Volleyball requires hand-eye coordination, well-timed leaping ability and sharply-honed offensive and defensive skills. Five key areas that can be improved through drills are serving, passing, hitting, digging and blocking. Drills can involve as few as one player to as many as two whole teams of six.
Hitting
Hitting drills can range from simple to complex. For starters, players must learn how to jump to attack the ball. Early drills encompass standing a few feet from the net and learning to jump without interfering with it.
Players should also learn how to slap the ball, which is different from contact in other sports. Cupping or palming the ball with the hands is illegal in volleyball. Players should use drills that make them comfortable with guiding the ball with power and accuracy. Hitting drills can be practiced with as few as one player and a wall.
Passing
Passing drills often involve a coach who can use his experience to accurately dig balls, thus allowing players to practice their passing in match-like conditions. Much like with hitting, players cannot palm the ball when passing, but can use two hands to pass a ball. Simple passing drills can be achieved with two people, while more complex ones involve a small group hitting the ball at various heights, speeds and angles and attempting to keep the ball aloft for as long as possible
Serving
Serving is how every point begins and players who can showcase pinpoint control are more valuable to their teams. There are different ways to serve and thus many different serving drills, but all have one thing in common--emphasizing accuracy. Since serving is usually a low-impact activity, many coaches make their drills more competitive, similar to relay races or with consequences--usually running laps--for the losing side.
Digging
Being able to dig a ball well is essential for players who want to stay on the court throughout a rotation. Back-row defense is an underrated but important part of volleyball. Digging drills emphasize a player's reaction time, footwork and determination. They often take place with a full six-on-six court schematic in which one team runs its offense and the other has six defenders on the court. All are committed to seeing the ball come over the net, move laterally or front to back to get in proper position, and angle their bodies to make a successful forearm dig of the attack.
Blocking
Neither blocking nor blocking drills are for the faint of heart. Blockers are the first line of defense for attacks that come at a high-rate of speed in close proximity. Blocking drills start with footwork and timing. Getting in the proper place and reading the offense's intentions are critical to success. Blocking drills also emphasize teamwork, as the more formidable blocks come when two or three players are involved, limiting an offensive player's court vision and options for angles of attack.
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