Volleyball Passing Drills

May 24, 2018

It’s hard to imagine the sport of volleyball without passing. Actually, passing is one of the key elements in the game of volleyball. Volleyball players have to make passes one another many times during the game. It’s fair to say that the success of a volleyball attack hit depends a lot on passing. Initially, a volleyball player receives a ball and then passes it to a server. A server tosses the ball to make it easy for an attacker to carry out an attack hit.

And of course, passers have to focus on developing their volleyball passing skills. You need to know that a passing skill is incredibly important for both offensive and defensive volleyball players. Would you like to master the art of volleyball passing? If so, volleyball passing drills need to be a key part of your training program.

Below, we’ll provide you with some of the best drills that need to be done regularly to improve volleyball passing skills. Doing these drills on a regular basis will undoubtedly help you take your volleyball passing skills to the next level!

Passing to Yourself

Let’s get started with this excellent volleyball passing drill. What is great about so called “Passing to Yourself” drill is that it’s easy to do. So, volleyball passers can practise the drill at home. This means that this type of a volleyball drill can be done by beginners who have recently started their journey to the sport of volleyball.

This volleyball drill provides athletes with a great opportunity to improve their volleyball passing skills. On the other hand, doing “Passing to Yourself” drill is something that allows athletes to improve ball control as well as coordination significantly.

It all begins with the preparation. First of all, you need to take a correct body position and get ready to make a pass to another volleyball player. Now, it’s time for you to start doing the drill. Begin to pass the ball to yourself. The “Passing to Yourself” drill is all about combining passing with movements. While making a pass to yourself you also need to move front to back first and then side to side.

Keep in mind that it may take you some time to improve your volleyball passing skills with this type of drill. However, you will be able to get better at passing over the time if you practise this drill consistently.

Toss Catch Drill

Doing the so called “Toss Catch Drill” also has a profound positive impact on volleyball player’s passing skills. The drill can be done by both beginners and experienced volleyball players. The main goal of the drill is to teach volleyball players how to receive the ball correctly and then pass it to the target accurately.

This type of a volleyball drill requires two volleyball players. One of volleyball players tosses a ball to a passer. The job of a passer is to catch a ball and then pass it back to a teammate. Volleyball players can do the drill as many times as they want.

While doing a drill a passer has to take the correct body position. First and foremost, a passer has to bend his/her knees. Passer’s shoulders need to be forward and his/her hips need to be back.

Also, a passer has to ensure that the angle between his arms and upper body is about 90 degrees. Perfect Passes

“Perfect Passes” is another great drill for those athletes who would like to improve their volleyball passing skills. You’ll be able to learn how to make an accurate pass to a partner over time if you practise this drill on a regular basis. This type of a volleyball drill requires two players who will take a role of targets, two players who will be responsible for tossing the ball and two passers.

First of all, volleyball players have to position themselves correctly on the court. Tosser 1 and passer 1 have to go to one side of the court. Tosser 2 and passer 2 as well as targets have to go to the opposite side of the court. Volleyball players (targets) have to position themselves near the net. Target 1 has to position himself/herself between tosser 1 and passer 1 and target 2 has to position himself/herself between tosser 2 and passer 2.

The drill begins and a tosser tosses a ball to a passer using a double overhead motion. A passer has to do everything possible to receive the ball and then pass it to the target. Lastly, a target has to catch the ball. After that, volleyball players have to exchange their roles. As a result, a tosser becomes a passer, a target becomes a tosser and a passer becomes a target. Then, volleyball players have to repeat everything once again. Obviously, “Perfect Pass” is the drill that gives every player an opportunity to master volleyball passing skills.

Three Pass Team Drill

The “Three Pass Team Drill” is one of the best volleyball passing drills. In reality, volleyball players often don’t know where the ball will land on their part of the court. So, a volleyball passer has to predict where the ball is likely to land on the court first, then receive a ball and lastly make an accurate pass to one of his/her teammates. By doing so, a passer will be able to help his/her team to get ready for an attack hit.

The “Three Pass Team Drill” is the volleyball drill that has the pass-set-hit structure. In other words, the drill is all about teaching athletes how to receive a ball, pass it to a partner and carry out an attack hit. The drill itself requires three volleyball players. First of all, athletes have to position themselves on one side of the court.

The drill begins and a team (three players) receives a free ball. A passer (player 1) has to receive a ball and make a pass to his/her partner (player 2). Player 2 sets the ball to player 3. Lastly, the player 3 will have to pass the ball over the net and send it to the opposite side of the court. This is something that helps volleyball players to do transition from defense to attack.

Ladder Passing

Ladder passing is another good volleyball passing drill for beginners. The drill requires three volleyball players (tossers) who will assist passers during the “Ladder Passing” drill. These three athletes have to stand in the line on the volleyball court. In addition, the drill requires three volleyball passers.

The job of a passer is to make a pass to each of three volleyball players (tossers) who stand in the line. The “Ladder Passing” drill teaches volleyball players how to make accurate volleyball passes and move correctly on the court. Also, doing the “Ladder Passing” drill contributes greatly to a volleyball player’s ball control skills.

The drill begins and a passer makes a pass to a tosser 1 first and tosser 1 tosses a ball back to a passer. Then a passer makes a pass to a tosser 2 and a tosser 2 passes a ball back to him/her. Lastly, a passer makes a pass to a tosser 3 and a tosser 3 passes a ball back to him/her. Then, the next passer does the same and the drill continues. Tossers have to toss the ball ahead of passers. So, a passer will have to take a few steps to get to the ball and then pass it to the next tosser.

Totally, a passer has to touch the ball three times during this passing volleyball drill – when he/she receives a ball from a tosser 1, when he/she receives a ball from a tosser 2 and when he/she receives a ball from a tosser 3. That’s why the “Ladder Passing” drill is also known as “Three Touch Passing Drill”.

Concentration Passing Drill

It’s clear that volleyball passing is something that requires a lot of concentration. Doing the so called the “Concentration Passing Drill” is something that helps volleyball players stay focused during the game. On the other hand, this type of the drill allows athletes to take their volleyball passing skills to the next level.

The drill is performed by three groups of volleyball players. Each group consists of four volleyball players. Each of four volleyball players in a group will take his/her role on the court. A volleyball player 1 is a server, a volleyball player 2 is a passer, a volleyball player 3 is a setter and a volleyball player 4 is the distractor.

During the “Concentration Passing Drill” volleyball players have to pass the ball one another. Initially, a server passes the ball to a passer and a passer passes the ball to a setter. A distractor will be responsible for ruining the concentration of volleyball players. So, players will find it difficult to make passes and have to stay focused during the game.

Thank you so much for reading this article. Hopefully, you know what it takes to be a good passer now. As you can see, there are so many good drills that athletes can do to improve their volleyball passing skills. Practise these skills consistently and success will not keep you waiting for a long time. Good luck!