Monthly Archives: August 2009

Aug 29

How to serve a floater in volleyball

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Here is an overhand serve where the ball has no spin. Its path becomes unpredictable. Compare this serve to a knuckleball in baseball.

  1. The toss. Notice the toss is not too far out in front of her. If she lets it drop, it will hit her left foot.
  2. The footwork. As pretty much every skill in volleyball, footwork is the under-appreciated behind the scenes-er. But like any “behind the scenes” skill, one minor slip could affect the entire outcome. One step. Some prefer to do a “toe-on-the-line” serve. This creates a fear of foot fault that will keep two flaws in check: too many steps, stepping too soon – and no one wants to foot fault. It’s embarrassing.
  3. The contact. Notice how stiff her hand is. She maintains that form throughout the entire serve. (check out the slo-mo!) She makes contact with the middle of the ball. Slightly to the left or the right, the top or the bottom, and the serve is ruined (by ruined I mean not as totally wicked as a floater should be) . Must be in the middle. The most important part of this serve is the position of her hand. And… as she hits the ball, she’s thinking, “Ok, I’m gonna try to make this ball do a backspin.” The outcome won’t be a backspin (don’t worry; she won’t be disappointed). If  she hits the volleyball square in the middle and positions her hand as if to create a backspin, the ball will float across the net. The result will be devastating. Well, for the other team, when she aces them!

Beginners!
Start in the middle of the court just behind the 10-foot line with a colored volleyball (easier to see the spin – or lack thereof). Work on that hand. When you start to see no spin, swing harder. Then, step back. Then, swing harder. The harder you swing, the more the ball will float and change direction. Thus, making it unstoppable!

In my opinion, the floater is the trickiest serve surpassed only by the jump float. Look for a video soon on how to do a jump float. But… practice this one first.

Aug 26

The left wheel

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The left wheel, not to be confused with a third wheel, is a form passing drill. This is a good drill for players with a bad habit of standing up and swinging their arms when they pass. They will shuffle through the volleyball while keeping their bodies square and forearms low.

For this volleyball drill: 3 passers, 1 target, 1 tosser and 1 ball hander. So, 6 participants but the coach is usually the tosser.

  1. Line up the 3 passers (holding a volleyball) on the left sideline between the 10-ft-line and the end line.
  2. Put your ball hander (with 1 volleyball) in right back.
  3. The coach slaps the volleyball just before each toss. Then sends a mid-low toss to the middle of the court.
  4. At the slap, the player starts her shuffle. Her body must be square to the tosser. Toes pointed inward. Hunched back (imagine a scared cat). But there’s a catch. She must hold a volleyball just below her left knee as she shuffles.
  5. She shuffles almost passed the toss and drops the volleyball in her hands just before she passes the tossed volleyball at her left knee.
  6. She continues to shuffle, grabs a volleyball from the hander in right back and sprints back to the sideline for another turn (this circular movement is why the drill is called the “wheel.”)
  7. The next player starts her shuffle at the slap and not before. The players repeat for 20 passes. (they should be winded if the tosses are dealt quickly)

This drill offers a repetition in form-passing that will progress your players’ skills so they will be passing nails in no time!

Try it and comment below to let us know how it went.

Aug 23

Flush Volleyball Drill

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This is a great warmup drill for passers.

For this volleyball drill, you need 4 players, 1 tosser and 1 target.

  1. The group of 4 should separate into 2 pairs.
  2. The first pair stand next to each other (the other 2 lined up on the outside of the drill).
  3. Slap the volleyball to signal the start of the drill.
  4. The first pair shuffles back. Toss the volleyball just over their shoulders. The players pass every ball on their left. They must adjust their bodies to the right of the volleyball. In an emergency if the ball is on their right they can use their hands to pass.
  5. The second group files in for their turn. Shuffling down the middle and running back to the 10-ft line on the outside.
  6. Repeat for 20 tosses.

This drill should move very quickly. The players are trying to shuffle back fast enough and use their forearms on a higher tossed volleyball.

Make sure the players are keeping their bodies square to the tosser. That means hips, feet, shoulders all facing the tosser.

In order to get the volleyball to the target, the players must tilt their platforms and drop their right shoulder. On especially high balls, they can lift their left leg and hip to raise their platform and make solid contact with the volleyball.

How do you know if they are doing it right? They’ll look like peeing dogs. Male, of course.

Aug 19

Pass 4s

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This is a basic form passing drill with one partner. The players are working on their platform, body positioning and communication. They must try to keep the ball in the air for each step. Forearms only.

1. At 10 feet apart, they pass 20 volleyballs.
2. Then they step back to 20 feet apart and pass 20 more balls.
3. At 20 feet, now they must use their legs to pass 20 high balls.
4. For the last phase, each passes the ball straight up, turns 180 degrees and then passes the ball over the shoulder. 20 reps.

To add a little extra, have your players try to keep the volleyball in the air through all four phases of the drill.

Aug 18

8 Ball

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This drill is like 10 Hits but requires more control and lot of stamina. If you haven’t tried 10 Hits, I suggest you start there.

In this slight modification, the two players must work together to keep the ball going in a one-sided pepper. Each girl gets a chance to hit but they don’t switch until they (together) get 8 digs. The drill is not over until both girls dig 8 balls consecutively. That means… if the ball drops, they must start over!