Two volleyball teams on one court: how to keep practice useful

Two volleyball teams on one court is something almost every club deals with: there are more teams than gym hours. It does not have to turn into half a practice. With a fixed split of the court, clear tasks for each coach and a plan per team, both groups get a full evening.

How do you split one court between two teams?

Start with the space, not with the drills. You can share a volleyball court in three ways, and which works best depends on the number of players and on what each team wants to train that evening.

• Lengthwise. Each team gets half the width, over the full length and with the net in the middle. That way everyone has a net for serve and pass, attacking down one side and games on a narrow court such as 2 vs 2 or 3 vs 3.
• Net and back court. One team works at the net (setting, attacking, blocking), the other at the back or along the side on passing, defence or serving against the wall. Halfway through you switch.
• The whole court in turns. Each team gets a block of fifteen to twenty minutes on the full court, while the other team works next to it on technique or conditioning. This fits when one team needs the whole court, for example for a lineup or a system.

If the difference in level is large, a lengthwise split usually works best: each team keeps its own pace, and you do not have to make anyone wait for a drill that is too easy or too hard for the other team.

Together or apart: how do you build the evening?

Two teams on one court only feels like a full practice if you deliberately alternate between together and apart. A structure that works for many groups, for a 90-minute practice:

1. Warm up together (15 minutes). One coach leads the warm-up for both teams. That saves explaining and the whole gym gets going at once.
2. Apart on your own half (40 minutes). Each team works on its own theme, with its own coach.
3. Switch places (20 minutes). Whoever was at the net goes to the back and vice versa, or you swap halves if they are not the same.
4. Finish together (15 minutes). A game with both teams: mixed teams, or team against team with a rule that narrows the gap. Ideas are in game formats for volleyball practice.

Which drills work when the court is crowded? Choose formats in which everyone is busy at the same time: stations, rotation drills and small games side by side. Five worked-out formats for groups of 16 to 24 players are in volleyball drills for large groups.

Two coaches on one court: who does what?

Most evenings with two teams do not get stuck on the drills, but on the agreements. Take five minutes before practice to go over these four points:

• Who leads the shared parts? One voice for the warm-up and the final game. Switch that every week or every month.
• One signal for switching. Agree who blows the whistle and what it means, so one group is not standing in the middle of the other group's rally.
• Equipment. Divide the balls and cones beforehand, so nobody has to borrow from the neighbours halfway through.
• Who tracks what? Each coach tracks attendance for their own team, even if you play mixed for the last twenty minutes.

How does the club put two teams in one hall block?

Whoever makes the hall schedule at a club (an admin or a board member) does that in Koach in the club dashboard under Planning > Halls. Per hall and per day you see the courts and which teams practise there. In a block you choose one or more club teams under Teams, or you type the name of a team that is not in Koach. The app says it right there: Pick a club team or type a name. Several teams on one court is fine. One block holds at most 12 teams.

Once the board publishes the schedule with Publish schedule, the coach of each linked team gets a card on their dashboard: Your hall slot for ... is set, with the button Schedule as recurring training. The schedule itself never creates practices; each coach decides whether to take over the times. A team that is in the schedule only as a typed name gets no card. How to share hall time fairly is in making a practice schedule for your club, and how the card sets up a whole series of practices in scheduling recurring practices. The halls are part of the Club plan. Club has no free trial; what it costs is on the pricing page, and what it means for your club on the page for clubs.

Does each team get its own practice plan?

Yes. Even when two teams share the same court, each team in Koach has its own practice with its own plan, its own attendance and its own report. That keeps attendance per team accurate. If you do want to use the same structure, one coach saves their plan via More > Save as template. If your team belongs to a club, that template is Visible to all club trainers, and the other coach fetches it via Copy plan under Club templates. After that each coach adapts it to their own group; see copying a volleyball practice plan.

If you play the last part mixed and want a player from the other team to appear in your own practice, add them with Add guest player. The search field searches the whole club. A guest player does not count towards your team's attendance. More about building an evening is in running a volleyball practice.

Frequently asked questions

Further reading

Volleyball Drills for Large Groups: One Court, No Queues Club practice schedule: sharing court time fairly between teams Copy a volleyball practice plan from an earlier session or team

Browse 200 volleyball drills with animations Download a complete practice plan of 8 to 28 weeks