- Improve Your Volleyball with Coach April
- Volleyball Drills for Digging
- 6 Drills To Improve Volleyball Skills in Digging and Defense Technique
6 Drills To Improve Volleyball Skills in Digging and Defense Technique
These six drills to improve volleyball skills in digging and defense technique are exercise we do in boot camp classes and trainings to improve ball control.
If your athlete struggles with consistent serve receive, gets subbed out, or is overlooked for playing time—this is the fix you’ve been looking for.
Struggling with passing consistency?
I help talented passers tired of getting pulled from games because of inconsistent serve receive skills BUILD passing confidence without expensive private lessons using the same 3-step system that's helped dozens of my athletes get recruited.
Download my eBook for $7.99 and start building the passing confidence that keeps you on the court—and gets you seen by college coaches.
6 Drills To Improve Volleyball Skills in Digging and Defense Technique
Not Digging Balls That Are Hit Right At Your Feet?
Are you having a problem digging balls that're hit right at your feet?
One digging issue you may have is that you are putting your hands together to form your platform...too late.
Once the hitter commits to their armswing, that's when you as the digger should have your hands together to form your digging platform.
Many times players wait too long and still have their hands apart after the hitter has contacted the ball...by then its too late.
6 Drills To Improve Volleyball Skills in Digging and Defense Technique
Diggers Put Their Hands Together Quickly When Diving To Dig A Ball Behind The Block
Putting your hands together earlier creates a platform with both forearms to dig the ball with and something to keep the ball off the floor earlier.
When I use my phone to show players what they’re doing wrong more times than not they can see what I’m telling them to correct and they fix it fast.
6 Drills To Improve Volleyball Skills in Digging and Defense Technique
Day 2 Middle School VB Clinic
I showed this group of middle school liberos Dafne, Delaney and Selena on Day 2 of our first clinic how long it was taking them to put their hands together before digging.
Keeping your platform arms a ball’s distance away from your body and putting your hands together once you’ve landed in your adjusted defensive position is the key to touching more balls hit right at you and controlling those balls so they’re more likely to reach their target.
6 Drills To Improve Volleyball Skills in Digging and Defense Technique
Working on Libero Training digging three types of attacked balls...
Working on Libero Training digging three types of attacked balls...
- digging the hard hit
- reading then chasing down the tip while trying to stay on your feet
- running down the deep shot to the far Zone 5 corner while trying to stay on your feet
- digging a settable ball (high in the court as near to Zone 3 - middle front- as possible) if not possible then to the middle of the court
- getting comfortable covering the entire zone 5 left back area of the court while taking only 3-4 steps to get to each ball
- reading fast and reacting fast while controlling our body parts so we can control the ball
6 Drills To Improve Volleyball Skills in Digging and Defense Technique
Two Hitters vs One Digger, Continuous Digging To The Target
Usually done during warmups in order to get warm-up to play defense in the match.
When you are digging you should be working on three things
- first getting the hips under the ball fast
- second keeping arms further away from the body (you should be able to fit a volleyball under your arm pits-that's the perfect distance!)
- third digging the ball from a lower point without rising out of your/her squat Two keys to remember..
- eliminate extra body movements that don’t help you perform the skill get comfortable staying lower to the floor In this video, all the players are learning to be comfortable playing the ball without rising out of their squat which
-eliminates extra movement while digging
-the player views the ball from a lower point
-the player plays the ball closer to the floor which allows more time for better ball control -player keeps arms a balls distance away from their body which covers more court around them
6 Drills To Improve Volleyball Skills in Digging and Defense Technique
For diggers playing back row defense
Diggers dig. Defense back row.
Hitters vs. diggers no block.
Working on reading the Hitter.
Working on tracking the Ball that’s tossed to the Setter.
- Then watching what set the Setter delivers to what Hitter ( this case Zone 4)
- then watching the Ball that’s set to the Hitter (is it a high ball?, is it a hut? Is it a ‘go’?)
- before watching (eyes go back to the Hitter) the Hitter to get clues as to where to be on my side of the court to dig the ball they hit.
6 Drills To Improve Volleyball Skills in Digging and Defense Technique
Ball-Setter-Ball-Hitter
In other words BALL- Setter- BALL - Hitter
Working on fearlessness. Getting comfortable facing a hard hit ball while dropping hips below the level of the oncoming ball. .
Getting comfortable letting the ball come down low (belly button level) before playing it...staying in your lower defensive position without rising up out of your squat ...to play the ball.
Digger works on being stopped...once the Hitter starts their armswing
Volleyball Drills:
Where Do You Go From Here?
Your three options are:
- You can learn more about Drills by visiting the Related Links below.
- Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
- Or visit the pages in the How to Play Volleyball section in the drop down menu at the top of the page to get started.
Learn more about volleyball drills on these pages!
