Line sprints with ball contact

Sprinting between the lines is an old drill, but this version has a ball in it: at every turning point a controlled pass has to come out. That is also the only reason to run it — a player who is tired and then still has to pass learns something that conditioning on its own never gives you.

1 player 7 phases ± 12 min 2 balls, full court From U15 upwards

Phase 1 of 7Start on the end line; the coach is ready with a ball

The player running the round; the rest wait on the end line 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

Court sprints with changes of direction; a controlled pass after every turning point.

Braking and accelerating again at the line, with a low last step.
Passing accuracy while your breathing is already up.
Keeping the last sprint as fast as the first.

Coaching points

Touch the line with your hand and bend your knees to get down to it.

Bending over with straight legs loads the lower back and teaches a braking technique you never use on the court. Bending the knees is how you actually stop.

The pass counts, not the time.

As soon as only the clock counts, players throw the ball back and keep running. Judge the pass first: a sloppy pass makes the round invalid.

Keep the work-to-rest ratio at roughly 1 to 3.

A fifteen-second round asks for about forty-five seconds of rest. Cut that short and you are training endurance instead of sprint speed — and speed is what you want here.

End the set as soon as the times start climbing.

Six to eight rounds is enough for most youth teams. Pushing on with tired legs mainly produces worse movement patterns and a higher injury risk.

Variations

Easier: Only to the three-meter line and back, with a thrown ball instead of a hit ball. Two rounds, then rest.
Harder: Add a lunge or a dive at the last turning point, or only feed the ball once the player has already turned.
With twelve players: Three lines side by side across the width of the court, with a feeder per line. Everybody runs in turn, so the rest takes care of itself.
As a game: Two lines, relay. The time only counts if every pass reached the feeder: one miss and the round is void.

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: conditioning for volleyball players · what works for each age group · the platform every rally starts with