Okay, so yesterday was a blast! We tried out some new volleyball drills, and the team loved them. I’ve been trying to find ways to make practice more fun and engaging, and I think I finally cracked it.
First, I gathered the team and explained that we were going to focus on games that build skills, instead of just repetitive drills. Everyone seemed pretty stoked about that!
Pepper with a Twist
- We started with a classic pepper drill, but I added a twist.
- Instead of just passing, setting, and hitting, I had them call out a number before each contact.
- The numbers corresponded to different types of shots – like “1” for a tip, “2” for a hard-driven spike, and “3” for a roll shot.
- This forced them to think quickly and control their shots, and it definitely made things more interesting. You should have seen, their faces change every seconds!
Target Practice
- Next up, we worked on serving accuracy with a target game.
- I set up some cones in different zones on the court.
- They got points for hitting the targets, with bonus points for hitting the harder-to-reach zones.
- It got pretty competitive! Everyone was trying to outdo each other. Seems good and it improved their serving consistency.
Scramble Ball
- We ended practice with a game I call “Scramble Ball.”
- I just tossed a ball high in the air, and yelled out a specific skill, like “bump,” “set,” or “block.”
- Players had to react quickly and get into position to execute that skill.
- It’s chaotic, it’s silly, but it really works on reaction time and court awareness. They laughed a lot during this game!
Overall, It’s a really successful practice. Players not only improved their volleyball skills but also boosted team spirit. I think I’ll keep using these fun games in our future practices. And I strongly recommend you guys have a try.
