Serving Drills

Originally Published in: The Volleyball Drill Book

Provided by: Human Kinetics

SERVING LADDER

Purpose

To introduce deep-zone serving in a competitive environment where servers advance based on score.

Setup

The coach creates a round-robin tournament in which each player plays every other player. Players compete in pairs assigned by the coach. The first pair, a server and a feeder, sets up at the service line with a basket of balls. To keep things moving quickly, a pair of players can be in position at each corner of the court, ready to start. The court area on both sides of the net is divided into six zones, numbered by player position and marked with cones or tape.

Run the Drill

1. Players compete one pair at a time. The player who is serving attempts to serve six balls in order to the designated location: two balls to zone 1, two balls to zone 6, and two balls to zone 5.

2. The server earns 3 points for a serve into the correct zone, 1 point for a serve into any other zone, and 0 points for a missed serve or serving error. The server is allowed one free miss.

3. The server's partner feeds balls to the server and calls out the score after each serve. Shaggers collect the balls in a basket.

4. At the end of the sequence; the partners switch roles. When both players have finished serving, the pair leaves the court, and the player with the higher score reports the winning score to the coach.

5. The coach signals the next pair (already in position on the court) to begin and assigns a new pair of players to the empty corner to wait their turn. Each time a new pair begins, the shaggers swap the full and empty carts so that the new players start with a full basket. Play continues until every player has played every other player.

Coaching Points

• Set a fast pace. The drill is intended to be short to put more emphasis on the importance of each serve.

• A play-off with the top four finishers gives a great incentive.

Variations

• Allow two or three misses to encourage a go-for-it attitude.

• Have players serve 8 or 10 balls per round.

• Have players serve 6 balls, 2 to each short zone (2, 3, and 4).

CATERPILLAR SERVING

Purpose

To improve serving accuracy by serving at a target made up of moving players.

Setup

Two groups of three players link arms to form a "caterpillar" and set up on side A between the 10-foot (3 m) line and the endline. Servers line up behind the endline in two lines, one at each corner, on side B.

Run the Drill

1. Each caterpillar moves sideways across side A. When it touches a sideline, it reverses direction and moves toward the other sideline.

2. Each player in the serving line gets three turns to serve and has the opportunity to earn more turns. The first player in the serving line serves, attempting to hit the caterpillar, then returns to the end of the serving line. If the server hits the caterpillar, that serve scores 1 point and it does not count as a turn; the server has three more turns to score. If the server does not hit the caterpillar, no point is scored and the server has used up one turn.

3. After three turns without scoring a point, the server becomes part of the caterpillar by linking arms with the player on the end of the caterpillar.

4. The first player to score 5 points wins the round. Servers and caterpillars switch roles for the next round.

Coaching Points

• Have the caterpillar line take a step up or back each time the line reaches the sideline.

• Have the players in the caterpillar use their hands to keep the ball from hitting them in the face.

Variation

• Have the caterpillar line stay deep or stay short.

MINUTE-TO-WIN-IT SERVING

Purpose

To improve the percentages of successful serves by serving to various zones.

Setup

Both sides of the court are divided into zones based on player position. The zone borders are marked with cones, tape, or jump ropes. A supply of balls is placed near the serving position on each side of the court. Three servers line up at each serving position. At least three shaggers get into position on each side of the court; one sets up near the endline and the others spread out across the court. The coach sets a clock or timer to 60 seconds.

Run the Drill

1. The first server in each line chooses a zone or the coach assigns a zone.

2. At the coach's signal, the first server in the line serves and counts the number of serves that land in the given zone.

3. The shaggers on the court retrieve the balls and relay them to the shagger on the endline near the basket.

4. After one minute, the coach signals the server to stop. The server reports the score to the coach, and the first player in the other serving line takes a turn.

5. When all the servers in each line have taken a turn, the servers and shaggers switch places. Play continues until every player has taken a turn. The player who puts the most serves in the designated zone wins.

Coaching Points

• To increase speed and efficiency, a feeder can bounce a ball to the server. The feeder must pay attention and be ready to deliver as soon as the server turns for a ball.

• The fast-paced competitive feel is part of the fun. Use two coaches and two timers to reduce the time between turns.

Variations

• Add passers and a setter who catches the pass or sets to a hitter or target who catches it.

• Keep score as a team. Add the scores of the six servers on the court versus the next six servers.

• Focus on one zone or a small number of zones throughout the drill or change the zone during the drill.