Passing gauntlet with nine — overhand relay

The ball travels overhead from player to player down the line, and whoever has played it runs back past the queue to the end. So somebody is always on the move, and the drill only keeps running if the line refills itself in time.

9 players 8 phases ± 10 min 1 ball, half a court From U13 upwards

Phase 1 of 8Nine players: five in the gauntlet, four wait at the head

Nine players: five in the car wash line, four waiting at the front 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

Classic passing drill: the ball is set overhand down the gauntlet from player to player; whoever plays it runs to the end of the line.

Setting the ball on overhead over a short distance with a consistent arc.
Moving on after your contact without blocking the line.
Refilling the line: the player waiting steps in as soon as a spot opens up.

Coaching points

Fingers above your forehead, elbows out.

Most youth players set with their hands too low and too close together. Then the ball comes off the thumbs and starts to spin.

Play above the receiver, not at them.

Setting the ball on needs height. A flat ball forces the next player into an emergency play.

Run back around the outside, not through the line.

The ball is still travelling. Anybody cutting straight through brings the whole drill to a stop.

Bend your knees and extend from the ground up.

Setting is a leg movement with guiding hands. Push with your wrists only and you get sore fingers and a short ball.

Variations

Easier: Catch and throw with two hands above the head, and build from there toward one overhead contact per player.
Harder: Alternate overhead and forearm passes, or run two balls down the line at once with three players between them.
With six players: Four in the line and two waiting; the line gets shorter, so every pass gets longer.
As a game: How many times does the ball travel up and down the line without a mistake? The group plays against its own record from last week.

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: setting overhead without sore fingers · every basic technique in one place · more ball contacts per player