Coach on the box

You defend a ball that comes down from above differently than a ball hit from floor level. That is why the coach is standing on a box here. One defender, one target in the middle, two balls per round: very little organization, plenty of repetition of exactly that one contact.

2 players 7 phases ± 12 min 6 balls, a sturdy box or plyo box, half court From U15 upwards, as long as the coach controls how hard the balls come

Phase 1 of 7Coach on the box with the ball, defender in base, target in the middle

1 = the defender, S = the target in the middle 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

From a box the coach hits hard at zone 6; the defender reads the arm, digs high to the middle and recovers for the next ball.

Handling a ball that comes from above the net instead of from eye level.
Setting the platform early and then changing nothing about it.
Digs that go up rather than forward, to the same target every time.

Coaching points

Feet still at the moment of the swing, even when you think you know where the ball is going.

From a box the ball comes in at a steeper angle than players are used to. Anyone already moving contacts it with a tilted platform and plays it out of the court.

Absorb the ball, do not go and get it.

Against a hard-driven ball you do not have to add anything. Every swing of the arms doubles the error in direction; holding still and setting the angle is enough.

The dig goes five meters into the air.

Height buys time for the player who takes the second ball. A flat dig to the middle is technically impressive and tactically useless.

Match how hard you hit to what this player can handle.

Too hard is not training but self-defense: players squeeze their eyes shut and turn away, and that behavior sticks. Hit hard enough that the ball is only just reached, and step it up as soon as that works.

Variations

Easier: The coach stands on the floor and throws the ball down hard overhand. That keeps the trajectory steep without the speed being intimidating.
Harder: Without announcing it, the coach alternates between hitting at the body, into the corner and short behind the three-meter line.
With six players: Three defenders side by side with one target; only the player whose zone the ball comes into plays it. The rest stay low.
As a game: Ten balls per player. One point for every dig the target can catch without moving; the best two players play a final of five balls.

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: what a defender is watching · posture and platform in defense · more defensive drills