15 Top Volleyball Drills to Boost Player Performance

Whether you’re coaching a group of aspiring beginners or improving the skills of seasoned players, our round-up of fundamental volleyball drills aims to address your coaching needs. This blog will explore a diverse range of drills designed to enhance agility, power, technique, and overall game proficiency.

We have outlined 15 volleyball drills that are easy to coach, yet will have a profound effect on your team’s performance.

Volleyball Passing Drills

1. Passing Ladder

• Have three players stand on one side of the net with their backs facing it. These players will act as the tossers.
• Have one player stand directly across from the tossers. This player will act as the passer.
• Passer A begins by passing the ball to Tosser A.
• While Tosser A is returning the ball, Passer A shuffles laterally to face Passer B.
• Once they receive the ball, Passer A passes it to Tosser B.

Note: Double up on this drill, having players run through the exact same motions on the other side of the court.

Passing ladder drill

What does this volleyball passing drill teach? Hand-eye coordination and lateral movement. The passer will have to keep an eye on the ball as they shuffle laterally, simultaneously passing and receiving the ball from each tosser.

2. Shuffle Passing

• Have all players line up in a single-file line directly across from the coach.
• For reference, have the first player in line stand 6 feet away.
• Serve the ball to the first passer, either serving the volleyball to the left or right. *Don’t indicate ahead of time which direction you will pass the ball.
• The passer will have to follow the direction of the ball and return the pass.

What does this volleyball passing drill teach? Speed. Players will have to be quick on their feet, reaching the appropriate side in time to return the ball.

3. Pipeline Passing

• Pair players together for this drill. Each passer will stand between two pylons facing each other. Note: The pylons will be 10 feet apart.
• Passer 1 passes the ball to Passer 2, shuffles left to touch the pylon, then returns to the center before Passer 2 sends the ball back.
• The two passers alternate roles each time.

What does this volleyball passing drill teach? Endurance. Players must keep a steady pace, reaching the ball before it drops while maintaining their endurance.

Volleyball Serving Drills

4. Serving Around the World

• Split the court into 6 zones.
• Divide up your athletes into two teams. Each team will form a single-file line on each side of the court.
• Goal of the drill: The first team to successfully serve the ball into all 6 zones wins.
• Players on each side of the court will take turns serving, moving to the back of the line after they have taken their turn.

Tips:

• Zones don’t have to be hit in ascending order. However, to make it harder, you can tell players they must hit Zone 1 first, Zone 2 second, etc.
• Rotate the type of serve (overhand, underhand, and jump) as each player makes their way to the “serve” position.

What does this volleyball serving drill teach? Aim and accuracy. Players will have to work on hitting the ball into a target on the court.

Serving around the world drill

5. Serve Competition

• Divide your players into two teams and spread them across the court.
• Each team starts with one ball, and one player from each team will serve first.
• Goal of the drill: Hit 12 serves, landing in-bounds on the other side of the court.
  

Note: To make this drill more challenging, the coach will shout out what type of serve the player has to achieve before each round commences.

What does this volleyball serving drill teach? Aim. To hit 12 successful serves, players need to focus on hitting the ball with intensity to get it over the net and in bounds.

6. Run and Serve

Set up:

• 4 players will be placed on each side of the court.
• Evenly space 4 volleyballs along the court baselines.
• Place four pylons, spaced evenly, about 8 feet behind the volleyballs..

Execution:

• 4 players will start standing directly behind the volleyballs.
• On the coach’s whistle, each player will sprint towards the pylon and then back to the volleyball.
• When they reach the volleyball, they will pick it up off the ground and attempt to make a successful serve.
• If a player makes a successful serve, swap in another player for the next round. If a player doesn’t make a successful serve, they will have to participate in the drill again (until they make a successful serve).

What does this volleyball serving drill teach? Endurance. Players will need to make a successful serve following a sprint.

Run and serve drill

Volleyball Hitting Drills

7. Wall Balls

Set up:

• Put two pieces of tape on the wall.
• Depending on the average height of your players, place one piece of tape at 6 feet and one piece of tape at 8 feet.

Execution:

1. Have players line up in a single file line.
2. The first player will stand about 10 feet away from the wall.
3. Player 1 hits the ball toward the ground, aiming for the space between themselves and the wall.
4. Goal of the drill: Players should strike the ball with enough power for it to rebound and reach the 6- and 8-foot wall targets.
5. Once the first player has hit both tape targets, move on to the next player in line.

