Tag Archives: Pass left

Jan 31

Pass nails with this high pressure volleyball drill

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Introducing yet another high stress, competitive, volleyball drill. Put your players under pressure with this score-keeping passing drill.

3 passers and a setter on one side. Servers on the other side. Watch the video, then we’ll talk.

Tell your servers to serve aggressively. After all, we’d like to have decent passers against the best possible servers.

The volleyball coach or the setter will grade the passers 0-3. Passers must get a “grade” of 2.5 in 10 serves. Here’s how we define our “grades.”

3= 1 maybe 2 steps; as long as the setter can set all 3 positions
2= 2-3 steps; but the setter can still set all 3 positions
1= the setter can still make the set but has to force it outside or back-row.
0= shank ie. epic failure

Feel free to set your own team goal. 2.5 is Donnie’s club volleyball team’s goal. Donnie tells his players, “2.5 is championship level passing.” As you can see, they didn’t quite make the grade this time. It happens. But they repeat the drill over and over until they reach their goal.

High pressure situations are very good for your team’s morale. Get them used to situations like these in practice. So when it comes to a close, competitive game, the team is a little more mentally prepared to handle it.

Jan 12

Stressless post-tourney volleyball passing drill

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Here’s a new volleyball drill from Donnie’s team. Simple, continuous passing.

1. 3 players across the back row.

2. 1 target.

3. Remaining players behind the end line.

4. Server +1 or 2 players to fill in (Donnie’s serving in this video to speed up the volleyball drill)

After the serve, the server runs across to get in line behind the passers and fill in one of the 3 positions across the back. The girl who passes the ball becomes the target. The target becomes the server.

Good simple, repetition. Easy, peasey lemon squeezy.

P.S. Excuse the iPhone video quality.

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!

Jul 25

7 reasons to play sand volleyball

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Yes. This is another article about sand volleyball. For those are only in to indoor volleyball, don’t look past this post, there’s a little in it for you.

As you know by now, I LOVE SAND VOLLEYBALL! Let me take this opportunity to “count the ways.”

1. Megan Fox tan: Ok, maybe this isn’t appealing to all but I do appreciate those few morning rays that have recently replaced my powder bronzer.

2. Think about Timing: When you first step on to a sand court, you think like an indoor player: “I have time to get there.” But, you will quickly realize that you don’t and you better get your butt movin’ (especially in doubles). In any hit in the sand, you have to get there sooner. Which means 1. Read the ball of the serve or hit. 2. If you know your partner is gonna take the first contact, you better jet to the net to set (like that rhyme?). 3. A quick approach is much slower in the sand and the sets are not always perfect, so you have to be ready to adjust.

3. Shots: Much of sand volleyball relies on shots (unless you have raw power and mad skills like Phil Dalhausser-below).

Who can hit zones of the court the most effectively? He will be the winner in sand. Unless he’s Donnie, playing against his wife, who dug him 3 times the other day. (Sorry Donnie, I can’t help that I’m awesome).

4. Ball Control: This is kind of a combination of Shots and Timing. You must read, be in the right spot at the right time and execute with almost perfect form. In other words, there is almost no room for error in sand volleyball. You only have one other player to chase down that shank and it’s very difficult to “book it” in the sand. Plus, if you keep shanking it, you might get a little hostility from your winded partner.

“I used to hate playing sand volleyball because it’s so hard. But, I can’t believe how much it has helped my indoor game. I feel more confident passing and digging now because sand forced me to better at reading the hitter.” – player from my team.

5. Speed, Agility, Vertical: Think all that jumping and running and diving in the sand is for nothing? Play sand volleyball for a few weeks and then hit the gym. You will be more stable, moving quicker and jumping higher than you ever have!

6. Communication: With only 2 players, it’s either you or her. Blocking angle or line? Who’s taking this pass? Where does the set need to be? Sand volleyball is not like indoor, where you have a full team and system. You must constantly communicate with each other if you want to compete.

7. Killer workout: In the summer, I play sand volleyball just twice a week for 2-3 hours. I’d say I’m in pretty good shape, but by the time I get into the third hour, my legs are jell-o and my lungs are heavy. Plus, I googled it, and playing sand volleyball burns 500 calories/hour!

Indoor players: If you’re still reading this, thanks for sticking in there! In case you haven’t figured it out by now, all of the above points will improve your indoor game (ok, except the tan, that’s an added bonus). Timing, Shots, Ball Control – I’m always preaching about ball control to my players and sand volleyball is the ultimate training method to practice ball control – Communication.

So before, you dismiss sand volleyball as a game to played by beer-gutted neighbors at a block party, think about how much a few hours a week can improve your indoor game… and your figure.