Closing the double block

Two blockers, one block. It all comes down to the last piece: the middle has to arrive at the moment the pin is already set, not earlier and not later. A twenty-centimeter gap between two pairs of hands is a bigger target for a hitter than the entire sideline.

2 players 6 phases ± 15 min Half court with a net, no balls From U15 upwards

Phase 1 of 6Pin blocker ready at position 2, middle in the center

The two blockers: the pin stays in zone 2, the middle closes in 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

The pin blocker is at 2; the middle blocker closes in airtight without a gap and jumps with him.

The pin choosing his spot and holding it, so the middle knows where to go.
Closing without a gap: shoulder against shoulder and the inside hands against each other.
Taking off together while one is standing still and the other has only just arrived.

Coaching points

The pin sets the spot, the middle adjusts to him.

If both of them move, the gap opens up all over again. The outside blocker locks in the outside edge and does not shift after that.

Inside hands against each other, not just the shoulders.

Two players can stand shoulder to shoulder and still be thirty centimeters apart above the net. The hitter looks at the hands, not at the shoulders.

The middle arrives with his feet side by side, not still running.

A player who takes off while still running drifts on and collides with the pin above the net. That costs both of them their height, and it produces the ankle injuries you are dealing with all season.

Turn the pin's outside hand inward.

A flat outside hand sends the ball out along the sideline: a free point for the hitter. With the palm turned slightly inward, that same ball drops in.

Variations

Easier: Without the jump: the middle moves across and comes up on his toes next to the pin with their hands touching. You check the distance from close up.
Harder: Only call whether the block closes in zone 2 or in zone 4 after the middle has taken his first step.
With six players: Three pairs taking turns, or two pairs on either side of the net closing at the same time and judging each other's gap.
As a game: Eight closes per pair. You stand on the other side with a ball and try to throw it through the gap; every ball that gets through costs the pair a point.

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: organizing your block against a strong hitter · the role of the middle blocker in six moments · what the front-row player who is not blocking does