Volleyball drills · Defense · Match play

Neville's pepper (3v3)

Three against three, with the coach starting every rally with a free ball and both sides playing three contacts. With this few players everyone has to do everything: pass, set, hit and then defend again right away. That is exactly why this drill exposes who stands there watching after his own action.

6 players 9 phases ± 25 min 6 balls, full court with a net From U17 upwards

Phase 1 of 9Coach ready with a free ball; both teams in base

The team that starts (S = whoever takes the second ball) The other side; there too one player takes the second ball each time Coach 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

The coach puts a free ball in; the working team passes, sets and attacks, the other side defends, builds and hits back.

Attacking and defending immediately afterwards, with no pause to recover.
Covering the whole court with three players: there are no fixed roles.
Rallies of three contacts on both sides, the way it is in a match.

Coaching points

Land from your attack and turn to the ball immediately.

In a group of three the hitter is also the defender. Almost every rally lost here is lost because somebody is still watching his own swing.

Call who takes the second ball before the first ball is contacted.

There is no fixed setter. Without a call you get two players under the second ball, or none at all — and that costs more rallies than the attack itself.

Play the dig to the middle of the court, not toward the net.

In 3v3 there is nobody at the net to pick up a flat dig. With these numbers a ball that ends up in the net is always lost.

Choose placement over power.

On a court with three defenders the space is in the corners and deep, not in the speed. On top of that the drill grinds to a halt if every rally is over after one hard swing.

Variations

Easier: The coach tosses the free ball in high and soft, and both teams may let the ball bounce once before they play it. Three contacts stay mandatory.
Harder: The coach throws the free ball in sharply and sometimes two in quick succession, so the team has to switch again right after the counter-attack.
With six players: Play 4v4 with a fixed setter on each side, or keep it 3v3 and have a third group of three come in for the losing team after every rally.
As a game: Rally point to ten. Every rally that reaches three contacts on both sides counts double; the losing group of three swaps with the group that is waiting.

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: switching from defense to attack · game-realistic drills · dividing up the court in a defensive system