Developing individual volleyball skills like digging, serving and spiking is essential to building a quality player, but developing an overall team concept is essential to making sure your players come together as one unit. Team building helps players learn how to take advantage of each others’ strengths and overcome each player’s weaknesses. Team-building drills help simulate game situations to assist players in learning how to react as a team rather than as individuals.
Positions Drill
In this drill, each player is assigned a specific position or duty which she must carry out for the entire point. This teaches players to communicate effectively to help each other do their assigned jobs. Assign one player as a server, one as a passer, another as a setter and two each as blockers and hitters. Have one side serve the ball for an entire game. Assign the same positions to the other team, only make the server another setter. Only hitters are allowed to hit the ball over the net. Use rally scoring to keep track of points. The first team to 10 points wins. Then have teams switch sides and assign a server to the new serving team. Make sure players communicate with each other, and that only the players assigned to the positions are performing their assigned skills — if a player who is not a hitter hits, the other team gets a point, and so forth.
Emergency Save Drill
This drill teaches players to communicate with each other and work as a team to save a ball from touching their side of the court and get it back over the net quickly. Have two players stand facing and holding the net. Stand on a box and toss a ball over the net to one side of the court or the other. Have the player nearer to the ball call for it, then go after it to make a dig. The other player then calls “set,” and sets the ball for the digging player, who must recover from the dig quickly and hit the ball over the net. If players fail to get the ball over the net, repeat the drill until they do. Rotate all players through the drill and mix up the pairings to help players learn how to communicate with multiple teammates.
Greed Drill
Sometimes a competitive environment in practice can bring players together and build team unity. The greed drill is designed to promote competitive play and get players excited about winning points. Divide your team in half and use 12 volleyballs. Each side serves two balls in a row. The winner of each rally gets to keep the ball. After all 12 balls have been served and played out, the team with the most balls wins.
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