Three-contact rally

A free ball from the other side, and then it has to be exactly three: pass, set, attack. Teams under pressure send the ball back in two contacts because that feels safer. This scoring simply makes that shortcut worthless.

5 players 8 phases ± 20 min 4 balls, full court From U15 upwards

Phase 1 of 8Set-up: B has the ball, A is in base

Your own team (S = setter) The group feeding the balls in and covering the attack 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

Cooperative or scored: a point only counts with three clean contacts (pass-set-attack).

Building the rally in three contacts, even when the first ball is not perfect.
Calling for each other: who passes, who sets, who is coming in to attack.
Standing back in base position before the next ball comes.

Coaching points

Call the third ball on the second contact already.

The hitter has to know it is his turn before the set goes up. If he only hears it once the ball is hanging in the air, he swings from a standstill.

Two contacts is not a point, not even when it scores.

As long as playing the ball straight back is rewarded, a youth team will always pick that option under pressure. The scoring has to force the behavior, not your voice from the sideline.

The setter calls his spot before the pass.

A passer who knows where the set is coming from aims the ball there. Without that call the pass goes to the middle of the court and the setter has to sprint over there first.

Everybody back to base before the next ball comes.

The mistake from the last rally becomes the mistake in the next one if players stay standing where they let the ball go. Resetting is an action, not a feeling.

Variations

Easier: The first ball is thrown over instead of hit, and the pass may be caught and tossed up. The three-contact rule stays in place.
Harder: The other side hits the ball instead of throwing it, and the setter only calls out loud which position he is setting after the pass.
With eight players: Two complete groups of three on side A stepping in alternately. That way there is a change after every rally and nobody rests in line.
As a game: Three clean contacts is a point, two contacts or an error is a point for the other side. At five points the groups switch sides of the court.

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: still delivering a playable ball off a poor pass · using wash scoring instead of ordinary points · why training does not automatically transfer to the match