4 Volleyball Blocking Drills Players Learn To Stop Balls At The Net

These are four volleyball blocking drills players learn at our classes and training so that they learn to move quickly while staying close to the net.   

There are a couple of volleyball blocking drills players do in our Volleyball Voice Boot Camp classes and semi-private training to help you improve your blocking skills at the net. 

Blocking in volleyball is a defensive skill that front row players use to try and stop the opposing team from hitting the ball in your court when your team is on defense. 

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#bigmood... Blocking negativity like....#nawson... Naw son, not today! . . . Have a blessed Thursday! . . . Notice how the middle blocker holds her hands (even as she moves across the net she keeps BOTH HANDS AT her chest level) as she watches the BSBH ( ball setter ball hitter) they aren’t below the net, and palms aren’t facing each other. . . Palms face the net Before jumping to block hands/palms are shoulder height... so they can get over and the net quickly Shoulders penetrate over the net quickly .. pressing palms over to take an area from the hitter to hit to . ❤️❤️

A post shared by Coach April (@coach_apchap) on Jun 27, 2019 at 9:35am PDT

To block a ball effectively you need to be able to move closely and quickly along the net without touching it, to follow the ball that's set by the opposing setter to her opposing hitter in front of you.   

Then you need to be able to time your block jump so your open palmed hands reach and penetrate over the net just before the opposing hitter hits or contacts the ball to stop it from crossing the net into your court. 

One of the simple volleyball drills for beginners I do often is to have a player standing on a box on one side of the net.

Their hands and arms are penetrating over the net. I will hit into their blocking hands which should be angled towards the middle of my court before I hit the ball.

I will hit 10 - 12 balls into their block before giving them a chance to shake out their arms and do another set. 

This gives the player a chance to get comfortable

• watching or reading the hitter 
• interpreting the cues that the hitter is showing them and adjusting accordingly
• feeling a hard hit spike and getting use to having their blocking hands penetrating the other side of the net
• reinforcing how strong their shoulders need to be while pressing them over the net

In every practice I do and I teach my coaches to do a blocking footwork sequence drill at the net. 

It's a series of multi patterned steps and movements that the players do while moving in and out of their "loaded" ready blocking position and moving along the net. 

The focus is to 

• increase body control at the net while not touching the net
• moving along the net while not touching the net
• performing various jump series and footwork series while staying the same arm distance from the net without having to adjust their position
• using peripheral and wide vision to be able to see their hitter and feel their teammate blocking next to them without having to turn and look at them

Now hopefully some of these volleyball blocking drills players do in our training and classes will help you control your body so you can increase the number of blocks you successfully perform in a match.

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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. 

We know where you need to go now! Here are three options: 

1. Learn more about Blocking by clicking one of the links in 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.  

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