Ball around the course

Six stations around the court, two players per station, and one ball that has to make the whole lap without hitting the floor. Nobody is standing in line and nobody drops out — that makes it one of the few drills where twelve players are all doing something useful at the same time.

12 players 9 phases ± 12 min 1 ball, 6 cones to mark the stations, full court From U13 upwards

Phase 1 of 9The team is spread over the course; the ball starts at the first station

Your own team, in pairs spread over six stations Ball

This animation comes straight out of the Koach app. In the app you play it at your own pace and the positions carry your players' real names.

Open in the app

How the drill runs

What you are training

Teamwork drill: the whole team keeps the ball moving around the course over mats and cones without letting it drop.

Playing the ball accurately to the next station over a long distance.
Arriving, making the contact and immediately making room for your partner.
Holding one rhythm as a group, even when the ball is on the far side of the court.

Coaching points

Look where the ball has to go before it reaches you.

The next station is often behind your back. Anyone who only starts looking after the contact plays the ball somewhere out into the court, and the lap is broken.

Play high over the long distances, not hard.

The distances here are bigger than in a normal passing drill. A flat, driven ball arrives too early; height gives the next station the time to get set.

Call the number of the station you are playing to.

With twelve players spread around a court, nobody can keep track of who is standing where. A number works better than a name, because even the players who are rarely there know the numbers.

After your contact you step sideways, not backwards.

Walking backwards costs time and you lose sight of the ball. Step aside and then turn, and you keep both the flow and your view of the lap intact.

Variations

Easier: Set the stations closer together and play everything overhead, without swapping through. Master the distance first, then add the switch.
Harder: Two balls in the lap at the same time, or prescribe a different technique at each station. Another option: the ball may touch the floor once per lap at most.
With eight players: Four stations of two, and therefore bigger distances between the posts. With fewer players the travel time becomes the difficulty all by itself.
As a game: How many complete laps does the group manage in five minutes? Every ball on the floor resets the counter to zero, so the last minute is the tensest.

Volleyball drills

4 players · 6 phases SafeVolley base round Warm-up 3 players · 5 phases Shoulder activation with band Warm-up 2 players · 6 phases Dynamic movement patterns Warm-up 5 players · 5 phases Core plank with rotation Warm-up

Read on in the knowledge base: twenty players on one court with nobody waiting in line · passing drills from technique to pressure · warm-up drills for volleyball