Three-on-three with subs at the net

Three against three with three substitutes on the sideline: after every finished rally the waiting trio takes over the court. So nobody stands still for longer than one rally, and nobody plays longer than one rally either. Because the teams keep changing, you can only keep score by side of the court, not by team.

9 players 9 phases ± 20 min 6 balls, full court or a court split lengthwise From U15 upwards, with nine to twelve players

Phase 1 of 9Three on three; three subs wait along the side and B serves

The trio on court and the substitutes (P = passer, M = middle, S = setter) Opposition 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

Compact 3v3 match drill with three subs coming in after every rally; a full rally from serve to finish.

Playing a complete rally with three players: pass, set, attack and then defend it yourself.
Being in the game from the first ball after coming on, instead of needing a rally to warm into it.
Sorting out roles with team-mates who change every time.

Coaching points

The substitutes come on along the sideline while the ball is still rolling.

Waiting until the court is empty costs ten seconds a rally, and that is a quarter of your training time. Coming in from the side keeps the game running.

Whoever comes on calls their role straight away.

With new team-mates every round there is no fixed system to fall back on. One sentence — I've got the set — prevents the rally where two players dive at the second ball.

The score belongs to the side of the court, not to the players.

Otherwise the count is impossible to follow after three changes. This way there is still something to win without having to keep teams together.

With three players you cover the middle, not the corners.

Trios instinctively spread wide and leave the gap in the middle open, which is exactly where most balls land. Stay compact and only move out once the hitter turns.

Variations

Easier: The rally starts with a free ball instead of a serve, and the ball may be touched four times.
Harder: Every ball has to be touched three times and the third contact has to be an attack from above the net.
With twelve players: Four trios: two play, two wait. The winning trio stays on, the losing trio joins the back of the queue.
As a game: Every rally is a point for the trio that wins it, and that point stays with the players themselves. Whoever has collected the most points after twenty minutes wins individually.

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: giving your substitutes a real job · drills without a queue · sharing playing time fairly