Defensive posture (base & read)

Defense starts with standing still. On one signal the group shifts from base to read and freezes the moment the coach contacts the ball — only after that does anybody move. Two balls per round, so the recovery back to base is just as much part of the drill as the dig itself.

3 players 8 phases ± 12 min 6 balls, half court From U15 upwards

Phase 1 of 8Base position: weight forward, hands low

The back court (1 = zone 5, 2 = zone 6, 3 = zone 1) Coach 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

Move from base to read position on visual cues, freeze on contact, make digs and recover to base.

The difference between base and read: where you stand before the set, and where you stand just before the swing.
Standing still on contact, so you can still go every direction instead of one.
Every dig high to the same spot in the middle, followed immediately by the recovery to base.

Coaching points

Be standing still at the moment the ball is contacted.

Anyone still taking a step at that moment can no longer adjust: your weight is already on one leg. Half a second of standing still costs you nothing and buys you two directions.

From base to read in two steps, not in a sprint.

Read is a position, not an action. Players who run at it settle too late and end up standing in the wrong place anyway.

Hands low and loose, arms not joined yet.

You only build the platform once you know where the ball is going. Close your arms early and you lose reach upward and sideways, and those are exactly the balls you can still save.

Play the dig higher than you think you need to.

Height is the only way to give the player in the middle time. A low dig forces him into an emergency set, even when the ball lands neatly in the right spot.

Variations

Easier: The coach throws instead of hitting and calls out the direction. The signal for read comes well in advance, so players first get a calm feel for the two positions.
Harder: The signal for read only comes during the toss, and the coach fakes one way and hits the other.
With six players: Two groups of three: one defends, the other stands behind the coach and feeds the balls. Swap every two minutes.
As a game: Ten balls per group of three. One point for every dig the player in the middle can catch without taking a step. Under seven points you run another round.

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: the base posture of a defender · base and read positions within a defensive system · reading the hitter