Volleyball Setting Drills for Beginners: Hands, Feet, Spin
Setting is the one volleyball skill where you hear immediately that something is wrong: a slap instead of a soft thud. That makes it satisfying to teach — the feedback is instant — and awkward at the same time, because the faults sit in details players cannot see themselves.
The shape first: hands, contact, push
Before you start on drills, the shape has to be there. Three checkpoints you look at with every beginner:
- The hands. Thumbs and index fingers form a triangle, the hands sit above the forehead — not in front of it, not on top of the head — with relaxed, slightly bent fingers.
- The contact. The ball touches all ten fingers and not the palms. The thumbs point at each other, not forwards; thumbs pointing forwards produce injuries and a slap.
- The push. The movement comes from legs, trunk and arms together, in one extension. The hands finish extended towards the target.
Let a beginner feel those three points without a ball first, then with a ball caught above the head, and only then playing. That costs ten minutes and saves weeks. The full technical description is in overhand setting.
Five drills in order
1. Catching above the head (5 min). The player tosses the ball to themselves and catches it in the setting shape above the forehead, hands already in the triangle. Twenty times. It sounds too easy, but it locks in the hand position with nothing able to go wrong.
2. Setting at the wall (6 min). Three meters from the wall, all sets above a marking at four meters. A set of fifteen. Instant feedback: crooked hands give a crooked rebound. More on this in wall drills.
3. Setting in pairs with a self-set (8 min). A sets to themselves, then to B; B sets to themselves, then to A. The self-set buys time to get under the ball and is the most important step between the wall and real play.
4. Triangle of three (10 min). Three players in a four-meter triangle; every set goes to the next player clockwise, and the player then follows their own ball to the spot they set to. Now the set has to be aimed and there is running involved. This is the first format where direction genuinely counts.
5. Setting to a target (10 min). Coach tosses from position 6, the player sets from position 3 to a mat at position 4. Fifteen balls, count how many land on the mat. The bridge to real play; everything after this is about height and width.
The four classic faults
| Fault | What you see or hear | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| Hands too low | Ball played in front of the chest, a slap instead of a thud | Have the player catch ten balls above the forehead; put a hand on the crown of their head as a reference point if needed |
| Thumbs forward | Ball spins, sore thumbs, short sets | Point the thumbs at each other; have them form the triangle and look at the target through it |
| Feet stuck | Reaching for the ball, ball ends up behind the head | Require one step before every contact, even when the ball comes straight at them |
| Arms only | Short, powerless sets, no extension in the legs | Have them play from bent knees and finish the set up on their toes |
The spinning ball: why it happens and what to do
Almost every beginner sets a spinning ball, and that is not a question of strength but of symmetry. The ball spins because one hand makes contact earlier or harder than the other — usually because the player stands slightly off-line under the ball and corrects with their strong hand. Two corrections help:
- Point the feet at the target. A player standing at an angle has to steer with their hands. Squaring the shoulders to the destination solves half of all spinning balls.
- Get them under the ball instead of in front of it. The ball has to be contacted above the forehead, not ahead of it; a ball played in front of the body always picks up rotation.
What does not help is "play a bit calmer" or "use your fingers more". Spin is a positioning problem, not an intention problem, and it disappears the moment the feet are right.
When to move to the setter position
As soon as a player can put fifteen balls in a row on a mat off a calm toss, they are ready for the real position: from position 2 or 3, with a hitter running at the ball. From that moment it stops being about the hands and starts being about height, width and timing — a completely different chapter, which begins in setter and hitter timing. For young players there is one more rule: let everyone learn to set in the first years, including those who will never be setters — in a rally the second contact ends up with practically every position sooner or later. The progression by age is in youth volleyball by age group.
Build up in small doses. Overhand play is heavy on unaccustomed fingers. Ten to fifteen minutes per session is enough for beginners; anyone who keeps going for half an hour comes back next week with sore fingers, or does not come back at all.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the ball spin when a beginner sets?
Because one hand makes contact earlier or harder than the other, usually because the player is standing at an angle or too far in front of the ball. Correct the foot position towards the target and get them underneath it; the spin then disappears on its own.
At what age can children learn to set overhand?
From around eight with a light ball, provided you start small: catching above the head, then short sets. Finger strength is limited at that age, so keep the sets short and the ball soft.
How do I prevent double-contact calls with beginners?
By training the shape, not by whistling more leniently. A ball contacted by all ten fingers at once above the forehead comes out clean; when in doubt it is nearly always a hand position that is too low or too asymmetric.
