Everyone needs to start somewhere with volleyball. Even pros at the top of their craft who attack flying through the air, such as beach volleyball stars Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh, Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, had to master elemental drills and games to learn the sport. You too can start to get a feel for volleyball with games aimed at beginners.
For Young Players
A good volleyball game for beginners can be as simple as batting around a balloon, says Jerry Hulla, technical director of the Columbia Volleyball Club in Maryland. For toddlers, you can tie a string between two chairs, give the child a balloon and let him bat it around and knock it over the string. “It’s just about developing the physical skill set, just getting the child to touch it,” he says. Children under age 12 can play with a Volley Lite ball -- as the name suggests, it is lighter at 7.5 ounces versus about 9.5 ounces for a regulation ball. For total beginners, “you can make the net lower, make the court smaller, make the ball lighter -- make it as easy as possible,” Hulla says.
Wall Drills
You need at least four players for most volleyball games, whether indoor or outdoor. Thus volleyball is tougher to practice than basketball and soccer, where you can practice shooting drills, for example, on your own, Hulla notes. You can, however, pass the volleyball to yourself, and you can pass or set against a wall even without a partner, Hulla adds.
Doubles
If you have a second person, you can set up a little court in the backyard and play doubles, passing to yourself so you can hit the ball back over the net. Once you have six players, you can play a game of Two versus Four, as recommended by the leading coaches who contributed to the drill book, “Volleyball Skills and Drills.” Set two players on one side of the court and four on the other, with yourself as coach on the doubles side of the net with a cart of balls. You put the ball in play to the doubles team, who cooperatively rally against the four-player team, who can only attack from the back row. The doubles team should be tired after six points, but they will have gained a grasp of the principles of volleyball.
Serve Receive Full Rotation
To introduce beginners to a game-like situation, try the drill Serve Receive Full Rotation, also recommended in “Volleyball Skills and Drills.” You’ll need 12 players -- six on each side as you would for regulation indoor volleyball. Have the serving team stay in the same rotation for 10 serves, and then let the other side serve. Ask the players receiving the serve to focus on mastering the three basic touches: serve receive, setting and hitting.
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