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Learn the volleyball hitter drills that I teach my club players with proven techniques that took me from high school novice to confident state champion finalist

Learn the volleyball hitter drills that I teach my club players with proven techniques that took me from high school novice to confident state champion finalist (Shots By Shanty)

Are you struggling to hit with power?

Do you feel frustrated when your club or high school coach just says 'hit the ball harder' without explaining or giving you details on how to do it?

I understand exactly how you feel.

As a sophomore at St. Bernard's High School in Playa del Rey in California, I was that late-starting player trying to compete against girls who'd been playing beach volleyball their whole lives.

Currently, I'm in Salt Lake City at the 2025 USA Girls 18s Junior National Championships, where my A1 Vegas Volley girls team has jumped from 75th seed to 35th after defeating the 35th and 47th seeds on Day One.

These successes don't happen by accident - they come from my understanding and teaching hitting technique in a way that makes sense to every player.

Let me break down these volleyball hitter drills the same way I learned them - piece by piece, body part by body part. (Shots by Shanty)

What makes my approach different is that I've never forgotten what it felt like to be that 15-year-old working on hitting technique.

I was fortunate enough to learn from volleyball legends like Mary Jo Peppler, Marilyn McReavy, and Gary Sato and other Olympians and great coaches who saw potential in me and took the time to explain not just what to do, but why.

As the youngest player on their experienced club team, I trained alongside former Olympians like Patty Dowdell who was teammates with Mary Jo and Marilyn (that's how everybody knew them because they were inseparable), who taught me that becoming a great hitter involves mental and emotional growth as much as physical technique.

These experiences shaped not just my playing career, but how I teach today.

Every drill I share comes from this rich background of learning from some of the best players in American volleyball history and understanding what young players today need in order to succeed.

Let me break down these volleyball hitter drills the same way I learned them - piece by piece, body part by body part.

No assumptions, no unexplained terminology.

Whether you're a 13-year-old just starting out or a parent trying to help your player improve, I'll explain everything in clear, actionable steps.

Before we dive into specific drills, let me share the five crucial elements that transformed me from a garage-door practicing beginner into a record-setting power hitter at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

These are the same fundamentals I teach my Vegas Volley players. 

A volleyball hitter needs to have five important things: 

1. - An aggressive mindset (something I had to develop as a late starter)
2. - A strong spike approach 
3. - A quick arm swing with high reach (the key to beating blocks)
4. - Proper hitting technique for multiple attack options
5. - The confidence to hit against any block (even two or three blockers)"

I was fortunate to learn proper hitting technique from Chris Rundle, my coach at St. Bernard's High School.

As a former beach volleyball professional, she saw potential in me when I switched from basketball to volleyball my sophomore year, where she taught me the fundamentals that would later, my senior year, help me lead my high school team to the  school's first ever participation in the California 4A CIF Division State Championship finals.

I was a middle blocker, at the time and it was the furthest that any volleyball team in my high school's history has ever been. I still have the trophy and I'm pretty sure we lost in the finals against Mira Costa that year. 

Okay enough about me taking you on a walk down memory lane!...

But just know that we have a lot in common, because to even get to that point, the highest division at that time for the California state championships, I had to learn how to hit with proper technique against girls who had been playing at the varsity level for much longer than I had. So I had to put in the extra work. 

I spent a lot of time working on my arm swing mechanics. You are going to want to do the same thing. 

Arm Swing Mechanics To Study And Learn

• Keep the elbow of your hitting arm above the level of your ear when you pull it back to swing (imagine you were pulling back the arrow inside of the bow of a bow and arrow)
• Keep the palm open and facing the opposite wall when pulling your elbow back while keeping it above the level of your ear
• Lead with your elbow, not your hand as you pull and then bring your elbow around to 
• Contact the ball at your highest reach point of your arm before the ball comes down below the level of your extended arm while its above your head
• Follow through with your arm swing either contacting the ball at 11:00 o'clock (if you're on the left side) to direct the ball cross court or at 1:00 o'clock to direct the ball down the line (if you're on the left side) 
• Finish your arm movement by keeping your arm close to the side of your body keeping your thumb close to your thigh ..I like to say "finish thumb to thigh" towards your hip

Volleyball Hitter Tip:

Not only do you have to learn the proper hitting arm mechanics but you also have to adopt the aggressive volleyball attacking attitude and mindset.
In order to become a point-scoring front or back row attacker in volleyball, you have to adopt a fearless and aggressive attitude when it comes to hitting the ball against a block put up by the opposing team.

