Base Position – Basic Attacks

Purpose:  
To teach your players how to rotate from base position and deal with a ball hit back on 1, a back setter dump, and a quick set. 

Setup:
Have 6 players line up in base position on the court.
You will also need a sturdy box, a ball cart, and an assistant coach or 2. 

Instructions: 

1. First, we will have our defense practice dealing with a ball that is immediately hit back after the serve. 
2. The assistant coach will begin by passing a ball over the net. 
3. The defense will rotate to the ball, communicating loudly and clearly to each other, making a pass to the setter. 
4. Next we will have the defense practice dealing with a ball that comes over on the 2nd hit from a backwards setter. 
5. One assistant will pass to the other, who will backset the ball over to our defense. 
6. Again, the defense will rotate to the ball and make a play. 
7. Lastly, we will show the defense how to deal with a quick set from the offense to the middle blocker. Have a coach stand on a sturdy box to hit balls over the net to the defense. 
8. The middle blocker will attempt to block, the two off-blockers will take a step off the net and towards the middle blocker, getting low, ready to dig.
   

Coaching Tips:

• To keep the drill moving quickly and focused on defense, we want to have our players pass to our setter, but instead of setting the ball they will catch it and roll it to an assistant coach.
• Our number one focus on defense is to get that first ball up in the air and give ourselves a chance to get a hit back.