NEW DRILLS

Please comment to this post with any and all drill ideas you have so they can be added to this page.  Thank You!

Timed Serving

• Group one: serving
• Group 2: at net with ball carts handing balls to running servers
• Group 3: shagging and counting balls that hit the marked area, like zone 6 (or just in)
• 1 minute per session

Hand Soccer

Purpose:  Fun way of getting kids warmed up and staying in low form

Set up two goals at each endline.  Play soccer as usual except that players can only use their hands to move the ball and are not allowed to pick up the ball, only hit it.  The ball must stay on the ground at all times.  Because the players need to contact with their hands and pass the ball quickly and often to teammates players will naturally be forced to stay low.

Swedish

Purpose:  fun communication

Losing Team: team that ends up with both balls dead on their side of the court

• equal number of players on each side of the court
• Each side needs to have one ball and one player who is designated as the "tosser"
• At go, each "tosser" throws the ball to the other side 
• Ball must go beyond 10 foot line and can not be thrown directly at the other tosser
• Game rules follow usual game rules like out of bounds...
• That play round continues until one team ends up with both balls dead on their side of the court
• Winning team gets a point and can play to any number of points.  Usually 5-10

Volleyball Style Dodgeball

·         Dodgeball: Start with one on one.  When a team wins a rally, a new player can come in.  First team to get all players from their team in wins.  If a player touches a ball without calling, they must go back out and wait for another rally win to come back in.  If a ball lands on the floor with no one touching it, everyone from that team is again out except for one player.

stand short pass deep

Stand short / pass deep:  two players stand on 10 foot line, coach tosses a ball in between the two players and behind them.  Players must communicate to pass the ball to target.  Must have 10 balls to target (one small step only) to be done with drill.

Popcorn

Popcorn:  3-4 players sit on the back line with backs to the coach.  As soon as the coach slaps the ball, the players need to stand up, turn around, and get the ball over the net.  The players score a point per number of contacts before the ball is sent over the net.  If the ball never gets over the net, there are no points scored.  Can keep score individually or make up teams.

Tips & Ideas for One Coach Many Kids

Tips & Ideas for One Coach and Many Players:

• ·         Count any time you give a task so time is not wasted doing small tasks like shagging balls or putting up nets.  Penalties for missing time limits.
• ·         Give every player a job:  motivator, shagger, coach to another player in the drill, keep time, toss in balls…
• ·         Whenever possible, have the coach just coach and have players initiate balls.  This takes some time for players to get but once they do, the job of the coach becomes just a coach and not the one who runs the drill and the coach.
• ·         Run drills Quickly.  Players will learn to keep up to the pace of the drill.
• ·         Don’t stop the drill to talk to a couple of players.  Coach and walk throughout the drill to coach without stopping the drill.  As coaches we like to have too much control so we like to stop the drill often to talk to all of the players which slows down practice time.
• ·         Only spend 5-15 minutes with each drill and then switch to different drill or skill.  Attention spans are short and we want to teach kids to be able to easily and quickly transfer one skill into the next.
• ·         Set small goals like 5-10 or set time instead of numbered goals.  Must have 8 passes to target in 2 minutes…

Serving Progression

Serving Progression:  ball sandwich, draw, toss, contact  (use much of the same arm work as hitting progression)   Contact above head and slightly in front so serve is between top of antennae and net

·         12 traps on the wall

·         5 at 10 foot

·         5 at 20 foot

·         5 at 30 foot

·         As season progresses and when players finish, add zone serving and can play with jump serving 

Hitting Progression

Hitting progression (5 of each)  Always use guide hand and Hitting Hand MUST be above the head.  Think about putting thumb on top of head. 

·         Both hands up & just snap

·         Guide hand up and elbow to ball

·         Open hips, elbow pointing back to opposite wall, guide hand up

o   Pull with guide hand, elbow comes around and hitting hand goes up and snaps

·         Loaded legs position with palms of hands to the ceiling, come up to a load position and finish progression as in last step

·         Do 12 approaches at the net from 10 foot line to net (start in low athletic position, arms out, left, right, left)

o   4 with footwork and freeze in load position with palms to ceiling

o   4 with arms laoded

o   4 with full swing through

Platform & Overhead Passing progression

     One knee passing

• ·         Right knee up / left knee down
• ·         Shoulders over knees over toes (do not sit on back leg)
• ·         Platforms at shoulder height
• ·         Tosses need to be at shins
• ·         Call ball as soon as it is tossed
• ·         Transfer weight to pass ball NOT swinging of arms
• ·         Freeze at the end by saying “raiders”
• ·         Must have 10 balls to the forehead of her partner before partners switch
• Standing Pass with partner under net  (12 passes)

10-20-30 passing

One Knee Overhead passing

10-20-30 overhead passing

Dynamic Warmup

Dynamic Warm-up (all will take place from endline to net and the WHOLE gym will do together)  All will be done forward to the net and backward back to the end line

·         Jug (x2)

·         Skip (x2)

·         High Knee steps (x1)  (quick and knees at 90 degrees)

·         High Knee jumps (x1)  (focus on height not distance)

·         Karaoke quick fee with all facing the same way (x1)

·         Karaoke high knee with all facing the same way (x1)

·         Lunges

·         Side lunges

·         Side shuffles (no cross over)

·         Forward shuffles (right foot always forward)

·         5 -10 real pushups – could start the first day with 3-5 and build up to 10-12 by the end of the season, adding 1 every week (no knee push ups)  (hands at shoulders, back straight, eyes focused out in front of them) (push-ups should be done slowly and with good form)

·         10 V ups

·         Sidelines (20 secs) x2

·         Forward / backward jump over line (20 secs) x2

·         30 secs. to get partner, jog 

arm swing progression

1.  snap
2.  elbow to ball, hand above head
3.  hips open, elbow to back wall, hand above head
4.  load legs, palms to ceiling,