Continuous transition (block-attack)

Block, land, drop back to the attack line and attack yourself right away — and then be ready at the net again immediately. It is an attacking drill with a conditioning element hidden inside it: the quality of the fourth repetition tells you more than the quality of the first.

3 players 6 phases ± 15 min 6 balls, full court with a net From U17 upwards

Phase 1 of 6The opponent is ready at the net with the ball; our player blocks at position 4

Your team (S = setter) Opponent at the net 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, transition back to the attack line and attack right away; repeating, with a conditioning element.

The transition from block to attack: land, turn away and drop back.
Making a full approach from the 3-meter line, even when you are tired.
Being ready for the next block straight after landing.

Coaching points

Land from your block and turn away from the net immediately.

A player who steps straight backwards leaves himself no room to approach. Turning a quarter and then running back saves half a second.

Drop back behind the attack line, not halfway.

An approach of a meter and a half is not an approach. Better to miss one ball because you went back too far than to hit twenty from a standstill.

Look over your shoulder at the setter while you drop back.

Otherwise you only find out what you are getting when the ball is already there. Dropping back is exactly the moment to see the set coming.

Under fatigue the arm swing breaks down first, and only then the approach.

Watch for players who are still running the pattern but start hitting with a straight arm. That is the signal to stop the round; after that you are drilling a faulty movement into them.

Variations

Easier: Without the block: the player touches the net, drops back and attacks. The path stays, the jump disappears.
Harder: Three or four repetitions in a row without a break, with the opponent feeding faster and faster.
With six players: Three players in a carousel: one blocks, one attacks, one rests. After every ball everyone moves one role along.
As a game: Five block-attack combinations per player. A block touch is a point, and so is an attack landing in the court. Highest total wins.

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: from defense to attack · footwork and timing at the block · jumping power and repeated jumps