Volleyball Conditioning Drills
Volleyball conditioning drills are designed to help build strength, endurance, and discipline in athletes. These drills mimic the movements made during volleyball practice and competitions, and can be included in any regular practice session.
What is Volleyball Conditioning?
Conditioning is a series of drills that work to build the strength and endurance of athletes. These drills are often similar to weight training, and many involve cardiovascular work as well. Volleyball conditioning drills are usually included at the beginning of a practice before the coach teaches new skills.
When to Condition?
Volleyball conditioning drills should come at the beginning or end of practice, depending on the coach’s preference. These drills should take 10-15 minutes and should force athletes to work hard. These drills are meant to push athletes, not coddle them, so coaches should always evaluate the exertion required to complete the drills. When volleyball conditioning drills become too easy, coaches should switch things up (be sure to look at our volleyball team drills for more ideas).
Walking Lunges
This simple conditioning drill strengthens the entire lower half of a volleyball player. It is useful because of the running and jumping required in volleyball. Athletes should stand on one end of the court, hands on hips. They take a step forward with the right foot, landing in a lunge position. Coaches should watch to ensure that the athlete’s knee lines up with their ankle; if the knee pushes too far forward, the athlete needs to take a larger step forward.
Athletes then push off their back leg and walk the left leg forward, keeping the right leg in place. Athletes again land in a lunge and continue this walking pattern until they reach the center court line.
Jump Wall
Coaches can help athletes jump higher by using the jump wall drill. Coaches can do several things to measure the athletes’ height, such as hold a piece of paper against the wall that they try to touch, paint lines on the wall that they try to touch, or use a jump device with several colored plastic markers that the athlete tries to grab.
This drill practices the vertical jump from a standing position. Athletes should stand with their feet hip-width apart and knees bent, keeping the knees in line with the ankles. The athlete then pushes off from the center of the foot and extends the arms overhead, attempting to get as high as possible. Coaches should make the drill progressively more difficult by increasing the target height they must reach.
This drill can also be completed from a running position, similar to a lay-up motion in basketball that mimics the front line movement in volleyball.
Volleyball Conditioning
Volleyball conditioning drills are meant to push athletes to become better, stronger, and more developed. Drills are similar to weight lifting or cardiovascular work in their results—building stronger athletes with more muscle. These drills can be completed at the beginning or end of practice, but they should happen regularly. Two sample drills include walking lunges and the jump wall.
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