Get your middles involved and make them a force to be reckoned with! This fast-paced middle hitter drill called the Kill 50 Drill will really help develop your middle hitters and condition them well.
In the clip below, Rick Reynolds, Grand Junction Central High School and former Idaho State University Women’s Head Volleyball Coach, demonstrates a middle hitter drill that he utilizes to help train his middles to penetrate their block, get off in transition, and hit balls to five key areas on the court. The Kill 50 middle hitter drill is also an excellent conditioning drill.
The setup for this middle hitter drill calls for one back row passer, one setter, and one middle hitter on the same side of the net. On the opposite side of the net, place two coaches on each sideline. They will alternate giving either a free ball or a down ball to the back row passer. On the side of the coaches, mark off 5 key target zones (deep right, deep left, middle tip, short right, short left).
The coach will enter a ball to the back row passer. The middle will move to block as the coach delivers the ball over the net. It is important to stress that the middle gets penetration on their block and then transitions to attack.
The middle will then take the set and try to hit one of the five areas. One point is scored for each target hit. The middle hitter will rotate out, and the next hitter steps in. The drill should be fast-paced with very little time between balls.
The goal is to get 50 kills. You may need to set a time limit of 10 minutes and see how many you can get.