former Assistant Coach at Illinois
In the fast-moving sport of volleyball, players are expected to do and see many things at once. However, coaches often times do not teach players these skills in practice. Jen Fry demonstrates ways to teach players to get all their senses involved in the volleyball action, and to improve players' ball control skills so their teams can be more aggressive and get more swings. These drills will help teams improve on their eye work, passing, setting, court movement and out of system offense.
The first series of drills helps players train their eyes to transition back and forth when playing. This skill is very valuable for players as they play the ball while taking note of their surroundings. Coach Fry demonstrates three variations of a basic partner ball control drill using a white ball and a colored ball. The focus of these drills is to train players to quickly transfer their eyes from one ball to another. Your team will learn to see the whole court and the different things going on: where the ball is, where the block is, how the other team is set up etc. In addition, these drills add chaos that forces players to remain calm and under control in order to be successful in the drill.
Improving "second ball touches," or out of system balls, can lead to more swings and less free balls. The majority of a volleyball match is played out of system, but many coaches neglect training their players in this manner. Coach Fry demonstrates bounce drills to practice setting out of system balls high and inside so hitters can get swings. Players will get work with ball control using their platform and hands from all different locations on the court. Setter drills are shown that can also be run using "second ball touchers," or non-setters, to get more reps setting out of system balls. These drills help non-setters become confident in their ability to set up a hitter when the setter cannot take second ball.
In addition, Coach Fry shows variations of 2-on-2 drills, using two balls, then adding a third ball, and even a fourth, to train players to think and move their eyes quickly.
As players progress from younger teams to high school, the biggest change is the speed of the game. These drills help the players to be able to keep up with that increase in speed by training them to transfer their eyes quickly and be ready for the next play.
Produced at the 2014 AVCA Spring Clinic in Chicago, IL.
48 minutes. 2015.