A fast-paced volleyball practice keeps players engaged, enhances skill development, and better prepares athletes for the speed of real competition. As a coach, creating an up-tempo environment doesn’t just happen—it requires intentional planning, clear communication, and smart drill design.
Here are 10 practical tips for increasing the pace of your volleyball practice:
1. Plan, but be flexible.
Being organized is important, and a practice plan is critical. It will help you prioritize improvements and be efficient as you move from one activity to another. A plan also communicates to players, parents, and administrators that you take your position seriously. Of course, a coach’s world is full of unforeseen circumstances, from last-minute player illnesses to equipment failures to player injuries. Being adaptable is a coaching superpower. Be ready to be surprised, and your confident demeanor will seep into your team’s psyche.
2. Play to begin practice.
For players, it is difficult to get excited about a slow, repetitive dynamic warm-up routine, yet that is often how many practices begin. We have had more luck streamlining our warm-up, and moving it to item two on our practice plan. We now start each practice with 5-7 minutes of play. It is a fun way to begin our time together, and players now make more of an effort to arrive on time. Our favorite go-to’s are 4 v 4 Two-Contact Queen of the Court and 6 v 6 Offspeed Attack.
3. Talk 50% less.
Players agree that nothing kills a practice more than a coach who talks too much. If you are prone to this problem, it’s important to have specific guardrails to keep you focused. One idea is to establish a maximum of three items at 30 seconds each for anytime you address the team. If you have an assistant, use him/her to “hard stop” you at 90 seconds. (If not, time yourself.) Secondly, do not stop everyone for individual feedback. Let the team play while you coach one player. Along those same lines, use “feedback on the fly.” That is, coach during play, rather than stopping the action. Lastly, avoid lectures. Establish relevant consequences on day one, and be ready to use them when needed. Note: Listening to you lecture should not be the consequence for poor effort….
4. Shorten the duration of activities.
The brain science research suggests there is better learning using two short five-minute blocks rather than one longer ten-minute one. I have implemented this idea with short 1-2 minute blocks that surround our water breaks. I might have the team do some floor moves, hit some “clipper serves”, or practice foot digs for 90 seconds before or after water. I’ve also tried to limit all “blocked” drills to five minutes. Even if we fail to show improvement in the five minutes, I’ll still stop. I might revisit the same concept later rather than trying to grind it out.
5. Become a challenge point wizard; 60-80% is best.
Master coaches do this instinctively, but it is a learned skill to design activities that are not too easy (boring) and not too difficult (frustrating). Of course, when you coach a team with a wide talent discrepancy, this is even more difficult. Nevertheless, constantly tweaking the challenge point to keep your players focused is a key component of an up-tempo practice.
6. Avoid long lines.
Be aware of how much time elapses between player ball touches. If we are doing some type of repetitive, blocked training, I’ve limited any line to a maximum of three players. If there is ever more than three, then I redesign the activity. For example, instead of a hitting line with 12 players, we’ll create four groups of three: an attacking group, a setter/blocker group, a defender group, and a ball control group working on the same side as the attackers. After 2 minutes, the groups rotate.
7. Use serving go-to’s.
No coaches believe they practice enough serving. Having a couple of fast-paced (1-2 minutes) serving activities in your toolbox will pay dividends. Our favorites are: 3 by 3 Serving (serve three sets of 3 in a row) and Elastic Challenge (How many under the elastic in two minutes?).
8. Use small-sided game go-to’s.
We like using the same games to teach a variety of skills. That way, we don’t have to waste time explaining the activity. Our three favorites are: Kamikaze (4 v 4, with 2 at the net and 2 back row—back row setter), 2 v 2 Longcourt (with antenna in the middle of the net to divide the court in two), and Deep Court (3 v 3, with or without setters).
9. Keep balls in play.
Nothing slows down a practice like a string of missed serves. Our remedy is to quickly throw in a ball if a serve is missed. For scoring purposes, the serving team cannot earn a point, but they can earn a “wash” and prevent the other side from scoring. We also like 3-ball games that involve a serve and a specific ball to each side. If a team wins 2 of 3, it earns a point; if a team wins all three, they earn 2 points.
10. Play short games.
Avoid long scrimmages. That is, if you play “regular” games to 25, everything slows down and gets boring if one team takes a large lead early in a set. Instead, play sets to 15, and begin at 10 -10. Play best of 7 in this format. This will keep the scores close and competitive.
Good luck experimenting with these ideas. Improving the tempo of your practices is not only more fun for the players, it’s more fun for the coaches as well.
View more education to help you run a volleyball practice.
The Volleyball Coach’s Book of Lists, is a compilation of inspiration and instruction from over 130 coaches. Tod Mattox gathered wisdom from some of the top volleyball coaches in the game, including Karch Kiraly, Kirsten Bernthal-Booth, Dan Fisher, JJ Van Niel and many more. Club directors, coaches, and players will find value with chapters on Culture, Practice, Strategy, Resources, and Parents.
From Dan Fisher’s Pitt Culture Questions
1. How grateful is she to be here? Gratitude is shown through action.
2. How much joy does this give her?
3. How much enthusiasm is she bringing?
4. Is she a learner? Is she curious?
5. How does she react to stress/when things don’t go her way?
Check out the Amazon link and grab a copy today.
About the Author
Tod Mattox started his coaching journey in 1981, and he’s been working with high school and club teams for the past 44 years. Tod is a frequent contributor to The Art of Coaching Volleyball, and he’s presented several workshops at AVCA Conventions. Currently, he and his coaching pal, Davis Ransom, create a weekly podcast, The VolleyPod, where they share ideas on coaching kids’ volleyball. He continues to explore ways to improve his coaching at The Bishop’s School, COAST Volleyball Club (a JVA member club), and Catalyst Volleyball Club.
