Youth volleyball training
Pepper over the Net
When choosing fun youth volleyball drills, look for drills that combine a number of skills in a fast-paced way, such that players will get caught up in the drill and lose sight of the fact that they’re improving their skills along the way. This drill, which is a variation on the pepper drill, allows players to work on a variety of skills, the most important of which being ball control.
For this drill divide your team into partners that should stand approximately 10-20 feet apart on either side of the net. Each pair gets one ball. The drill begins with player 1 giving a hard down ball towards player 2. Player 2 is to dig the ball up high, then tomahawk it using overhead contact, then hit the ball with just their left fist, then just their right fist, then set the ball up to themselves, then finally hit a down ball over the net for their partner to repeat the series of hits.
Start this drill off slowly then gradually increase the speed as players become more familiar with the order of the skills and the amount of power necessary to continue to hit the ball to themselves.
Back Row Elimination
The next fun youth volleyball drill that can be used to break up your practice routine is a game-play type drill where players are eliminated one by one. This drill requires 4 players on either side of the net: 3 back row players and 1 setter. The coach or another player stands off to the side of the net and initiates the drill with a down or free ball.
The back row player who receives the down or free ball passes it to the setter, who sets the ball for a back row attack. The back row player who receives the set must hit it to the team on the other side, or else they are eliminated from the game. If the ball successfully makes it over to the back row of the other side of the net, the player who receives it may either pass it to the setter or else try to hit it over the net to the opposing team’s back row, risking elimination from the game.
Play continues in this manner until only 1 back row player remains on either side of the net. These 2 players are the winners and become the new setters for the next round of the game.
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