10 Volleyball Drills for Beginners (Passing, Setting, Serving)
Simple volleyball drills for beginners and youth teams: passing, setting, serving and game-like drills you can run with a ball, a wall and a few cones.
Beginners improve fastest with drills that give lots of touches and feel like a game. These ten drills need little equipment and work for kids, adults and new teams. Run them in order for a 60–75 minute practice.
Passing drills
1. Partner forearm pass
Partners stand 4–5 metres apart and pass back and forth with forearms. Cues: feet shoulder-width, platform out early, angle the arms toward the target, no swinging. Count consecutive passes and try to beat your record.
2. Wall passing
Players pass against a wall from 2–3 metres away. It's great for touches when you don't have a partner. Add a line on the wall as the target height.
3. Triangle passing
Three players stand in a triangle and pass around it. This teaches players to turn their platform toward a target that isn't straight ahead, which is the key skill for serve receive.
Setting drills
4. Self-sets
Each player sets the ball straight up to themselves 20 times, then alternates a high set and a low set. It builds hand shape and soft fingers.
5. Pass–set–catch
A coach tosses to a passer, who passes to a setter at the net, who sets to a third player who catches. Rotate every five reps. This is the first step to running an offense.
Serving drills
6. Short-court serving
Beginners serve from halfway between the attack line and the end line, then step back as they make 3 in a row. Success matters more than distance at first.
7. Target serving
Place cones or towels in zones 1, 5 and 6. Players earn a point for each target hit. Keep score to make it competitive.
Game-like drills
8. Queen (or King) of the Court
Small teams of two or three play a rally. The winners stay on the "queen" side, and the losers go to the back of the line. It's fast, fun and full of real decisions.
9. Three-touch rule game
Play 6 v 6 or 4 v 4, but a team only scores if it used all three contacts (pass, set, attack). It encourages teamwork instead of just sending the first ball over.
10. Wash drill
Each "big point" needs a team to win two rallies in a row: one off a serve and one off a free ball from the coach. First to 5 big points wins. It teaches focus under pressure.
Building a beginner practice
| Block | Time | Drills |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 10 min | Dynamic stretches, wall passing |
| Passing | 15 min | Partner and triangle passing |
| Setting | 10 min | Self-sets, pass–set–catch |
| Serving | 10 min | Short-court, then target serving |
| Game | 20 min | Queen of the court, three-touch game |
Keep score in practice
Scoring drills and scrimmages makes them competitive, and over time you can see your team improve. Volleyball Scoreboard: Keeper's Quick set mode plays games to 15, 21 or 25, and match history and stats show your progress across the season.