Volleyball Serving Drills For Beginners Learning To Underhand Serve
Beginner players learn how to improve your serve with these volleyball serving drills for the underhand serve so you consistently get the ball over the net.
The Volleyball Pepper Drill: Partner and Three Player Pepper Drills
The volleyball pepper drill is a ball control drill using setting, digging and hitting skills usually done as a partner or three player person drill in warmup.
Best Volleyball Drills For Setters, Hitters, Liberos, Passers Blockers
Best volleyball drills are essential exercises in the learning process for players to improve your serving, hitting, passing, spiking, setting, blocking skills.
Serving Volleyball Drills For Beginners Who Want To Be On Varsity
Looking to make the varsity volleyball team? Discover essential serving volleyball drills for beginners that will elevate your skills and help you score points.
7 Youth Volleyball Drills How To Improve Ball Control Skills At Home
I have a series of youth volleyball drills you can use to improve your basic ball control skills like passing, setting and controlled hitting.
What're 5 Passing Volleyball Drills For Beginners To Be Better Passers
These 5 passing volleyball drills for beginners to improve their ball control, while reading the server's body and moving to beat the ball before it lands.
The Dig Volleyball Drills We Do In Training on Pinterest and Youtube
I gathered a collection of the dig volleyball drills we do in training that I explain how to do at home or in practice to my Pinterest and Youtube followers.
Four Types of Volleyball Drills For Digging Balls Up Under Pressure
These four types of volleyball drills for digging turn up the heat and puts the digger under pressure to dig a playable ball that the setter can run a play with
Hit And Dig Volleyball Drills My Players Do To Improve Digging Skills
If you want to improve your digging skills here are 4 ways to do one of my dig volleyball drills called the Hit and Dig drill done for beginners and advanced.
Volleyball Digging Drills That Will Help You Keep Balls Off The Floor
We do alot of progressions for volleyball digging drills in our boot camp classes to cover different scenarios from hard hits to balls you need to chase down.
If your athlete struggles with consistent serve receive, gets subbed out, or is overlooked for playing time—this is the fix you’ve been looking for.
Struggling with passing consistency?
I help talented passers tired of getting pulled from games because of inconsistent serve receive skills BUILD passing confidence without expensive private lessons using the same 3-step system that's helped dozens of my athletes get recruited.
Download my eBook for $7.99 and start building the passing confidence that keeps you on the court—and gets you seen by college coaches.
From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Honored At UTK Champions Weekend
Lady Vol volleyball legend and record holder Coach April Chapple a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hall of Fame Inductee, 3-time All American, 3-time SEC Champion, SEC Tournament MVP, 2-time All SEC Team is celebrated with her 1984 SEC champion teammates at Neyland Stadium during Champions Weekend on November 1-2, 2024.
- the first First Round Draft Pick for the first American pro indoor women's league
- named to the first First Team All-Pro team for Major League Volleyball in USA volleyball history
- former USA National team member
- one of the few American women players named as an Italian Pro League D-I Championship Finalist, Italian Cup Finalist and Cup of Cups Tournament Finalist
April Chapple The first First round Draft Pick For Major League Volleyball the first American Women's Pro League Honored At Athlete Unlimited Pro Volleyball Match
Coach April's 2025 Private and Semi private Volleyball Training
Pre-Registration now open for 2025 Private and Semiprivate Training Sessions with Coach April . Get prepared for club tryouts or train with me during club season!
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Invest in your improvement while preepping for your next level and college goals while working hard and training smart.
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info@improveyourvolley.com
Serving slang is not just about individual techniques; it also relates to overall game strategy. A coach might instruct a player to serve a "short serve" or a "deep serve" to target specific areas of the opponent's court or exploit weaknesses in their serve receive formation.
Ari, my private training client and I are working specifically on serving on jump float cross court serves ...short to Zone 2
There's so much we work on to get to this point where she can contact the ball with
- the same toss height and same toss location
- the same armswing speed
- the same timing for when her serving hand contacts the ball
- the middle of the hand contacting the middle of the ball every single time
- getting use to watching her serving hand contact the ball at the highest point of her jump ...before she starts to land
- and finally contacting the ball in the precise spot on the ball so it goes where the coach wants the player to put it so in this case ..a short serve in the farthest short right corner on the court also called Zone 2.
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From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Produces Powerful Passionate Players...is that you?
Congratulations to my seven Boys-18s Vegas Volley club players who played in two state championship finals yesterday, the 3A and 5A State champinship finals at Sunrise Mountain High School.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!
A-1 Vegas Volley VBC
In It To Win It Tournament
May 2 - 4, 2025 Tournament
Gold Medalists
18s Premier Division
Making A-1 Vegas Volleyball history as the very first TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS! In the In It To Win It Tournament,
May 2-4, 2025 Tournament,
A-1 Vegas Volleyball Club
Gold Medalists, 18s Premier DivisionWhat Are You Looking For?
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