Doing a lot of hitting volleyball drills should help build your confidence and help you grow and develop as a strong confident attacker because doing lots of reps in practice and in private training when you repeatedly work on ball touches with different sets develops muscle memory and helps your body get used to knowing what you have to do to put a ball on the floor during fast rallies in competitive games and matches. 

Advanced Hitting Drills: Taking Your Attack to the Next Level

Watch this two vs two left side hitter volleyball drill that I have my outsides do in order to do get multiple and continuous cross court reps in both sharp cross court and deep cross court areas to work on how and where to contact the ball with the correct spiking arm swing technique. This is the cooperative drill version which means they're purposefully working on and prioritizing control the ball to a specific area as opposed to hitting hard to make a point. 

Are you struggling with arm swing speed?

Do you have a slow arm swing that propels the ball out of bounds way too often?

In this next section I specifically want to talk about the most common hitting technique issues I see in my club practices and private training sessions...

Check out some of the hitting volleyball drills I do in my practices and private training sessions which work on speeding up and strengthening your arm swing speed technique? 

Advanced Volleyball Hitter Drills for Game Situations: The  Hit and Dig Drill

In this drill I remind hitters that they have taken their last two steps in their spike approach and they should now see themselves as being in the air.

If you were actually hitting you would be in the air, you would pull back the elbow of your hitting arm, keeping it above the level of her ear while the arm is above your head.

Holding your elbow high and using a bow and arrow type movement to make contact with the ball so that it clears the net, you bring your hitting arm forward so it contacts the top third of the ball.

The fundamentals of a good hard volleyball spike armswing are...

• a fast arm swing rotation with a
• a high reach keeping the elbow high along with
• contacting the top third of the ball ...which all combines to ...
• create a high paced hit with a downward trajectory that sends the ball past the block and into the opposing court with force and intensity

Volleyball hitter drills like Two vs Two Skinny cross court are fun drills to work on hitting skills.  

It's important when you spike the ball that your hand makes contact on the TOP third of the ball, if not then your spiked ball will not have a downward trajectory into the court, but instead will go sailing long towards the back wall and out of the court.

Hitting lines off a coach toss is a regular hitter volleyball drill done in practice and in pregame warmups. 

Volleyball Hitter Drills: Your Path to Becoming a Dominant Attacker

These volleyball hitter drills have transformed countless players in my Vegas Volley program and private training sessions from hesitant hitters into confident attackers.

I know they work because I used similar progressions in my own journey from a late-starting high school player to a 3-time SEC champion at Tennessee.

Remember, developing into a powerful hitter doesn't happen overnight - I spent countless hours practicing against my garage door at home before becoming a California state championship finalist.

But with proper technique and consistent practice, you can develop the same aggressive, confident hitting approach that helped me compete at the highest levels.

Want to Develop More Attacking Skills With These Additional Volleyball Hitter Drills?

If you want to develop more attacking skills check out my articles on 'Types of Volleyball Hits' and 'Volleyball Hitting Technique' for more strategies to improve your game.

One of the ways I can help you to transform your hitting skills is to join my email list for weekly training tips so you'll be the first to know when I post new drills and techniques.

I share the same advice that helped me progress from a high school beginner to playing professionally in Italy in the most top series A1 division - that's also helped my clients reach their volleyball goals with the information that can help you reach your volleyball goals too.

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Private or semiprivate volleyball indoor/sand lessons are an excellent way for young Las Vegas high school volleyball players to quickly improve their individual skills through a private or semi-private coaching experience. These lessons are conducted by former pro volleyball player, former USA Volleyball High Performance instructor and Evaluator and Tstreet Vegas 18s head Coach April Chapple on a weekly basis. Sign up now!

Follow me on Pinterest Volleybragswag 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. 

Tennessee Athletics Honors April Chapple at Champions Weekend for Legendary Volleyball Achievements

From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Produces Powerful Passionate Players...is that you?

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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

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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 Division

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Hi there!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you learned something today that will help you reach your volleyball goals.

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Stay strong! Stay motivated!

-Coach April

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Vegas Volleyball's Unsung Heroes: Celebrating Moms with Peace Love Volleyball Shirts

In the city that never sleeps, my Peace Love Volleyball mom shirts are your 24/7 support system.

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