Volleyball Passing Drills

Passing in volleyball is essential to keeping a rally going. Since the ball may end up falling near any player, all players must know how to pass. Read on to learn about drills that will improve your passing.

List of Volleyball Passing Drills

• Basket Passing
• Passing out of the Net
• Pepper
• Pipeline Passing
• Shuffle Steps
• Toss Catch

Basket Passing

Basket passing is used to improve a passer’s accuracy. Three players line up in the backcourt and must pass served balls into a basket at a target position. When they make it into the basket, they can switch out for another player.

Passing out of the Net

Passing out the net helps players practice passing balls that have hit the net. Line up three players (passers) at the ten-foot line. Behind them will be three more players (tossers). With the passers facing the net in a ready position, the tossers will throw the balls off the net. The goal for the passers is to stay low enough to get underneath the ball as it falls off the net, resulting in a pass to the appropriate player. This is a highly helpful skill to have during a game.

Pepper

Pepper is a two-person drill that works on the fundamentals of passing. The first player starts by tossing the ball in the air to their partner. Player two returns the ball with a pass (bump). The first player then tries to set the ball back. If this is accomplished, the third hit (from player two) will be in the form of a spike. Player one will then attempt to restart the cycle with a bump pass.

Pipeline Passing

Pipeline passing helps players work on accurate passing and passing positions when tired. Two players do this drill together, with each of them passing the ball back and forth to one another. Once they pass the ball, they have to run to touch the sideline and come back before their partner passes the ball back.

Shuffle Steps

Shuffle steps emphasize the shuffle movement used while passing in a game. It requires two players. One throws the ball to another but throws it several steps away from them. The passer must shuffle to get to the ball to pass it back. Players can switch back and forth, practicing these shuffle steps.

Toss Catch

Toss catch is a passing drill where one player will toss the ball to the other, who responds with a bump pass. The player who tossed the ball will catch the bump pass and repeat the process. This allows one player to focus on their passing form and improve pass accuracy so that the catcher doesn’t have to move to catch the pass.

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