Dig & chase

Medium-paced balls well wide of the defender, alternating left and right. The only way to get there is to keep moving through the ball instead of braking in front of it. A simple drill, but it exposes without mercy who gives up on the second step in a match.

1 player 7 phases ± 12 min 6 balls, half court From U15 upwards

Phase 1 of 7Defender in the middle, coach with the ball at the net

1 = the defender working from side to side 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

Dig & chase: medium-pace balls well beside the defender; keep moving through the ball and play it up, both sides.

Playing the ball while you are still moving, instead of coming to a stop first.
Making the last step big and low, so you end up under the ball and not beside it.
Recovering to the middle right away, facing the ball.

Coaching points

Keep moving until the ball has left your platform.

Braking costs you half a meter, and that is usually exactly the distance you were short. A ball you contact on the move comes up higher than a ball you just fail to reach standing still.

Last step big, hips low.

The last step decides whether you end up under the ball or next to it. Little choppy steps at the end look tidy, but they no longer get your body to the right place.

The ball goes up, not forward.

While you are moving, the tendency is to send the ball along in the direction you are running. Anything that travels forward ends up out of the court or in the net in a match.

Recover sideways to the middle, not with your back turned.

A player who turns around to run back loses sight of the ball for a second. That is exactly the second in which the next one is on its way.

Variations

Easier: The coach throws the ball higher and within two steps, so the player can still come to a stop before contact.
Harder: The balls come lower and further away, and the coach plays two balls in quick succession to the same side.
With six players: Three defenders side by side; the coach calls a name at the moment of contact, and only that player goes. The other two stay low.
As a game: Ten balls per player; count how many come back playable to the coach. Anyone who gets past seven feeds balls the next 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: defensive drills with plenty of movement · position and posture in defense · training speed and recovery