How to Plan a Volleyball Practice

A good volleyball practice has a clear theme, moves from warm-up to ball control to skill work, then to game-like drills and a scrimmage. Keep drills short and competitive, and give every player many contacts.

Sample 2 hour practice

TimeActivity
0 to 15Dynamic warm-up and arm care
15 to 30Partner ball control: passing, setting, pepper
30 to 55Skill stations: serving, hitting, blocking
55 to 80Serve receive and transition drills
80 to 110Scrimmage with a theme, such as first-ball kill
110 to 120Cool-down and team talk

Planning tips

  • Set one theme per practice.
  • Use game-like drills with scoring.
  • Rotate lines quickly to maximise touches.
  • Track serving and passing stats.
  • End on a high note.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a volleyball practice be?

Usually 90 minutes to 2 hours for school and club teams.

What is pepper?

A partner drill of pass, set, hit in a continuous sequence.

How many serves should players practise?

A focused block of 20 to 30 serves each practice builds consistency.

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Sam Ayed
Sam Ayed

Sam Ayed is a soccer player, coach and lifelong sports enthusiast. As the editor of Sportmentary, he writes and reviews the site's guides, checks rules content against the official rulebooks of each sport's governing body, and keeps pages updated when those rules change.

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