Do you want to be better defensively? Would you like your players to be more mentally tough? Here is a two ball blocking and mental toughness drill that will improve your blocking skills and can be used to help develop mental toughness in your players.
In the clip below Susie Johnson, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Head Women’s Volleyball Coach; 5x League Coach of the Year; 10 NCAA Tournament Berths, demonstrates a two ball blocking drill that doubles as a mental toughness drill.
The drill begins with two middle blockers and two right side blockers on the defensive side of the net. The middles and outside blockers will rotate each two ball sequence. On the other side of the the net you will need a setter, middle and outside hitter. You will also need two other people to toss the two balls.
The first ball is tossed to the setter who will set a “quick attack”. Immediately after the quick attack, the second coach will toss a quick temp ball to the outside hitter. The temp of this ball can be adjusted based on the attack of your upcoming opponent.
On the defensive side of the net, the middle must block the “quick” and then quickly slide out wide to block the outside attack. Two new blockers step up and the sequence is repeated. The four defenders must block 10 balls before they can rotate out of the drill.
This blocking and mental toughness drill is just a sample of the many drills that Coach Johnson shares in her coaching DVD. For more information about that DVD click the link Using Practice Drills to Develop Mental Toughness.
The YouTube video below has audio, so please make that your volume is turned up and that you have access to the site. Click the arrow to play the video. Note that some schools block access to YouTube.