Purpose

By keeping players stationary and positioning them further back, we give
them a hitting drill that emphasizes reaching high on the ball, getting top
spin, and following through.

Setup

  • The player participating in the drill will start in the middle of the court with a ball, with the rest of the players in line on the baseline with a ball of their own.
  • 3 players will line up on the far side of the court next to each other.

Execution

  1. The hitter will lob the ball up to themselves, and hit a strike – without jumping – to the other side of the court.
  1. The defensive players will try to return the serve to the coach on their side of the court.
  2. The hitter will step out and go to the back of the line, with the next player in line stepping up to hit.
  3. Continue for at least 3 minutes.

Coaching Tips

  • Keep your eye on the rotation of the ball – if they’re not getting top spin, they need to start reaching high and getting under the ball
    hitting the ball on the right spot.
  • Putting passers on the far side is a great way to get your passers live practice, and gives players who aren’t great hitters something they
    can work on during this drill instead of just standing around.
  • To bump up the challenge, you can tell your hitters so hit to a specific passer, giving them something else to keep in mind while they
    work on hitting and rotation.
  • Can tell players to hit to 1-2-3 spot, gives them location to think about as they work on hitting and rotation.