in his practices. The first drill is 6 v 6 with side out scoring. (no rally scoring)This drill will of course make it harder to earn points and will emphasize the need to capitalize when you earn the serve as well as the importance of serve receive.

The second drill is called Down Ball, Down Ball, Free Ball. Coach Miller uses this drill at every practice. He feel it helps his conditioning and teamwork. The drill is played 6v6 and requires two coaches and two carts of balls. Coach 1 will begin the drill by delivering a down ball to the Team A  opposite him. The point is played out. If Team A wins the point, Coach 1 will immediately deliver a second down ball and the point will be played out. If Team A wins the second point, then Coach 1 will give them a free ball. Coach Miller encourages his teams to run one of their set plays on the free ball. They know its coming and they have time to make the call and execute. If Team 1 wins the free ball they get a point and players are rotated. If at any  point team two wins a rally, they will immediately get a down ball from Coach 2. In order to score a point, a team must win the down ball, down ball and then the free ball. Players are rotated when one team wins a point. (down,down and free ball sequence)

These drills are just small part of Coach Miller’s presentation at a Glazier Volleyball Clinic. For information about how to gain access to his entire presentation, as well as hundreds of other clinic presentations, click the link Glazier Volleyball Clinics

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