Tag Archives: Selection

Jul 07

Multitask your hitter/setter warm-up

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As a coach, you must know how difficult it is to convince teenagers to workout in the summer, let alone in a gym with no A/C. But we managed to corral a few die hards. For this drill, our libero is the setter, our defensive specialist is playing middle hitter and our outside is eh-hem playing outside. Due to the lack of players in this gym, our girls are getting reps in positions they don’t usually play. That definitely makes for a well rounded team!

This is a skills focus volleyball drill similar to Box Approaches with Setter.The setter is practicing several different sets noted in the video. Watch as she uses the hitters’ hands as targets for her sets (not bad for a libero, huh?). The hitters are warming up their arm swing and practicing attack selection. Pick a zone for the hitters and have them aim there for a few sets and then switch it up. Both the hitters and the setter are working on ball placement.

I love to multitask. So why not apply that to volleyball? Simple drills like this leave plenty of room for modification. And of course, it’s always good to get more players doing more stuff in warmup drills – multitasking. For example, if you’re warming up your setter, instead of tossing to her, toss to a passer who can pass the volleyball to her. Then, instead of a target, put a hitter out there who can get some arm swings. Or maybe add a server who can mini-serve to the passer. See what I mean? The options are endless. Adding and taking away players can change how the drill is played.

How do you multitask you warmups?

Jun 23

Dead fish: not just in the Gulf

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Here’s a youth beginner drill called “Dead Fish.” This is a good one for the first year of volleyball. Once they learned to serve over the net, Donnie’s 12-year-olds really enjoyed this super fun game. (plus they got serving reps with little competitiveness).

The rules are simple.
1. Split the group in half and put a cart of balls on each side.
2. Everyone starts serving.
3. If a girl misses her serve, she runs to the other side of the net and lays on the ground flopping around like a fish out of water.
4. The rest of her team must then save her from being a “dead fish.” What better way to save her than by serving the ball at her?
5. If she gets hit, she’s saved!

The first team to lose all their players to the other side become “dead fish” and lose the game.

Have you tried this one with your youngins’? If not, try it, and tell me what you think.

Sep 21

Skinny Court Volleyball Tournament

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Here’s a fun game situation (or scrimmage-like) drill to get the whole team involved.

1. Divide your team into pairs. Probably a good idea to make them even pairs (pair a good player with a not-so-good player).
2. Split the width of the court using a piece of tape (painter’s tape works really well because it will pick up easily when the drill is over.)
3. Run a mini tournament with four teams on the court at a time (or 8, if you have 2 courts). Play to 3, winner moves up to the “championship court,” loser stays on the same court.
4. Keep track of who defends the most on the “championship court.”

Dividing the courts in such a way forces the players focus on serving, ball control and attack selection. They have a much smaller area in which to place the ball.

Make it a little more interesting by offering a prize for the winners or punishment for the losers.