What does this volleyball hitting drill teach? Power. Players must hit the ball with enough force so that it bounces to a target on the wall.

8. Squat Balls

1. Have your players partner up for this drill.
2. One player acts as the receiver, while the other takes the role of server. Both players should be near the net.
3. The receiver should be in a squatting position with their feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly out, hips below their knees, and knees bent.
4. On your whistle, the server will initiate play by serving the ball. The receiver will then have to jump up and attack the ball, successfully hitting it over the net.

What does this volleyball hitting drill teach? Explosiveness. Having players start in a squat position trains them to explode upward with power, helping to drive the ball over the net.

9. Approach and Spike

Set up:

• The coach will position themselves 1 foot from the net on one side.
• Players will line up in a single-file line, taking turns working on their approach and spike.

Execution:

• Players will only be able to take three steps forward (they will have to carefully judge how far back from the coach they want to start).
• As the player is approaching the coach, the coach will throw the ball in the air, and the player will attempt to spike it over the net.
• After rotating through all the players, the coach can stand 2 feet away from the net and repeat this drill.

What does this volleyball hitting drill teach? Strategy and footwork. With only three steps allowed before a spike, players must gauge the length of each step to ensure proper contact.

Volleyball Blocking Drills

10. Swing Block

Set up:

• Place two attackers on one side of the net facing forward. One player will be positioned on the far right of the net, and the other on the far left.
• Place one blocker on the opposite side of the net, standing in the middle of the court.
• The coach will stand behind the two attackers.

Execution:

• The coach will toss the ball to either the left or the right attacker.
• As the attacker makes a move, the blocker will have to perform a swing block to negate the attack, either moving quickly to the left or right to block the volleyball.

What does this volleyball blocking drill teach? Footwork. A swing block requires the blocker to use specific footwork (usually a 3-step crossover) to help them gain more height and momentum in their block.

Swing block drill

11. Side-To-Side Blocking

Set up:

• Place two attackers on one side of the net.
• One attacker will be positioned on the far right of the net, and the other on the far left. Note: Each attacker will always have a volleyball.
• Place one blocker on the opposite side of the net, directly across from the attacker on the left side of the net. They should be about 1 foot away from the attacking line.

Execution:

• To start, Attacker 1 will serve the ball.
• The blocker will approach the net, jump up, and successfully make a block.
• Just as the blocker has negated Attacker 1, Attacker 2 will serve the ball.
• The blocker will then laterally shuffle to the other side of the net, jump up, and block the ball.
• Once the player makes three successful blocks in a row, you can assign another player to be the blocker.

What does this volleyball blocking drill teach? Agility. The blocker must move quickly between attackers to successfully block each incoming ball.

Side-to-side blocking drill

12. Shadow Wall Jumps

Set up:

• Place 5 targets side-by-side on a wall using tape.
• Targets can vary in height (between 8 and 10 feet, depending on the height of your players).
• Have your players line up in a single file line.

Execution:

• The first player will move laterally, jumping up to hit each target on the wall (pretending as if they were blocking a ball).
• To successfully “block the ball,” players will have to touch each target on the wall with their fingertips. **Note: Players’ hands should be tilted so their thumbs are facing upwards toward the ceiling.
• To make this drill more challenging, set a time limit. For example, a player will only have 15 seconds to move laterally and “block the ball” at each of the 5 tape targets.

What does this volleyball blocking drill teach? Height. Without using a ball, players will have to focus on jumping high enough to reach the tape targets.

Volleyball Agility & Conditioning Drills

13. Box Jumps

Have your players stand about one foot away from a foam box. As athletes jump up, they will need to bend their knees and swing their arms behind them to land in the middle of the box.

What does this volleyball agility drill teach? Explosiveness. Players will have to explode off their feet to jump up and land in the middle of the box.

14. Lateral Shuffle

Players will place a medium resistance band around their ankles. Players will shuffle 4x to the right and 4x to the left, working against the resistance band to maintain speed and power. Have players run through this drill 12-15 times in a row.

What does this volleyball agility drill teach? Stamina. Players will have to maintain proper speed and position in a lateral shuffle, without overworking their bodies through the numerous reps.

15. Lateral Med Ball Side Slams

Players will pick the medicine ball up off the ground, lift it above their heads, and slam it down to the left side. *Players will repeat this process 12x, alternating slamming it to the left and right side.

What does this volleyball conditioning drill teach? Core strength. Aside from working your legs, arms, glutes, and back muscles, your players’ core strength will be activated throughout this entire drill.

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