Smashball

Smashball is a child's way into real volleyball: two against two on a small court, the ball may bounce once, and every rally has to end with a spike. Thanks to that bounce, even children who cannot yet play the ball out of the air have time to get underneath it. And because finishing is compulsory, everybody learns to swing instead of tipping the ball back.

4 players 7 phases ± 20 min 4 balls, small court, net at mini-volleyball height, marker cones for the starting line Mini-volleyball, roughly ages 8 to 11

Phase 1 of 7Small court, 2 against 2; A starts the rally from behind the 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

Entry-level 2v2 on a small court: the ball may bounce once, finish every rally with a smash.

Getting under the ball after the bounce — move, stop, and only then play it.
Giving your partner a playable ball instead of sending it over yourself.
Making the swinging motion on a ball you chose yourself.

Coaching points

One bounce per ball is allowed, no more than that.

Two bounces make the game slow and the child no longer has to move at all. One bounce gives exactly enough time to learn where to position yourself.

The rally ends with a spike, even when the ball is not perfect.

Otherwise children always pick the safe ball over the net. Making the finish compulsory is the fastest way to get a group swinging.

The set for your partner goes high and half a meter off the net.

Right on the net a child cannot swing without hitting it. One step of room is the difference between hitting the ball and pushing it.

You swing with a straight arm above your head.

On their first spikes almost everybody swings with a bent arm at shoulder height. Have them throw the ball overhead with two hands once first: it is the same rhythm.

Variations

Easier: The ball may be caught and tossed up before the spike, and the net hangs lower. Allowing two bounces is fine too.
Harder: No more bounce, and the spike has to come off a two-step approach. Or play three against three on the same court.
With twelve players: Three small courts side by side, two against two on each court, and everybody moves on to the next court every two minutes.
As a game: Rallies to seven points. A point that ends with a spike counts double, a point from an opponent's error counts single.

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: the six mini-volleyball levels · learning to spike in five steps · volleyball games for kids