Diving drill on the mat

One mat, one line, and a coach who puts the ball down somewhere slightly different every time. So the player knows they are going to dive, but not where. That is what separates this from dry falling practice: the last step has to go to the ball, and the mat is only the place where you happen to land.

9 players 9 phases ± 12 min 4 balls, a crash mat, half a court From U13 upwards

Phase 1 of 9Coach with the ball; the mat is the landing zone, the line is ready

1 to 9 = the queue; the player at the front dives, joins the back and the line moves up Coach Equipment 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

Defensive technique: players dive on the mat to save a short ball; the coach varies the placement and the line keeps rotating.

Reading where the ball is placed and only then choosing the direction of the dive.
Popping the ball up with one hand when two arms are no longer going to be in time.
Moving through quickly, so everybody gets a lot of turns in a short time.

Coaching points

The last step goes to the ball, not to the mat.

As soon as the mat becomes the target, players dive at the mat and the ball drops next to it. Say it out loud: you dive at the ball and you happen to land soft.

One hand is allowed, and on a short ball it is usually faster.

Bringing two arms together costs time you do not have on a short ball. An open hand or a fist under the ball is not an emergency measure, it is a technique.

Watch the ball until you have touched it; head up.

Drop your head and you lose the ball from view, and you land chin-first as well. Keeping your eyes on it holds your neck in a safe position.

Anyone who finds it scary starts with a slide from a standing position, without a ball.

The barrier is in letting go, not in the ball. Two or three slides without a ball takes the tension out of it for most youth players.

Variations

Easier: The coach puts the ball in the same spot above the mat every time, and the player starts low already, so there is hardly any fall left.
Harder: The coach varies the distance out to just beyond reach and now and then gives the same player two balls back to back.
With six players: Two shorter lines on either side of the mat and two balls in circulation, so the waiting time halves and the intensity goes up.
As a game: Three minutes; count as a team how many digs come back playable to the coach. Try to beat that number next training.

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: diving and saving the ball with one hand · landing without injuries · more ball contacts per player