VOLLEYBALL GAMES
CATCH AND THROW (Catching, decision making, digging, throwing, agility, balance, coordination, power, reaction time, speed)
- One volleyball and court per 6 to 12 participants.
This game is good for introducing the dig shot to beginners. Arrange the participants into groups of 12; then separate them into two teams of six. Each group works on one court, and teams stand on either side of the net. Three participants are at the front of the court, and three are at the back.
A participant throws or serves the ball over the net to start a rally. One of the participants receiving the service moves to a position to catch the ball before it bounces or after one bounce. He tries to stay facing the net and attempts to catch the ball in front of him in a digging position. If he does this correctly, he should have his feet on the floor just wider than the width of his shoulders and be able to catch the ball with both hands so that he can immediately throw the ball back over the net. Participants should use an underarm throwing action to send the ball over the net. The rally continues with participants from opposing teams catching the ball in a digging position and throwing it over the net. if a participant fails to throw the ball over the net, or throws it out of the court, the opposing team wins a point. The team that wins a point always serves for the next rally. Participants rotate positions when their teams wins service back from their opponents. Participants rotate in a clockwise direction, and the participant who moves to the back left (looking from the net) serves. Play continues for a set time (e.g., 5 minutes) or until one team has scored a set number of points (e.g., 15)
- If a participant is going to play the ball, he should position himself in line with the ball when it is travelling towards him. Once he is in line, he should move forwards or backwards to ensure that it bounces into his hands and does not rebound off the floor so hard that it hits him in the face.
- Participants should look at the ball at all times to avoid being hit by stray shots. This is particularly important for participants standing at the front of the court when a teammate is throwing the ball from the back. Participants should call out their names if they are going to play the ball so that teammates can move out of their way.
- Ask questions to check understanding after explaining the rules.
- Use the progressions to make the game more difficult as participants'skill levels improve. The aim is to get the participants to play a dig shot after the bounce, and then eventually without the bounce.
EASIER: Participants are allowed to catch the volleyball after it bounces twice on the floor.
EASIER: Play with more participants on a team to make the game easier.
EASIER: When a participant is playing the ball from the back court, his/her teammates who are standing at the front of the court, should help to get the ball over if the shot they play is not going to travel over the net. They should do this by volleying, digging or tapping the ball so it passes over the net.
GAME VARIATION: Participants play a normal game, so teams are allowed up to three touches or hits to play the ball over the net. However, after the ball has been hit over the net to a team's side, the first participant to play the ball can choose to catch the ball in the digging position then throw it to a teammate rather than hitting it. This can be before a bounce of after it. Further touches to get the ball over the net should be made using correct volleyball techniques.
HARDER: Participants must catch the volleyball in the digging position before it bounces.
HARDER: Participants must dig the ball back over the net. They can do this before or after the ball has bounced once.
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CATCH, PASS AND SPIKE (Catching, decision making, digging, serving, spiking, throwing, volleying, agility, balance, coordination, power, reaction time, speed)
- One volleyball and court per 12 participants.
Use this activity to develop team play and the ability to set up and execute the spike shot during volleyball match play. One of the most effective ways of winning a rally when playing volleyball is through setting up a teammate at the net to spike the ball hard into the opponent's half of the court. Beginners frequently hit the ball over the net using a dig or volley shot, but this is not a successful tactic when playing against opponents with a higher skill level. Participants must be familiar with using two touches, or passes, to set up the spike shot.
This game is played with the same scoring and serving rules as normal volleyball match, but participants are allowed to catch the ball when taking their first two touches. Arrange the participants into groups of 12; then separate them into two teams of six. Each group works on one court, and teams stand on either side of the net. Three participants are at the front of the court, and three are at the back.
One participant starts a rally by serving the ball over the net. After the ball has been hit over the net (and on all subsequent occasions during the rally), teams try to set up spikes at the net using two catch-pass touches. The first participant to play the ball should catch it in a digging position - with two hands, below the waist and with the palms facing upwards. She should then throw the ball to one of her teammates so she receives it above her head in a volleying position. Ideally this should be one of the participants at the front of the court (by the net); this participant is called the setter. The setter throws the ball up from above her head for one of the other teammates playing at the front of the court to spike it down into the opponents' side. A point is scored for winning each rally. Groups play until one team has won a set number of points (e.g., 15 points) or for a set time (e.g., 10 minutes) to decide the winner.
