Volleyball drills · Match play · Teamwork · Attack

King's game over three zones

Queen of the court with three zones: there is a queen's side, a challengers' side and a waiting spot along the sideline. Whoever wins the rally moves up or stays put, whoever loses gives a player up to the waiting line and gets the substitute back in return. Everybody keeps playing that way, but with a slightly different line-up alongside them every time.

11 players 12 phases ± 30 min 8 balls, full court, marker cones for the waiting spot From U15 upwards, with twelve players or more

Phase 1 of 12King's side against the challengers; the sub waits along the side

The queen's side and the substitute waiting (P = outside hitter, M = middle blocker, D = opposite, S = setter, L = libero) The challengers (P = outside hitter, M = middle blocker, D = opposite, S = 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

King of the court match drill: winners move up, losers rotate out, with one sub waiting each rally.

Playing together with a team whose line-up is slightly different every rally.
Joining in straight away as the substitute, without needing a rally to get going.
Staying on the queen's side, which means winning every rally all over again.

Coaching points

After every rally one player changes, not the whole team.

That is what makes it different from ordinary queen of the court. Because the core stays on, there is still something to build, while the new player has to adapt every single time.

The substitute takes the place of whoever made the last error.

That sounds harsh, but it is the clearest rule there is and it stops the arguing on the sideline. Say it out loud beforehand and it is a game, not a punishment.

Only the queen's side scores.

The challengers are playing for the spot, not for the point. That makes a rally won on the queen's side worth more, and it kills the temptation to coast once you are moving up anyway.

The substitute calls his position before he steps onto the court.

Otherwise you end up with two middles or no setter. One word on the way in saves you the first rally in which nobody knows who takes the second ball.

Variations

Easier: A player only changes after two lost rallies, and the rally starts with a free ball from the coach.
Harder: Two players change at once on a loss. Or: the queen's side has to win two rallies in a row for one point.
With eighteen players: Three teams of six: the queen's side, the challengers and a waiting team that comes on as a whole when the challengers lose.
As a game: Everybody keeps their own score: you only score while you are on the queen's side at that moment. Whoever has the most points after half an hour is the queen of the practice.

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 rules of queen of the court and four variations · scaling drills when levels differ · team-building exercises that actually work