Tip by Aurora Salas, Horizon Prep in Rancho Santa Fe, CA.
My tip is to make the butterfly drill a competition. It helps you see who is earnings points offensively and defensively. I start out with the standard butterfly drill and have them progress through the drill to warm up. 10 free ball passes (to the tosser) over the net as a group, 10 sets over the net as a group, and finally 10 down balls over the net as a group.
Then you move into competition phase. Attackers can earn a point if they can hit the ball without the tosser digging and catching their hit. The ball cannot be tipped, roll shot, set or hit the tape = wash. It has to be hard driven down the line. I like to set up an elastic band to separate the court down the middle so players know where to hit and defenders know were the sideline is.
Tossers who now become defenders can earn a point if they can successfully dig and catch the ball the attacker just hit. If the ball is hit out of bounds it's a wash. I usually play to 10 points for more advanced athletes and 5 for less advanced. It's a fun drill to work on the basic skills but make it competitive which usually gets the athletes more engaged.