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.

If you've come to this page then you're a beginner or a newbie who's looking for ways to improve your passing skills. 

You'll find my 5 suggested passing drills for beginners to use to 

• improve your ball control
• read the opposing server's body language to anticipate what serve they're about to use
• how to move quickly once you understand what the server is doing with quick footwork to get to the spot where the ball is going to land before it hits the floor

Volleyball passing, also known as bumping the ball, is a way of contacting the ball

• with both of your arms held together so the ball lands on your forearms
• above your wrist and below your inside elbows
• which are used to guide it to a specific target, usually to another player or to transfer the ball over the net.

So just to be clear when you pass a volleyball, you are transferring the ball from one player to another or over the net

• without letting the ball come to a complete stop
• while clasping both hands together at the wrists and
• contacting the ball on your forearms

Okay lets get into it. Here are some of my favorite passing volleyball drills for beginners that can be used in your next practice or at home by yourself. 

I use a slant board to create free balls that come off the board at different angles so the passer can work on staying low and delivering a controlled free ball pass twenty feet up in the air and near the ten foot line. 

Sierra Leone works on free ball passing a high ball so that Kenny in the position of a libero can set the ball high outside to Zone 2

Learn how to use a simple pass and set ball control drill to improve how to “read” and anticipate what an opposing player plans to do with the ball. 

Player closest to the net guides the drill making early decisions on where she’s going to set the ball to her partner, either three feet to her left or three feet to her right. .

(Swipe Left Volume Up)

The “working” player starts in front of their partner and “reads” the body language of the partner quickly enough to understand/anticipate where they intend to send the ball. 

So in a game situation you’ll need to be able to read the players passing platform OR setting hands OR hitting arm to see how she will send it. Are they going to tip it? hit it? free ball it over?)

For this passing drill the working partner “reads” the setting hands. 

In private training sessions and volleyball practice I talk to clients and players about believing what you see.

As players who are first learning often times you see the ball, where it’s going to land, but you hesitate to move for it because you question in your mind whether you’re “seeing” the right thing.

I love to work on doing a lot of reps in a short amount of time so the brain is forced to "focus and believe and react" to what you see, with no hesitation.

The next step then is to work on “beating” the ball ...to using fast and quick feet to take big steps to get to the spot where you think the ball is going to land.

The idea is to beat the ball to the spot BEFORE the ball comes down. If you get there at the same time as the ball does, you’re late. 

Read it. Believe it. Move. 

• Take two big steps away from the wall
• Pick a spot on the wall that's 2-3 feet above your head.
• Use a piece of tape or chalk or identify the brick that you are going to pass EVERY ball to.
• Start passing to that spot.

-Every time the ball doesn't get to that spot, stop and start again.

Do not finish until you've passed 25 balls to that spot. They don't have to be in a row at first. Just get 25 no matter how long it takes.

Pass To Yourself Set To Your Partner Ball Control Drill 

Whether you do drills at home by yourself, or doing them in practice with your teammates, it's best to get in the habit of setting mini goals for yourself to reach in order to complete each drill.

For example, let's say you have to get 50 perfectly passed balls to the target before stopping one drill and going on to the next.

Not only will you discipline yourself to perform the volleyball drills correctly, but you will replicate the pressure you will feel in a game-like situation when you absolutely have to do the skill right.

For these types of passing volleyball drills for beginners... you can work on with you and three players or a coach.

Problem: If you find yourself passing line serves straight ahead of you instead of to the middle of the court because you’re not dropping your inside shoulder early enough and if you don’t have enough strength yet to set the ball from the back row to the front row… this drill could help.

Ella and Turi work on:

Solution:
👉🏾passing 20 and 10 which means passing the ball 20 feet in the air and angling your platform early so the ball rebounds off your angled arms and lands on or just inside .. the ten foot line. .. while also

👉🏾working on reading early where the ball is going to be after it’s been passed by your partner and then moving quickly to place your feet and forehead directly underneath the ball (no leaning) before pushing it back to the ceiling to set it with triangle shaped hands.

1. Right back server serves line to the left back passer who passes to Zone 3 (middle front)

2. Right back passer once they know they’re not passing moves to place themself underneath the passed ball then sets it outside to Zone 4 then hustles back to right back position to
3. Look for and pass the line serve from the left back server on the opposing side

With your passing .... work on

👉🏾Reading server and served ball information early .. so you’re ready to drop that inside shoulder when passing the deep line serve to you
👉🏾Getting to the ball quickly and getting feet stopped

In this version as soon as the passer passes and is moving back to their starting base position.. the next server serves the ball down the line… the goal is to keep this rhythm throughout the whole drill.

You can go for a certain number to the target or go for a certain amount of time.

Good luck!

  Coach April Chapple's Volleyball Passing Tips For Youth Volleyball Players

MY PASSING EBOOK QUICKLY HELPS YOU IMPROVE YOUR PASSING SKILLS. Learn how to perform one of the most important skills you need to know to gain more playing time on the court!

Volleyball Beginner Passing Drills Players Should Avoid Swinging Their Platform When Passing

Volleyball Beginner Passing Drills Players Should Avoid Scooping or Swinging Your Platform When Passing

Learn Passing Secrets!

 

 

 

 

A volleyball passing drill can help you work on reading the server, learn your passing responsibilities in each position and how to cover the court much faster.

Follow me on Instagram @coach_apchap to improve your game even faster!

I share alot of individual, partner and easy-to-do volleyball serving drills we do in class with my followers.

Many of these volleyball practice drills you can do at home by yourself or try at your next practice with your teammates.

If you're a B team or JV player trying to make varsity next year...your goal should be to complete 1000 reps a day of at least three of the basic skills on your own...volleyball passing, serving and setting should be at the top of the list. 

Your three options are: 

1. You can learn more about Drills by visiting the Related Links below.  
2. Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page  Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
3. 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. 

1. Improve Your Volleyball Performance with Vegas VB Coach April Chapple
 ›
2. Volleyball Drills For Beginners To Improve Volleyball Bumping At Home
 ›
3. What're 5 Passing Volleyball Drills For Beginners To Be Better Passers

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