May 2026 Coaching Tip

Posted by Volley CART on

Tip by Tammy Swearingen, Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA. 

When working with younger players who struggle to keep their platform away from their body, we put a backpack on them with the pouch on the front of them. I place a ball in the pouch so it protrudes and forces the young players to keep their platform away from their body. It has proven to be a helpful tool to get them the feel of creating space between their platform and their body when passing.


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3 comments


  • Rotating 6’s Drill.
    This is a fun, competitive drill that allows the players to play in every position on the court front row and back.

    6 players on either sides. If there are any subs, they come onto the court in the 1 position when the girls rotate and the player in the 2 position comes off and gets in line to come back on.

    A coach puts in alternating free balls to initiate the rally

    The setter comes from the front row out of the 2 position, so there is a middle and outside hitter in the front row with 3 back row defenders.

    Whenever a side of 6 sends the ball over the net, they rotate like they would in a game one position. Regardless of if they keep the ball in play or not. When the ball goes over the net, that side rotates.

    Ideally, we would like to emphasise 3 touches, but the players must be ready for the ball to come over on one or two, and rotate quickly, getting to their new position.

    We usually play a best of 3 match to 25 with no cap, but you can decide how you want to keep score. The girls love this an early drill warm up and it’s fun.

    Dave Kramer, Archbishop Ryan H.S. Philadelphia, PA. on
  • When coaching the importance of fetting uour elbow up for swing at ball for hitting havw the athlete mimic a Nike ssign

    Kathleen Theune on
  • I had a beginner girls basketball team this year. To teach them to dribble and forward pass, we put them in teams of 2 and they do their warm up laps. One dribbles while the other jogs ahead, they make and receive the forward pass and alternate passing and dribbling. This gives them the skill of dribbling while running rather than just dribbling in place. They also learn to put the ball down when they put their foot down, so no traveling.

    Margarett Pool on

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