Covering tip balls

The block slides across with the set and jumps on the attack, but instead of the swing a short tip drops in behind the block. So the back-court players have to step forward at exactly the right moment: too early and the hard-driven ball goes past you, too late and the tip is down.

12 players 7 phases ± 20 min 6 balls, full court with net From U17 upwards

Phase 1 of 7The block is ready; the opposing setter has the ball

The defending team (M1 and M2 = the block, P = the third front-row player, D1 and D2 = the corners, L = libero) The opposition (S = their setter) 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 block jumps on the attack while the back players charge forward to pick up short tips.

Choosing the moment you switch from waiting to moving forward.
Filling the zone right behind the block, where most tips land.
Turning the dug tip into a counter-attack.

Coaching points

Only step forward once the hitter's hand opens up.

That is the only reliable signal for a tip. Reacting to the approach or the jump is guessing, and then you set off in the wrong direction half of the time.

The front-row player who is not blocking takes the ball in front of the block.

He is closest to it and the only one with a view of the ball down the side of the block. Back-court players get there late by definition.

Back-court players cover the zone behind the block, not next to it.

A tip almost always drops into the shadow of the block, because that is where the hitter dares to put it down. Stand next to that shadow and you watch the ball land exactly between you and the block.

The dug tip goes high to the middle and gets finished off.

Digging a tip is half the job. As long as the ball does not go back over the net the other team still has the advantage — and that is precisely why they tip.

Variations

Easier: The other team tips every ball and calls the side, so the defense can practice the timing and the direction first.
Harder: The hitter chooses freely between a tip, a hard swing and a ball off the hands of the block, so the cover also has to handle the deflection.
With six players: Drop the attacking team: the coach tips from a box, two players block and four cover. Swap every ten balls.
As a game: Ten build-ups per round. Two points if the dug tip leads to a counter-attack, one point for a dig that goes nowhere, and the hitters score for every ball on the floor.

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: why a hitter tips · the job of the off-blocker · getting block and defense to match up