Around the World and Other Spot Serving Drills

Serving is the only skill in volleyball that is not influenced by anyone but the player serving. Unlike passing, setting, and hitting which are all dependent on a previous move by another player, serving is entirely controlled by the one person. This drill focuses on placement of the serve and also requires players to judge for themselves if they achieve a certain goal. Make sure players get a few minutes to warm-up and warn them that they will be working on spot serving during the drill.

The basic game is played with two teams of any number. One player from each team sits on the opposite side of the court in service position one. Their team mates try to serve at the player and once the player catches one of the served balls (while she is still sitting), then the person who served that ball switches places with her and moves on to serving position two. A team wins once they’ve made it through all six positions.

There are some advanced variations on this drill.

Variation 1: You still have two teams but this time, servers go one at a time within their team and have to serve all six positions in a row. If a player misses one target, the next player begins their attempt. A team wins once all players have reached their goal. This variation is probably the most difficult and takes the longest.

Variation 2: Players call out what position they are serving toward and there are no teams. Players are evenly spread between both sides of the court though. A player individually wins once they hit all six spots. By calling out spots, they can only eliminate a spot if they intentionally served at that spot.

Variation 3: Around the world and back again. This is similar to the original, only once a team has caught a ball in position six, they make their way back around the serving positions in the opposite order. You can have players sit in position once or twice based on your own discretion.

Variation 4: Have two teams of six players each. Each player has a designated spot that they are attempting to hit and no one can choose the same spot (Emily is serving at service position three so none of her teammates can choose service position three). Serves take turns serving toward their spot until each spot has been hit by the player who chose it. This works on players recognizing their strengths and weaknesses as servers and strategizing accordingly.

Variation 5: Set hula hoops or mats in the two deep corners and then in the three short spots at least three feet in front of the ten foot line. Players aim for any of the targets and can stop serving once they hit at least three.