Would you like to help your players be technically efficient jumpers? Of course you would. In this post your will see a set of 5 exercises that make up a volleyball plyometric routine, that will make your players better jumpers and help them to take stress off their bodies.
In the video clip below Reid Hall, a highly regarded volleyball strength and conditioning coach, takes you through a volleyball plyometric routine that he uses to train players of all levels.
Here are the exercises:
Drop to Load – 1 x12 with a 5-10 second rest between reps
The athlete begins on a plyometric box and drops to the ground. The athlete should land softly with the toes first followed by the heels. They should descend into a semi-squat position with the knees angled slightly outward. The hands should be back and their back should be angled slightly more than 45-degrees. This is called the loaded position.
Load to Extend – 3 x 10 with a 30 second rest between sets
The focus of this drill is to move powerfully out of the loaded position. The athlete will begin on the ground in the loaded position with their hands back and in a semi-squat position. They will begin the movement with a powerful arm swing upward followed by a powerful extension of the ankle, knee and hips. The athlete will remain on the ground (do not jump)
Jump Pause – 3 x 8 with a 45 second rest between sets
This drill is essentially connecting the dots between exercises 1 and 2. Here the athlete will begin in the loaded position. The athlete will and explode up out of the loaded position by powerfully swinging his arms and extending the ankle, knee and hips. They should land softly in the power position and pause for a few seconds.
Continuous Jumps – 4 x 8 with a 30 second rest between sets
The athlete begins in the power position and explodes up, lands in the power position and then explodes up again quickly. The focus should be landing correctly and exploding up as quickly as possible.
Drop to Box – 6 x 4 with 1 minute rest between sets
This is the final exercise in the volleyball plyometric routine. It is important that the athlete is not fatigued during this exercise. They will drop off of a short box and land in the loaded position and then quickly explode up and land on a taller box ( at least 6 inches lower than their max height). The athlete will step off the taller box and repeat 4 times to complete a set. This can be done without the second box. Just have the athlete jump up as high as possible after dropping off the shorter box. They should land in the power position.
Coach Reid has many great training ideas for volleyball players. To see more great training tips and to learn more about how Coach Reid can help improve your players check out his YouTube Channel or visit his site Reids Workouts
The YouTube video below has audio, so please make sure that your sound is turned on. Note some schools block access to YouTube