Great passes and great sets can be wasted if your hitters are not in position to execute an effective hit a win a point. Too often hitters try to hit the ball hard. The result is that they try too hard with their shoulders and arms and they actually end up hitting the ball with less pace or speed.

In the video below Chrissy Elder, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Head Coach; former University of Central Missouri Assistant Coach; All American Setter at Pittsburgh State, demonstrates a progression drill that she utilizes every day in practice to help increase the velocity generated by her hitters.

The Wrist-Snap Progression sequence is just one of the teaching points in Coach Elder’s DVD regarding fast tempo offense. For more information about this DVD click the link  Drills to Increase the Speed of Your Offense

The YouTube video has sound, so please make sure that your sound is turned on and that you have access to the site.

The Wrist-Snap Progression sequence begins by having to players face each other. The first player holds the ball in their non hitting hand and then using only their wrist they snap the ball to the ground as fast as possible bouncing the ball their partner. The partner then uses their wrist only to snap the ball down and back to the first player. They key is to use only the wrist and snap down showing the back of the hand to their partner.

Next the players hold the ball as high over their head as possible and using their wrists only snap the ball towards the ground as fast as possible. The third step begins by holding the ball overhead as in the previous step. However, now the players will use their whole arm in addition to the wrist snap to hit the ball towards the floor. Teaching point here is to pull from the abs and shoulder.

Next the players will toss the ball up and then using using arms and wrists will reach snap and pull striking the ball towards the floor with maximum speed. In the final step of the sequence she has the players toss the ball up and out. This forces them to jump up and get the ball and the highest point possible, Teaching point is to get to the ball with your feet.

In this video she also demonstrates a hitting drill she calls the Pound Drill. The drill begins with a ball being bounced into to a hitter station in the middle of the court. The hitter will make tempo pass to a setter. The hitter must then move out wide to hit and in system four. She stresses the hitter must get wide. However, when the ball arrives at the setter, the hitter must stop moving wide and get to the ball with her feet.

The drill can be done the same way utilizing a back set.

Looking for some variety in your practice? Everyone has their drills that they usually do. There is nothing wrong with using the same drills over and over; however, sometimes it is good to use a different method to teach/practice the same concept. Mike Johnson, Associate Head Coach at Notre Dame and former Head Coach at Xavier has a defensive drill that he calls Neville’s Pepper. The drill is designed to be competitive and reward the defense for digging and transitioning into an attack.

The Neville’s Pepper drill is just one of several drills that Coach Johnson utilizes to prepare his defense. To learn more about the DVD that this drill was taken from click the link Skill Development Drills: Defense

The YouTube video has sound, so you will need to make sure that your sound is turned on and that you have access to the site.

In this drill players will be placed into groups of three. The group of three will play together for 3 minutes (In the video coaches uses 90-seconds for demonstration purposes). They will play against against a full lineup of 6. Players will sub in and out on each point on the side of six, while the side of three will stay together for the entire three minutes.

Points are awarded only to the side three. The scoring is as follows. one point will be awarded for every dig and one point will be awarded for every rally won. One point will be subtracted for every hitting error and if no attempt is made on the ball the team loses all of their points.

After three minutes, three new players will come in to play against the group of six. You continue to rotate players to the side of three until everyone has a chance to be on the scoring side of the net. The group of three that scores the most points in their rotation is the winner.

There are several ways to vary the game. You can have an open net on the side of six or allow blockers. You can have the point start with a serve or have a free ball toss. In this video coach is having the ball served in, and open net and the side of three must attack out of the back row

As coaches, we are always looking for drills to help us teach fundamental skills and concepts. Most of us have our favorites. Sometimes, however, it is good to try something different. This adds freshness to practices and helps keep the player’s attention and focus. With that in mind, we are always looking to provide different drills for coaches to add to the arsenal. Below is a variation of a Pepper Game. In the Championship Productions video Six-time Kansas class 5A state champion head coach, Nancy Dorsey, uses the “9 Player Pepper” drill to train setters to get to loose balls and still manage to put up a hittable ball.

The drills is just one in a series. If you are interested in learning more about the DVD this clip came from click on the link High School Volleyball: Dynamic Practice Design and Drills

The YouTube video has sound, so please make sure your sound is on and that you have access to the site.

The Nine Player Pepper Drill is designed for setters and hitters. This is a difficult drill for setters. The passes are not always going to be perfect and in this drill the setter will have to run to the ball and get her hips turned in an attempt to put a hittable ball.

The drill also allows hitters to work on their transitions. Often times they have trouble getting out to their touch point before the attack and this drill gives them opportunity to work on that.

The set up is as follows. There are three back row players on each side. Those players will remain on their side throughout the drill. There are two hitters and one setter that will begin on one side of the net and then after an attack the move under the net to become the hitters and setters on that side. The two hitters and setter remain in the drill until they have completed 7 good pass-set-attack sequences. It doesn’t have to be 7 in a row. If they are unable to get a good pass-set-attack and just get the ball back over, they don’t go back to zero. This is a neutral ball and the keep playing until the get 7 pass-set-attack sequences. If the ball touches the floor they go back to zero.

Coach Dorsey also talks about modifications to the drill to make it appropriate for middle school and sub-varsity teams in your program.

Coaches love drills. Players love games.

The really good coaches find away to do both in their practices. Coach Thanh Pham of University of St. Thomas, 2013 NCAA D-III National Champions, uses a series of fun games that also help teach/reinforce important fundamentals. In the Championship video below, Coach Pham shows an energetic game called Bounce. The players will love it and the coach will get players pursuing the ball and communicating.

The YouTube video has sound. So make sure you have your sound on and are able to access the site.

For more information about the DVD this clip came from click the link Team Oriented Drills to Improve Your Play

 

The Bounce Drill can be used to teach players to pursue the ball, communicate and make controlled passes. In addition, it is a drill that the players will enjoy and have fun playing and for that reason alone would be a nice addition to your practices. This a drill you will use if you believe that “the game teaches the game”.

Here are the rules. Each team has unlimited number of hits. The may pass as many times as necessary in order to make a strong attack. Points are scored for every bounce of the ball. If the ball hits the ground on Team A’s side, Team B will get one point for every time the ball bounces before Team A puts the ball in play. Team A then may uses as many passes as possible to get the ball back to attacking position. If Team A hits the ball out on Team B’s side, then Team A will have to run to the ball on the other side of the net and control ball. They will use as many passes as needed to bring in back to their side and attack legally over the net. Team B will be awarded 1 point for every time the ball bounces before Team gets the ball under control.

In the event that the ball rolls (no longer bouncing) the other team wins the game. The game is played to 25 otherwise. The winner is the team that wins 5 games.

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.