Serving to zones

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Volleyball drill · Age 9 and up

Every rally starts with a serve, and a youth team that serves in wins a lot of points without doing anything else. A team that serves to a chosen spot wins more. This drill turns serving into a game with targets: the coach names a zone, the server aims for it, and the server gets into the court the moment the ball has gone, because in a match the rally is only just starting.

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Time
15 minutes
Players
Servers in a line, and three passers and a setter on the other side
Equipment
  • A cart of balls
  • Hoops, towels or cones to mark the target zones on the far court

Setup

  1. Our server (SV) serves from our end line on the right, 7.8 metres from the left sideline. The canvas draws them just inside the line, because the court ends there.
  2. Across the net, their defensive specialist (DS) passes in their zone 1, the deep corner on our left as we look across, their libero (L) in the middle and their outside hitter (OH) on our right.
  3. Their setter (S) waits at their target, a metre off the net.
  4. The coach names a zone. The server serves to it, then steps into the court to their defensive spot in zone 1.
  5. Score it: two points for the named zone, one point for any serve in, and nothing for a serve out or in the net.

Coaching points

  • Choose the zone before the toss, not during it.
  • A low, steady toss in front of the hitting shoulder. Most missed serves are missed tosses.
  • Hit through the middle of the ball with a firm hand, and follow through towards the target.
  • Serve, then move: the server is a defender the moment the ball leaves their hand.

On the run sheet: Pick your zone, toss it in front of your hitting shoulder, firm wrist, follow through to the target. Then get into the court

Progressions

  1. Name the zone after the toss, so the server has to adjust late.
  2. Serve at the seams between passers, and score a point only when the pass is bad.
  3. Play it as a competition between two lines of servers, first to 15.

How it runs

Our server (SV) stands on our end line on the right, in our zone 1. Across the net their passers wait: their defensive specialist (DS) deep on our left, their libero (L) in the middle and their outside hitter (OH) on our right, with their setter (S) at the target. The coach has named zone 1, so the server serves long and cross court, over the middle of the net, to their DS. The moment the ball is gone the server walks into the court to their defensive spot. Their DS passes the serve to their setter, and the animation ends there: in the game, a serve that lands in zone 1 scores two, and a serve their DS passes perfectly is a cue to aim harder next time.

The zones are numbered from the receiving team's side, so their zone 1 is their back right, which is the back left as we look across the net. Players get that backwards, so say it out loud on the first ball.

The rule it is practising

The service. The server must hit the ball within eight seconds of the referee's whistle (FIVB rule 12.4.4), with one hand or arm, after tossing or releasing it, and from behind the end line: a server who touches the court or the end line before the ball is hit has served a fault. The serving team may not screen the server from the passers, so nobody stands in front of the server waving their arms or bunching up to hide the toss.

Many youth leagues let the youngest players serve from inside the court, and mini-volleyball serves from a shorter distance on a smaller court, so check your federation's or league's rules for where your players may serve from.

The mistakes to watch for

A toss that wanders, so every serve is a rescue. Serving as hard as possible and missing half of them. Standing on the end line to admire the serve instead of getting into the court. And servers who aim at the middle of the court, where the passers are waiting.

More volleyball drills

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Page updated · Volleyball play designer · All drills

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