- Warn participants to be careful of collisions when collecting stray balls.
- Participants should call out their name when they are going to play the ball so that teammates can move out of the way.
- Allow teams to practice the passing sequence before putting it into a competition game.
- If participants cannot serve very well, then either have them throw the ball over the net or serve the ball yourself, if you can do so effectively.
- The participant who is going to spike the ball should be in a position to run forwards and jump, so the ball is hit close to the net. Without a run-up, participants frequently do not get enough height to spike the ball over the net and down into their opponents' side.
- Set the net height so that the majority of participants can spike the ball downwards into the opponents' side of the court.
EASIER: After a team has served or hit the ball over the net, allow the opponent who makes the first catch to do so after the ball has bounced once.
EASIER: Allow the setter to move with the ball once he has caught it. This should make it easier for him to set up a teammate to spike the ball close to the net.
GAME VARIATION: Teams take turns to receive a set number of serves (e.g., 24). Set up skittles on the other side of the net. The team receiving the serve tries to use the catch-pass-spike sequence to knock over the skittles.
HARDER: Participants can use only one catch each time the ball is played into their half. For example, if the first participant to touch the ball catches it, then the next teammate may not. Similarly, if the first participant plays a dig or volley shot, then the next participant may catch it.
HARDER: As an alternative to the previous variation, state which of the touches must be caught. To work on digging, allow participants to catch the second touch. To develop setting and volleying, allow them to catch the ball after it has been played over the net.
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DIG IT, VOLLEY IT (Digging, volleying, balance, coordination, reaction time)
- One volleyball per six participants
Arrange the participants into groups of six. Participants from each group stand in a circle between 1 to 3 metres apart, creating a circle with a 6-to 8- metre diameter. One of the participants throws the ball using an underarm action to one of the other participants so he can use a dig shot to play the ball. The participants continue to play the ball to each other using a dig shots until the ball bounces or is hit out of the circle.
If a participant hits a poor dig shot that prevents the group from keeping the rally going (e.g., too high, low or hard), he kneels down in his position in the circle. Kneeling participants are allowed to use dig shots, but most of their shots will be volleys. If a kneeling participant makes another poor shot, he sits on the floor. The game continues with participants kneeling, and then sitting after each mistake they make. If a sitting participant makes another mistake, the game restarts, and participants are awarded points as follows:
- Sitting participants are awarded 1 point.
- Kneeling participants are awarded 2 points.
- Standing participants are awarded 3 points.
Have them play for a set time (e.g., 10 minutes) or a set number of rounds (e.g., 5 to 10 minutes). The participant with the most points at the end wins.
- On very hard floors (e.g., concrete) participants should have something to kneel on when they have to, such as a gym mat or something similar.
- Leave a suitable gap between the groups. This should reduce the risk of miss-hit volleyballs rolling into other groups' areas.
- Try to group the participants by ability. If some of the participants in each group have a lower ability than the rest, they may lose confidence and not enjoy the game if they are constantly making mistakes when others in the grou are not.
- Reinforce the key factors of digging and volleying. If some participants are making mistakes frequently, try to improve their skill level by giving them feedback on their performance.
- Remind participants to keep their own scores and to remember to keep adding their scores from each of the rounds.
EASIER: Allow the participants to play the ball after one bounce to keep adding the game going.
GAME VARIATION: Play in teams. Within the groups separate the participants into two teams of three. Participants stand in the circle with an opponent on either side of them. Participants can pass, or play, the ball to any participant in the group, but should try to play the majority to the opponents. After each round teammates add their scores together. For example, if a sitting player makes a mistake and his teammates are both sitting, then the team score for that round is 3 (each participant scores a point). If the opponents were all still standing, then that team's score would be 9 (each participant scores 3 points). The team with the most points at the end of the set time wins.
GAME VARIATION: Participants start the game with 10 points. Participants stay standing and do not kneel or sit after a mistake but they lose a point, whereas the rest of the participants in the group gain one. The game continues for a set time, and the participant with the most points at the end is the winner.
SPORT-SPECIFIC: Adapt this game for use in throwing and catching games, such as cricket and rugby. Participants must catch the ball before throwing it to other group members. Make the circle slightly bigger and add a rule that participants cannot pass the ball to either of those standing on either side of them.
