Short court 2v2

Short court is played on the strip between the two attack lines: small, close to the net and with only two players a side. Because there is barely any depth, the hard swing disappears and what is left is the game itself — placement, coverage and filling in for each other. Winners stay on, losers make way for the next pair.

4 players 7 phases ± 20 min 4 balls, shortened court between the attack lines, marker cones for the short line From U13 upwards, also works as a warm-up for seniors

Phase 1 of 7Shortened court between the attack lines; A starts the rally from behind the short line

Pair A Pair B 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

Short court: 2v2 on a shortened court, monarch tournament; lots of ball contacts and teamwork.

Covering the whole court with two players: who takes the front, who takes the back.
Placing the ball instead of swinging at it, because the court is shallow.
Playing every ball three times with only two players, so you always move after your contact.

Coaching points

After your contact, move straight into the open space.

With two players a gap opens up after every contact. Stand there admiring where your ball went and you leave open exactly the spot the opponents are going to play into.

The rally starts behind the short line, not from the end line.

That is the whole trick of short court: the serve distance is short enough that the ball almost always goes in, so you play real rallies instead of trading serves.

Play the ball back over the net, not through it.

On a court this size a hard-driven ball is nearly always out. Players who work that out start using the tip and the placed ball — weapons that work on the full court too.

Winners stay on, challengers come in.

The drill runs itself as long as this rule is fixed. Discuss who comes in after every rally and half your time is gone.

Variations

Easier: The ball may bounce once before you play it, and you may play it twice a side instead of three times.
Harder: Ban sending the ball over in two contacts: it always has to be played three times. Or make the court another meter shorter.
With sixteen players: Four shortened courts side by side across the width of the gym; two against two on each court. Winners move up a court toward the king's court.
As a game: Monarch of the court: rallies to five, winners stay on and count their wins. Whoever has taken the most rounds after twenty minutes is king.

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: drills for two players · tips, roll shots and off-speed attacks · the differences between indoor and beach