Movement pattern with ball

A warm-up that brings the ball in right away: jogging while setting the ball to yourself overhand, out to the net and back again. The heart rate goes up and the fingers are warm before the first real drill starts, without a single player standing in a line.

3 players 6 phases ± 8 min 1 ball per player, half a court From U13 upwards

Phase 1 of 6Three players with a ball on the end line

Players each with their own ball 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

Cardio with ball feel: jog, set on the move and back to the start as a complete loop.

Getting under the ball without coming to a stop: setting while the feet keep moving.
Fingers and wrists up to temperature before anyone plays hard.
Keeping your eyes past the ball, so players keep space between one another.

Coaching points

Set straight up, not forward.

A ball that is set forward leaves the player chasing it and turns the set into a shove. Straight up forces footwork, and that is what this is about.

Standing still under the ball for a beat is fine, running out from under it is not.

The player has to learn to wait until the ball is above the forehead. Play it too early and you play with straight arms and lose all control over the direction.

Hands in a triangle, thumbs toward your forehead.

This is the moment to correct the hand shape. Once the session is properly under way nobody looks at it any more, and by then the habit is already set.

Look where you are going, not only at the ball.

In a match the ball is never the only thing you have to see. A running pattern with a ball is the cheapest place there is to make players keep an eye on their surroundings.

Variations

Easier: Let the ball bounce once between two sets. Or jog holding the ball and set three times at every line only.
Harder: Alternate overhand and forearm per lane. Or make a half turn on the coach's signal and play on.
With twelve players: Six pairs with one ball: jog side by side and take turns setting, so you get by with half the balls.
As a game: From end line to end line without dropping the ball. If it drops, that player starts again at the last line they crossed.

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: more ball contacts per player · learning the overhead pass without sore fingers · warm-up drills for volleyball