3 Volleyball Conditioning Drills For High School Volleyball Practice

Volleyball conditioning drills are ball control drills that usually have a cardio component requiring the player to run/jog before or after playing the ball. 

Most volleyball conditioning drills that I do in practice have a cardio element to them so players are in constant movement either

• jogging
• sprinting
• diving or
• rolling 

..while they are also required to handle the ball by using any of the six basic volleyball skills 

• setting
• passing
• hitting 
• blocking 
• serving or 
• digging 

for either a specific number of reps (repetitions) or for a required amount of time. 

The pepper drill is a ball control drill that has many variations that can turn it into a conditioning drill. 

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3 Person pepper with Setter/Digger Exchange

Here’s a variation of this popular pepper drill that keeps two players moving at ALL times.

Two players are working on setting and digging  ball control while a stationery hitter works on spiking technique and controlling the ball to the target.  

The hitter stays while only the digger and setter switch after each touch.

The two "working players" move from setter to digger transitioning back ...like they would in defense....working on a quick back pedal with fast feet .. . moving until the hitter begins their armswing......then being STOPPED and in a balanced position ..not leaning left or right  .. before digging the ball.

This drill I will do two ways...

• either for a certain amount of time and then pick a new hitter in the group
• or for a certain amount of ball touches for each player before picking a new hitter in the group

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Serving Drills: Serving Under Pressure

In this drill Players have 15 seconds to serve two balls... one from each side of the court.

After each serve they run/sprint to shag their ball and then line up behind the service line to serve again.

Before I start the timer I’ll call out the “two” zones (in this case but depending on the time I can call out more) ) they have to serve to ... accurately.

You can have “consequences” if you’d like .. keeping score of each time one person in the group doesn’t serve to the designated spot.

Working on:

• Composure under pressure:

• Learning what 6-8 seconds feels like (time allotted to serve) and being able to calm the mind and the body down long enough to be able to control both.. and deliver a tough but accurate serve to a very specific place on the court... while getting use to feeling the pressure of having to perform under specific circumstances.

In Breakfast Club today we did the Figure 8 Drill..we started out slow but then wait for it. 

Working on...

• staying balanced in your defensive position-not leaning in either direction until the hitter has contacted the ball. . In the drill I hold the ball straight up above my head not giving away which direction I plan to throw until the very last minute...If I see anyone lean or step in one direction I throw the ball in the other direction.

(Why? Because good hitters can see a defensive player move in defense ...and as a digger if you move too early in one direction a good hitter WILL hit away from you.)

• Playing the ball with your right hand when its landing on your right side and learning to play the ball with your left hand (weak hand for right handers) when its falling on your left side
• A big fast first step ( do not step backwards before stepping forwards ..you'll be late) when you move to chase a ball down helps you cover more distance...faster...- stepping with your right foot when ball is landing on your right side and stepping with your left when ball is landing on your left side

• If a player can run a ball down without hitting the floor ...awesome...that's quick foot speed
• Staying low while taking 1, 2 or 3 steps to dig a ball

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The Figure 8 Drill - What is it?

A drill with all the players taking off from middle back  (zone 6) usually and (preferably) an uneven numbered group of players... that dig balls on the right side and left side of the court. 

An uneven number means if player A gets a ball in right back, then player B goes left back and player C goes right back, then player A comes back around and goes left back the next player goes right back ..so they alternate each time.

A coach can put a chair or a ball basket in Zone 6 so each time a player digs they get up turn around and run around the basket on their way to the other side of the court to dig.

Today was the short version. As we get closer to summertime groups will need to get 15 playable balls up before the drill stops.

Follow me on Instagram @coach_apchap to improve your game even faster!

I share alot of individual, partner and easy-to-do volleyball serving drills we do in class with my followers.

Many of these volleyball practice drills you can do at home by yourself or try at your next practice with your teammates.

If you're a B team or JV player trying to make varsity next year...your goal should be to complete 1000 reps a day of at least three of the basic skills on your own...volleyball passing, serving and setting should be at the top of the list. 

Volleyball Drills: 
Where Do You Go From Here?

Your three options are: 

1. You can learn more about Drills by visiting the Related Links below.  
2. Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page  Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
3. Or visit the pages in the How to Play Volleyball section in the drop down menu at the top of the page to get started. 

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