Tag Archives: Forearms

Dec 20

Serving and Passing Volleyball Drills: simple… but necessary

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I tell my club and high school volleyball teams all the time, “Nobody wants to put in the time, but the ones that do are the best.”

What am I talking about? Serving and passing volleyball drills. Over and over and over and over…. There’s not a lot of flash in passing, but it takes reps to make great habits.

This volleyball drill is very simple. But there’s a lot going too. 3 passers on each side, a setter on each side getting reps and servers on each end. Servers have carts full of volleyballs to make sure they can keep serving at a rapid rate. Passers pass to the setter and the setter sets the ball to a location.

We usually switch spots every couple of minutes to help keep it fresh. This is a great volleyball drill that we will usually do the day after a long night of matches to clear our heads and find a good passing rhythm.

Dec 08

Got a friend and a volleyball? Here’s a easy passing drill.

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Passing and shuffling and passing and shuffling… One of my coaches repeated over and over and over through our first week of practice (hell week, I call it). But… he had good reason.

Shuffling through your pass is very important. It’s the dismount, if you will. Hold your forearms steady and shuffle through.

In this drill, it’s just one volleyball and one friend. Pass straight, shuffle, pass angle, pass straight, shuffle back, pass angle.

Do you teach your players passing and shuffling? Or do you teach another method? Do share!

Nov 30

A ladder in a volleyball drill?

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I think many of you know by now how much I like repetition.

Ok. Not that kind of repetition. I’m talking about in volleyball. Like this Ladder Drill. This type of repetition is not annoying at all. Actually, it’s kinda fun.

1. Line up some girls at the net. We have 3 on one side and 2 on the other side (but you do what you can with your number of players).
2. The rest of the players line up on one side at the 10′ line with a volleyball.
3. Pass and shuffle through the tossers and when you get to the end, pass to yourself as you walk around the net and continue on the other side.
4. After one round, switch to passing from 15-18′ back. Repeat step 3.
5. Now, switch to setting at the 10′ line. Repeat step 3 (but with sets of course).
6. Now, step back to 15-18′ again. Repeat step 3 (again, with sets).

If you like to stress repetition (and you should). This is the perfect drill for your team. Even the targets are getting reps while they stand there. I LOVE repetition. It is KEY to improving your game.

Now get to practice!

Jun 21

Season your volleyball skills with basic Pepper

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Pepper is one of the most basic fundamental volleyball drills out there. I know what you’re thinking, “Danielle, why are you just now telling us about this fundamental volleyball drill?” Good question. Now, let’s talk about the greatest, most effective volleyball drill ever invented.

All you need is one partner and one ball and it’s simply: Pass, set, hit, pass, set, hit. To point out the obvious, there are only 2 of you and 3 types of hits. Which means, you’ll both get equal reps on all hits. i.e. perfect warmup drill.

Here are 4 reasons you should start “peppering” at your next practice (or even right after you’ve finished reading this post).

  1. Warm-up – This is the most common form of warmup in volleyball. You’re working all the movements necessary to play the game.
  2. Overall ball control – Hitting, setting and digging directly to your partner requires great skill, concentration and constant communication.
  3. Improve communication – Constant talking creates the most effective Pepper session and good communication among 6 players is an underrated quality in a volleyball team.
  4. Repetition – Back and forth, back and forth. You’d think it’d get boring but your partner is always there to challenge you.

It’s obvious I LOVE the game of Pepper. But what do you think? Can anything top Pepper as being the most effective volleyball drill ever invented?