Five Non-Scoring Team Drills to Encourage Challenging and Fun Practices

It is important to build time into your practice for training technique and maximizing reps, however it’s fun to challenge your players with collaborative and competitive drills that enhance their However, there are many ways to incorporate collaboration and challenges into your training on a regular basis so your athletes are used to competing hard and winning a close battle.

Here are five non-scoring team drills to encourage challenging and fun practices:

Particularly in warm-up, and when dealing with a bigger group, it is important to make sure that players get in a lot of movement. For this reason, consider having players rotate every time they send a ball over the net (can also be done every time a rally ends). Two ways of doing this is by Flip Flopping and Neville.

#1 Flip Flop

This drill is usually done with 4v4 (the setter stays in the front row). Every time a ball is directed over the net, the players on the court will switch out with players off the court. If your team does have many players, you can designate the non-rotating players (make sure to switch them regularly). If you only have 8 to 10 players try Neville Rotation.

#2 Neville Rotation

Coaches can run this drill with any combination of players, however it probably works best with 4v4 or 5v5. Every time a team sends the ball goes over the net, all of the players on that side except for the setter (in zone 2/3) will rotate (same direction in volleyball). The players waiting off the court will enter in from the right back). If it is a 5v5 drill, designate where the front row attacker is allowed to attack. I like this drill because it allows for many defensive reps from the same zone, and allows for players that are not familiar with playing a certain back row position to become comfortable playing it.

#3 Columbus Drill

This drill is just like Neville Rotation, however it is played 6v6 and players rotate and play all positions. This allows an attacker to gain experience in the setting position, and a libero to gain experience in the setting position. The goal is to help develop more well rounded volleyball athletes and encourage communication. This should be a fun drill that helps players get outside of their comfort zone, adapt and learn.

#4 The Pyramid

Create a list of drills that are measurable, and when completed, they can be defined as passing, but when not completed, they  are incomplete or failing. It is helpful to use a whiteboard to visually show your team the Pyramid of Drills they…