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LINE VOLLEY (Volleying, balance, coordination, power, reaction time)
- One ball per four participants
Use this game to develop the ability to play the volley shot in a forwards and backwards direction. The setter frequently uses the volley shot to set up a teammate at the net to spike the ball. Being able to set up teammates in front and behind a setter can help to deceive opponents and win more points. Arrange the participants into teams of three. Within each team, the participants stand in a line with a gap of approximately 3 to 5 metres between them. Number the participants 1,2, and 3. The participant in the centre should be number 2. The participants at the ends of the line (numbers 1 and 3) should face number 2. Number 1 should be given a ball and number 2 should face them. Number 1 throws the ball to number 2 so he can volley it. The participants try to continuously volley the ball to each other in the following sequence:
- Number 2 passes the ball to number 1
- Number 1 passes back to number 2
- Number 2 passses the ball backwards to number 3; then turns around to face him
- Number 3 passes back to number 2
- Number 2 passes back to number 3
- Number 3 passes back to number 2
- Number 2 passes the ball backwards to number 1; then turns around to face him.
One point is scored each time the participants complete the sequence. The participants continue passing the ball in the sequence until the ball drops to the fllor or one of them doesn't use a volley technique to pass the ball. If this occurs, one of the participants at the end of the line switches with the centre participant. The participants take turns beign in the centre. Have them play for a set time (e.g., 5 minutes). The team with the most points at the end of the set time wins.
- Set a gap of at least 5 metres between teams.
- Warn participants to be careful of collisions when collecting stray balls.
- Allow the participants to practice the passing sequence by throwing and catching the ball before starting to time the activity.
- To help the centre participant remember his role in the sequence, have him repeat his actions: forwards (pass), backwards (pass), turn.
EASIER: Participants at the end of the lines throw and catch the ball instead of volleying it.
EASIER: The participants on the ends of the lines use other techniques to play the ball to the centre participant.
EASIER/HARDER: Change the distance between the participants to change the level of difficulty.
GAME VARIATION: Change the sequence of the volleys. One of the participants at the end of the line throws the ball to the centre partitipant, who volleys it backwards to the participant behind him. The participant receiving this pass plays a long volley pass to the participant on the other end (over the head of the centre participant). The sequence is completed when the ball is played back to the centre participant.
SPORT-SPECIFIC: With older or more advanced soccer players, this activity can be carried out using headers.
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SPIKE RALLY (Spiking, balance, coordination, power, reaction time)
- One volleyball per two to four participants
- A wall or something similar
This activity requires a wall to hit the ball against, so it is ideally played indoors. Arrange the participants into teams of two to four, and have each team line up about 10 to 15 metres from a wall.
The first participant in each team is given a ball, which they should spike towards the wall before joining the back of his team's line. He should hit the ball hard into the ground so it bounces up to hit the ball (before it bounces again) and rebounds back towards the other participants. The next participant in the line repeats the process of spiking the ball and then rejoining the back of the line. The aim is to see how many times the participants can keep the spiking sequence going. A point is scored each time a new participant can spike the ball to keep the sequence going. If a team cannot continue their rally, then they will set up and start again. Teams should keep score of their best rally sequence. Play for a set time (e.g. 5 minutes), with the team having the longest spike rally sequence winning.
- Allow rest periods for participants to recover.
- After spiking the volleyball, participants should quickly move out to the side and then to the back of the line.
- The participant standing behind their teammate who is spiking should be well out of the way.
- Volleyballs need to be inflated so they are bouncy enough to rebound high after they are hit against the floor and wall.
- Participants need to have a good spiking technique and be able to hit the volleyball hard enough so it will rebound back with enough height for the next participant in the line to hit.
- Encourage participants to work cooperatively to keep the sequence going.
GAME VARIATION: Participants work in groups of four to six. Within each group, participants play against each other. They all start with 10 points. Participants responsible for the rally breaking down lose a point, and the other participants in the group gain a point. Have them play for a set time (e.g., 3 to 5 minutes). The participant who has the most points at the end of the set time wins the game.
GAME VARIATION: Participants work in groups of three to four. Within each group, participants play against each other. They all start with 5 points, and those who are responsible for the rally breaking down lose a point. Once a participant has lost all of her points, she is out of the game. The participant who still has points remaining when all the others are out wins the game.
From the book, More Fun and Games: 100 new sport-related activities (Anthony Dowson)
