Free-ball transition
Volleyball drill · Age 11 and up
When the other team sends the ball over with a pass instead of an attack, that free ball is the best chance a team gets to run its offence. Youth teams waste it, because nobody moves: the blockers stay at the net, the setter stays in the back row, and the ball is passed to nobody. This drill teaches all six to move on one call, so the free ball turns into a set and an attack every time.
Adding it to a session puts it on your run sheet with its time and cue. It does not use up one of your saved plays. No account? Add it to a practice plan and print the run sheet for free.
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Players
- A full six on one side and a coach across the net, or 6 v 6 as a wash
- Equipment
- A cart of balls for the coach across the net
- A cone on the target, a metre off the net and 6 metres from the left sideline
Setup
- Our six start in base defence: the outside hitter (OH), middle blocker (MB) and opposite (OPP) half a metre off the net, and the setter (S) in zone 1, the libero (L) in zone 6 and the defensive specialist (DS) in zone 5.
- The coach (C) stands across the net, 4.5 metres off it, and sends the ball over with an easy free ball.
- On the free-ball call, the OH, MB and OPP drop off the net to their attack spots, the setter releases to the target, and the libero moves up to pass.
- The libero passes to the setter. The OH, MB and OPP all approach, and the setter sets the OH on the left.
- After every rally the next free ball comes straight away, so the team has to get back into base before it.
Coaching points
- Call it loudly and early: free! The call is what starts everybody moving at once.
- Front row: off the net quickly, to the attack line, turned to face the passer, so you can approach.
- Setter: release on the call, and be at the target before the pass arrives.
- Every hitter approaches, every time, even if they will not get the set. Three hitters coming make the block guess.
On the run sheet: Free! Front row off the net to the attack line, setter to the target, back row up to pass. Pass high to the setter, then everybody approaches
Progressions
- The coach mixes free balls with down balls and hard attacks, so the team has to read which it is before they move.
- Play it as a wash: 6 v 6, the coach sends a free ball to one side, and a team must win two rallies in a row to score a point.
- The setter chooses who to set, so the hitters are all live.
How it runs
Our six start in base defence. The outside hitter (OH), middle blocker (MB) and opposite (OPP) are at the net, ready to block, and the setter (S), libero (L) and defensive specialist (DS) are in the back row. Across the net the coach (C) sends an easy ball over. On the free-ball call, the front three drop off the net to their attack spots, the setter releases from zone 1 to the target, and the libero steps up. The libero passes to the setter, the OH, MB and OPP all approach, and the setter sets the OH on the left. The animation ends as the set reaches the OH, who attacks.
The middle's approach is the one that wins the free ball. Even when the set goes outside, a middle coming hard in front of the setter holds the other team's middle blocker in place for long enough.
The rule it is practising
Three hits, and the back-row attack. A team has three hits to return the ball, so the pass, the set and the attack are all of them (FIVB Official Volleyball Rules). The setter here is in the back row, which is allowed: a back-row player may set from anywhere. What a back-row player may not do is attack the ball from above the net in front of the attack line, and the libero may not attack from above the net at all. That is why the three front-row players are the ones who approach, and why the DS and the libero stay in the back court.
Youth leagues and mini-volleyball, often played 4 v 4 or with lower nets, relax the back-row rules or have no back row at all, so check your federation's or league's rules.
The mistakes to watch for
Nobody calling the free ball, so half the team moves and half do not. Front-row players backing off the net while watching the ball, and arriving at the attack line facing the wrong way. A setter who waits to see where the pass is going. And hitters who only approach when they think they are getting the set.
More volleyball drills
- Pepper: pass, set, hitAge 9 and up · 10 min
- Serve-receive passing to targetAge 10 and up · 15 min
- Setter footwork: setting to 4 and 2Age 10 and up · 15 min
- Approach and hitting linesAge 11 and up · 15 min
- Block footwork at the netAge 12 and up · 15 min
- Digging a down ballAge 10 and up · 15 min
- Serving to zonesAge 9 and up · 15 min
Put Free-ball transition in Tuesday's session
It lands on your practice plan already timed, with the coaching cue printed under it, next to your own plays.
Add to a sessionPage updated · Volleyball play designer · All drills