Volleyball Speed Drills

June 18, 2018

It’s common knowledge that the speed is a key to the success of a volleyball player. It’s clear that every volleyball athlete should be able to move quickly in any direction on the court. If an athlete is able to move quickly around the volleyball court, then he/she will find it easy to approach to the ball to do digging, blocking as well as setting and hitting. That’s the reason why volleyball players should aim to improve their multi-directional speed.

Mastering lateral movements as well as backward and forward movements needs to be a part of a volleyball player’s training program. It’s crucial for volleyball players to focus on doing the exercises that strengthen the muscles of legs as well as the muscles of hips. Doing a certain type of volleyball drills will contribute greatly to a volleyball player’s speed.

In this blog, we’ll provide you with some of the best volleyball speed drills. Now, it’s time for you to get familiar with these volleyball speed drills and then you’ll be able to make changes to your training program!

2-Point Starts

Doing this drill has a huge positive impact on volleyball player’s explosiveness, balance and speed. First of all, you need to stand with your feed width apart. Next, take your right food back. The distance between legs has to be about 4 – 6 inches. Your weight needs to be distributed equally through both legs. After that, you need to bend your knees and raise your toes. As a result, you’ll be on your toes with heels off the ground. The angle between your lower back and hips needs to be approximately 45 degrees. Make sure your back is flat. Move your right arm opposite your left leg. Now, it’s time to start driving the left leg’s knee towards the ground. Then, you need to relax and walk back to the starting line.

You can do this drill up to 10 reps. Afterwards, you have to make the drill more complicated. A volleyball player does everything once again and prepares to take off. A coach counts 1, 2 and 3.

Now, a volleyball player takes off and runs ahead.

Cone Hop with Backpedal

First of all, you need to prepare 5 cones (3 cones for young volleyball players) for this drill. You also need to put 5 cones (3 cones for young volleyball players) in the straight line. All that you need to do is to jump laterally back and forth over the line of cons. Performing this type of volleyball drill strengthens the muscles of legs and hips and this will definitely result in a better multi-directional speed. Another big advantage of doing this drill is that it teaches volleyball players how to land from jumps on the court correctly. That means that doing this drill is important for preventing different types of volleyball injuries.

Lateral Shuffle Step

Lateral Shuffle Step is another good drill that you need to do to improve a volleyball player’s speed. This type of volleyball drill requires two cones. The distance between cons has to be approximately 10 – 12 feet. Initially, a volleyball player has to stand near the first cone. The drill begins and an athlete has to move from one con to another one. The drill finishes when a volleyball player touches each of cones 5 times. Totally, an athlete has to make 10 touches while performing the drill. It’s recommended to do the drill 3 sets of 10 touches. An athlete also has to rest 10 minutes after each set.

T Drill

T Drill is the perfect drill for improving lateral speed. The drill requires four cones. It’s crucial for you to place cones correctly on the court. You need to put three cones in the line. Let’s call them cone 1, cone 2 and cone 3. One of cones (cone 2) needs to be placed in the middle of the line. The angle between the remaining cone 4 and the middle cone of the line (cone 2) has to be 90 degrees. As a result, cones will form T letter on the volleyball court.

The drill begins and a volleyball player has to run from cone 4 to cone 2. Then, a volleyball player has to move laterally from cone 2 to cone 1 and from cone 1 to cone 2. After that, a

volleyball player has to move laterally from cone 2 to cone 3 and from cone 3 to cone 2. Finally, an athlete returns back from cone 2 to cone 4.

Check PAKMEN’s High Performance Volleyball programs

Read about PAKMEN’s Leagues

Y Drill

A volleyball player can also do the so called Y Drill. Doing this type of drill positively affects volleyball player’s speed on the court. Also, the drill teaches volleyball players to move quickly in any direction on the court. First of all, you need to place cons correctly on the court. Make sure that cons place Y letter. The distance between cones has to be about 5 – 7 feet. Your task is to move between cons using lateral movements. The drill finishes when you form Y letter with your movements.

Figure 8 Drill

This type of volleyball drill allows volleyball players to move quickly in any direction on the court. You need to know that the drill requires two cones (cone 1 and cone 2). Initially, a volleyball player has to stay near cone 1 with feet width apart. The drill begins and you have to sprint from cone 1 to cone 2. Now, an athlete has to move around cone 2 and run backward to cone 1. A volleyball player has to form figure 8 during the drill.

The Wall Drill

The wall drill would be a good addition to a volleyball player’s training program. You should definitely do this drill to improve volleyball speed as well as the entire game.

The volleyball drill of this type requires the wall. Initially, a volleyball athlete has to stand in front of the wall with feet hip-width apart. The distance between a volleyball player and the wall has to be approximately 3 feet. Now, it’s time for an athlete to extend the arms and touch the wall. The angle between hands and the wall needs to be 45 degrees. Your ankles, neck and body have to form a straight line.

The next thing you need to do is to place the right leg forward, so the angle between hit and leg has to be about 90 degrees. Make sure that your back is flat. After that, you have to drive your right leg back and do everything again with the left leg.

It’s a great idea to do the wall drill during the off-season to prepare for the next volleyball season. A volleyball player has to do 4 sets of the drill. Each set should take no longer than 30 seconds. Also, an athlete has to take a 60 second break after each set.

It’s important to point out that performing the wall drill has a variety of benefits. Doing this type of drill is something that helps volleyball athletes improve first step speed mechanics as well as explosiveness. And of course, doing this drill will help a volleyball player improve his/her performance on the court.

Forward Lateral Backpedal

Forward lateral backpedal is the drill that requires 5 cones. You need to form the straight line with cones. The distance between cones has to be approximately 5 – 7 feet. Make sure that you have enough space between cones.

The drill requires sprints as well as quick lateral movements. The task of a volleyball player is to go between cones. Initially, a volleyball player has to stand near the first cone. The drill begins and a volleyball player has to begin to move forward.

An athlete has to spring across to the other side of a con. A volleyball player has to move forward until he/she reaches the end of the line. After that, an athlete has to run backward until he/she reaches the end of the line.

A volleyball player can benefit from performing this type of drill in a number of ways. It’s worth noting that forward lateral backpedal drill allows volleyball players to improve explosiveness and volleyball speed significantly. On the other hand, performing the drill makes it possible for athletes to build strength for volleyball.

Thank you so much for reading this article. We’ve just described some of the best drills that volleyball players need to do to improve their multi-directional speed and move quickly on the court. Do these drills on a regular basis and success will not keep you waiting for a long time!