Volleyball Drills for Ball Control

Ball control is incredibly important for many aspects of a volleyball game such as passing, setting as well as hitting. It’s worth noting that ball control plays a big role in both volleyball defence and offence. That’s the reason why ball control drill needs to be a part of a volleyball training program. Doing the right type of volleyball drills consistently will definitely help you take your ball control drills to the next level over the time. Bellow, we’ll provide volleyball players with drills that they need to do in order to master the art of ball control.

Broken Play Drill

It’s important to know that broken play drill has many great benefits for volleyball players. If athletes do this type of volleyball drill regularly, they will be able to learn quickly how to get up, take the correct position on the court and then play the game successfully. On the other hand, practicing this type of drill helps volleyball players dig, pass and communicate during the game in an efficient way.

You need to know that broken play drill is a volleyball drill that requires 6 volleyball players as well as a coach. Before to get started, 3 volleyball players (blockers) go to one side of the court and 3 volleyball players (a setter and two hitters) go to the opposite side of the court.

A setter as well as two hitters have to lay face down on the court behind the back line. Three other volleyball players must be prepared to block the attack hit successfully at anytime. First of all, a coach has to slap. That means that a setter as well as two hitters have to stand up and start the game. Next, a coach has to bounce the ball off the ground. As a result, a ball goes high in the air. Actually, a ball can go anywhere on the court.

The job of a setter is to receive the ball and pass it to one of two hitters. Finally, a hitter carries out an attack hit. Blockers on the other side of the court should do everything possible to resist an attack. If the ball is blocked successfully, the game continues until one of teams gets a point. Then, a ball is given to a coach and the drill continues.

It’s completely up to a coach and volleyball players to decide how long they need to do the broken play drill. You can practise the drill a certain number of repetitions or within a certain period of time. Also, you can do the broken play drill until one of teams gets a certain number of points. No matter how you would like to do the drill, it will help you improve your ball control balance dramatically.

Middle or Lateral Passing Drill

Doing this type of drill has a profound positive impact on such volleyball skills as passing, serving, serve receive and, most importantly, ball control. This drill gives volleyball players an exciting opportunity to master two types of passing – inside body passing and lateral passing.

Middle or lateral passing drill requires two passers, two servers as well as two targets. Two passers go to one side of the court. Servers go to the opposite side of the court. Two targets are positioned near the net.

The drill begins when a server serves a ball to a passer. Plus, a server should aim to serve the ball either in the middle part of the court or near sideline. The passer’s actions depend on the way the ball is served.

If the ball is served to the middle part of the court, a passer has to approach to the ball and do inside body passing. If the ball is about to land near the sideline after a serve, a passer has to take advantage of a lateral passing technique. One way or another, a passer has to pass the ball to the target accurately. A passer has to return back to the initial position after pass. The volleyball drill is performed a certain number of times and then volleyball players have to rotate positions.

Free Ball Passing Drill

Sometimes, volleyball players give their opponents an opportunity to get easy points. If this type of situation happens to you, then you should do everything possible to take advantage of it. The main goal of free ball passing drill is to help you make this happen.

It all begins with the preparation. This drill requires three passers, a target as well as a coach. A coach goes to one side of the court. Passers as well as a target position themselves on another part of the court.

The drill begins when coach makes a serve and sends a ball over the net to volleyball players. The job of passers is to receive the ball and make the perfect pass. After receiving a ball, volleyball players have to pass it to a target. A target gives a ball to a coach and the drill continues. Finally, the task of a coach is to decide if a pass is perfect or not.

After every pass, volleyball players also need to change their roles and positions on the court. So, a target becomes a passer and a passer becomes a target. The drill can be performed by either the certain number of repetition or within a certain time period.

Serving Bombs Away Drill

Serving bombs away is another great drill for volleyball players. It’s worth noting that the drill is good both for servers and passers. Doing the drill helps servers master their serving skills. On the other hand, doing the drill helps athletes develop passing skills and keep control of the ball.

This type of a volleyball drill requires 3 servers as well as 3 passers. Servers have to go to one side of the court. Passers need to go to the opposite side of the court and position themselves on the end line. Servers and passers have to stay in front of each other on the court.

The server has to make a serve and send a ball to opposite side of the court. Plus, a server should aim to land the ball near the net. If a serve is successful and the ball lands on the court, a server gets a point.

The job of a passer is to approach to the ball and not allow it to land on the court. It’s a great idea to add a target to the drill. So, a passer will have to pass the ball to the target during the drill. After that a passer has to return back to his/her initial position.

It’s recommended to do the serving bombs away drill within a certain period of time (for about 2 – 3 minutes).

Perfect Passes Volleyball Drills

Doing perfect passes drill delivers multiple significant benefits to volleyball players. One of great benefits of performing this type of dill is that it makes it possible for athlete to develop different types of skills such as passing and ball control. On the other hand, perfect passes is the volleyball drill that positively affects volleyball player’s defence skills.

The drill requires two passers, two tossers as well as two targets. Two passers have to go to one side of the court. Two tossers have to position themselves on the other side of the court in front of passers. Targets are positioned near the net on the same part of the court with passers.

First of all, a tosser has to make use of the so called overhead motion and pass the ball to a passer. The job of a passer is to receive the ball and then pass it to the target. A passer has to use overhead pass technique only to send the ball to a target. Afterwards, volleyball players have to change their positions on the court. Tossers become passers, targets become tossers and passers become targets. The drill is performed a certain number of times.

Solo Ball Control Volleyball Drill

Solo ball control volleyball drill is the type of a drill that can be performed by each of volleyball players individually. The drill itself is easy to perform. All that a volleyball player has to do is to move on the court and send the ball high in the air and then set it. The main objective of a volleyball player is to keep the ball under control as much time as he/she can.

It’s crucial for volleyball athlete to know that solo ball control volleyball drill can be performed in a number of different ways. You can bump the ball with two hands, left hand or right hand. It goes without saying that doing this type of volleyball drill helps athlete control the ball efficiently during the game.

Thank you so much for reading this article. We’ve just described some of the best volleyball drills for ball control in detail. Without a doubt, practicing these drills will also contribute greatly to your passing skills. And remember, your success depends a lot on consistency. That means that you need to do ball control volleyball drills on a regular basis to achieve great results. If you practise these drills regularly, the success will definitely happen to you over time. Best of luck!