Block transition

The block is the first move of the attack, not the last move of the defense. This drill is about the two seconds after landing: opening up, getting off the net, and being back in time for the approach. A blocker who stands there watching his setter take the ball never gets to his own swing.

2 players 9 phases ± 20 min 6 balls, a box or high bench, half court with a net From U17 upwards

Phase 1 of 9Blocker at the net, coach with the ball on the box, setter ready

Your own team (S = setter, the other player is the blocker) Coach Equipment 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

Block-to-attack: block, land, turn open, sprint back, attack the set and back to base.

Landing and opening up immediately instead of tracking the ball first.
Getting far enough off the net to run a real approach.
Playing on after a block touch: the rally does not end at the block.

Coaching points

Open up toward the side the ball is going, and start that turn in the air.

If you wait until you are standing still to turn, you lose a full second. Opening up is part of the landing, not something that comes after it.

Run all the way behind the attack line before you turn around.

An approach of a meter and a half does not produce a jump. Most youth players turn around too early because they are afraid of missing the set.

A block touch does not count toward the three contacts.

So after the block your team still has three contacts. Players who do not know that panic and send the second ball straight back over the net.

The setter sets half a meter farther off the net than usual.

After a block the hitter comes in from behind. He runs straight past a set that is tight to the net; a set pulled slightly inside he can still reach.

Variations

Easier: The coach throws the ball into the block instead of hitting it, so the rebound goes up predictably and the transition can start calmly.
Harder: The coach decides for himself whether to hit into the block or past it. On a ball that goes by, a defender has to dig it up and the transition simply continues.
With six players: Blocker, setter and one defender in the back court, plus three in line. After every ball everyone rotates one spot.
As a game: A finished transition attack is one point, a block that puts the ball straight down is two. Six balls per round; under four points you run another round.

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: switching from defense to attack · whether a block touch counts toward the three contacts · the three-step rhythm of the approach