Core plank with rotation

A side plank with a rotation out of it: support on one arm, open the trunk and close it again, then switch. What you train here shows up on the court as a player who does not topple over after a dig and who can put the hitting arm on a stable trunk. Keep the holds short, and left and right equally long.

5 players 5 phases ± 8 min No equipment, mats if the floor is cold From U17 upwards; younger players hold shorter

Phase 1 of 5Side plank on the right arm

Players in a row 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

Side plank; from a one-arm support, open the trunk and reach, then switch to the other side.

Tension down the side of the trunk: the chain that keeps you stable on a landing on one leg.
Rotating from the chest while the hip stays up.
Comparing left and right, so a difference becomes visible before it turns into complaints.

Coaching points

Hip high, ankle-hip-shoulder in one line.

The moment the hip drops, the player is hanging in the shoulder joint instead of the muscles doing the work. Then it has become a position, not an exercise.

Rotate from the chest and leave the hip where it is.

If the whole player rolls along with it, the load disappears from the side. The rotation has to happen high in the body, exactly the way it does on a swing.

Twenty good seconds are worth more than a minute of sagging.

From the moment the form collapses, the player is training something other than what you intended. Stop at loss of form, not at a time on the clock.

Watch the difference between left and right.

A player who clearly gives way sooner on one side has an asymmetry. You will see it come back later in a crooked landing or in back complaints, and you have already spotted it now.

Variations

Easier: Support on the knee instead of the foot, and only the arm to the ceiling without the full rotation.
Harder: Top foot lifted off the bottom one, or hold for three counts at the end of every rotation.
With twelve players: Two rows facing each other: one row holds, the other counts out loud and watches the hip height. Then switch.
As a game: In pairs: who holds a correct line the longest. The partner is the referee and stops the clock at the first dropping hip, not at the first groan.

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 2 players · 6 phases Pair warm-up Warm-up · Passing

Read on in the knowledge base: what does and does not work in strength training · posture and diving technique in defense · building conditioning and jumping power