Volleyball Footwork Drills

May 2, 2018

Volleyball is a dynamic game that requires high levels of agility and speed. A volleyball player must be able to start moving quickly in any direction on the court anytime. That means that an athlete’s leg muscles must be well prepared to react to the opponent’s actions and the ball. On the other hand, a volleyball player has to jump during a match multiple times.

Obviously, the game of volleyball requires a lot of movement. That means that the better footwork is – the faster an athlete is. That’s why it’s so important for an athlete to focus on improving his/her footwork. In other words, volleyball footwork drills need to be a part of a player’s training program. Today, we’ll talk about the drills that volleyball players have to do to improve their footwork.

Stair Jumping

Stair jumping is the type of drill that delivers multiple significant benefits to volleyball players of all skill levels. It’s important to know that this drill offers a great way of improving volleyball player’s footwork.

A volleyball player can strengthen his leg muscles significantly and learn how to land with stability by doing stair jumps. In addition, practicing this type of drill on a regular basis has a huge positive impact on athlete’s agility, balance and endurance. In fact, stair jumping is the total body workout. Now, we’ll explain to you how a volleyball player can benefit from stair jumping. The workout can be done by an athlete with or without a team. If, for example, you can find yourself at stadium stairs, then don’t miss an opportunity to practice this type of drill. It’s worth noting that stair jumping exercise is easy to do. All that you need to do is to jump up stairs and then go down. And of course, you need to do everything possible to be fast when doing the drill. Stair jumping drill can be also done by a volleyball team. In this case, the drill requires 6 hurdles. Each athlete of a team has to practise jumping during the drill. The job of a volleyball player is to jump hurdles. On the other hand, an athlete has to learn how to land correctly. A volleyball player has to push his/her feet on the ground and maintain a good position when jumping. By doing so, you’ll be able to get the most out of stair jumping drill.

Lateral Hop and Hold

Lateral Hop and Hold is the drill that provides a volleyball player with the perfect opportunity to improve his/her ankle strength, balance, stability and, most importantly, footwork. It all begins with preparation. First of all, a volleyball player has to take an athletic position. Athlete’s knees need to be bent. Initially, an athlete has to put his weight on the right foot and jump to the left. After landing on the ground a volleyball player has to wait a few seconds. Then, an athlete has to jump to the right and land again. Afterwards, a volleyball player has to increase the distance of his/her horizontal jump and repeat the drill.

One-on-One Competitions

One – on – one competitions are another drill that helps volleyball players improve their footwork. This drill has to be practiced by two volleyball players. The 1-st player goes to one side of the court and the 2-nd player goes to another side of the court. The drill begins when the 1-st player serves the ball to the opposite side of the court. After a serve the ball can be landed anywhere on the opposite side of the court. The job of the 2-nd player is to get to the ball quickly and try to return it back to the 1-st player. You also should know that this volleyball drill can be also practiced two-on-two. Keep in mind that that 1 – on – 1 as well as 2 – on – 2 competitions help volleyball players develop their defense and offence skills.

Icky Shuffle ACL Load Drill

You need to prepare a ladder before to start doing this type of footwork drill. During this drill an athlete has to put an emphasis on ACL stabilization. Would you like to start a drill with right leg? If so, you need to do the following consequence: in (right) – in (left) – out (right) and then hold. Afterwards, you have to do the following consequence: in (left) – in (right) – out (left) and then hold again. As a result, you’ll be able to return to the initial position. Now, you can repeat everything once again. Obviously, doing this drill requires a lot of footwork as well as balance work. You need to do 2 sets of this drill.

Passing Star Drill

Actually, this volleyball drill is usually done by passers. The reality is doing the drill also allows volleyball players to improve their passing skills. A lot of volleyball players also choose to do passing star drill to improve their footwork. First of all, a volleyball player needs to take a starting position on the court. Then, an athlete has to make shuttle movements in all directions (left – to – right, right – to – left, back – and – forth, forth – and – back) and call “mine”. When doing this drill it’s incredibly important for athletes to keep their feet split.

Right Brain Karaoke

You can also add this footwork drill to your volleyball training program. This volleyball drill requires a ladder. During the drill you need to cross a ladder in a particular way. Only one leg goes in a ladder and then both legs go out a ladder. Let’s assume that you start the drill with left leg. In this case, you’ll have to do the following consequence: left leg (goes in a ladder) and then you do right leg, left leg (go out a ladder). Now, let’s assume that you start the drill with right leg. In this case, you’ll have to do the following consequence: right left (goes in a ladder) and then you do left leg, right leg (go out a ladder).

Running Jump Rope

As you probably know, this type of drill is particularly popular among boxers. However, running jump rope exercises can be also used in many other sports. Volleyball players can also benefit from performing this drill.

It’s worth noting that this type of drill is all about improving athlete’s footwork. The drill provides volleyball players with many other important benefits. The drill is also recommended to athletes who would like to build their endurance. Running jump rope also helps athletes increase the endurance of their legs and feet dramatically. As a result, volleyball players will be able to perform much better on the court and achieve better results during long games.

This drill needs to be done in a traditional way. All that you need to do is to jump with a jump rope. Plus, you need to alternate left and right feet when jumping. It also makes sense for a volleyball player to diversify the running jump rope drill. For example, you can jump and land on the right foot twice first and then you can jump and land on the left foot twice.

Wall Jumps

Wall jumping is the drill that provides volleyball players with many great benefits. One of the most important benefits of wall jumps is that they allow athletes to improve their footwork. On the other hand, doing this drill regularly helps a volleyball player increase his/her vertical jump. Doing the drill is also particularly important for blockers who constantly need to jump high to resist the opponent’s attacks during the game.

A coach has to mark a line for a volleyball player on the wall using chalk. Then, he/she has to jump high and try to reach the line. Initially, a coach marks a line that a volleyball player is likely to reach easily. Then, a coach has to make a task more complicated by marking the line higher on the wall. A volleyball player has to run towards the wall and then jump as high as possible. Obviously, an athlete has to do his/her best to reach the line on the wall. The task of a volleyball player is to touch the wall with their hands.

Thank you so much for reading this article. As you can see, there are many drills that allow volleyball players to improve their footwork. It’s important to point out that these easy to use volleyball drills can contribute greatly to volleyball player’s footwork and performance. Practise these simple volleyball footwork drills on a regular basis and success will not keep you waiting for a long time. Best of luck!