Line tag

A tag game with one rule that makes it volleyball: you may only run along the lines on the floor. That means nobody can escape in a wide arc and everybody has to brake short and change direction. Whoever gets tagged does five sit-ups and rejoins straight away.

6 players 6 phases ± 10 min No equipment, every line in the gym From U11 upwards

Phase 1 of 6Two taggers on the center line, four runners on the attack lines

Runners Taggers 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

Tag game in which everyone may only move along the court lines; tagged = a task, then back in as a playful loop.

Braking and changing direction on a narrow lane, the movement that happens most often on the court.
Head up: seeing where the tagger is and where your teammates are running.
Heart rate up without it feeling like conditioning work.

Coaching points

Brake on two feet before you change direction.

Turning on one leg while you still carry speed is exactly the moment ankles roll over. Braking on two feet costs half a beat and saves weeks of recovery.

Crossing is allowed, colliding is not: look ahead.

Running on lines means players run into each other. A player who learns to swerve without stopping does the same thing on the court on a ball between two players.

Keep the task after a tag short.

Five sit-ups and straight back in. A player who sits out for two minutes cools down, and that is the opposite of what a warm-up is supposed to do.

Swap the taggers every two minutes.

Taggers run twice as much as everybody else. Without a swap they are already tired after the warm-up and the rest have not done enough.

Variations

Easier: Open up more lines, for instance the lines of the court next to yours as well, or use one tagger fewer.
Harder: Move along the lines sideways only. Or add a third tagger, so the runners no longer have a fixed escape route.
With twelve players: Three taggers and the whole gym including the second court, otherwise the lines get too crowded.
As a game: Rounds of two minutes. The pair of taggers with the most tags wins, and everyone has been a tagger once before the score counts.

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: volleyball games for children aged 8 to 11 · what works for each age group · how to build your first youth practice