Coach Tools

Drills and Competition Ideas

Thank you for giving back to our sport by coaching, whether you have played the game or not. Volleyball is the ultimate team sport, and both coaching and playing will fill the rest of your life with joy.

Whether you are a new or veteran coach, you don’t have to go it alone. Our resources will help you keep learning and keep your athletes engaged.

Volley on!

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The Best Learning Environment Possible

“I ask you to critically think about any drill you see. Consider this question: Does the drill use the environment my players are going to compete and read and anticipate in?”

John Kessel

Longtime coach and retired USAV director of sport development

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Drills and Competition Ideas

CAP I Drills

These drills were submitted to fulfill requirements for CAP I certification.

• Exchange (PDF) (Matt Laliberte)
• Hawaii Defend and Set (PDF) (Edwin Aguiar)
• Hitter vs Hitter Tic-Tac-Toe (PDF) (Grant Kudert)
• Risk Reward (PDF) (Greg Post)
• Nev’s (PDF) (Kristina Baehm)
• Cross Court Pepper (PDF) (Iain Bradbury)
• 5 on 5 Warm-Up (PDF) (David Noble)
• Modified USA 6 on 6 (.doc) (Kyong Lee)
• Base to D (.doc) (Jamie Gilmore)
• Scramble and Recover (PDF) (Juanita Blee)
• Terminator (PDF) (Christopher Strok)
• Dig-Set-Cover (PDF) (Stephanie Schmidt)
• Feed the Beast (PDF) (Ashley Cornett)
• 4×4 Out of System Setting (PDF) (Todd Lyon)

BCAP I Drills

These drills were submitted to fulfill requirements for BCAP I certification.

• Over Under Passer Hitter (.doc) (Kent Perkins)
• Dig 2 (PDF) (Brian Heffernan)
• X-Box Competition (PDF) (Daren Bolton)
• Line Block, Line Pull (.doc)(Shannon Sneed)
• Defensive Digging (PDF) (Michael del Homme)
• 5-5-5 Poke-Shot-Swing (PDF) (Eric McGuiney)
• 3 Serve Pass to Attack (PDF) (Tayyiba Haneef-Park)
• Double Triangle (PDF) (Amber Wise)
• Block then Attack (PDF) (Huy Nguyen)
• Butterfly (PDF) (Amber Wise)
• 500 (PDF) (Grant Lange)
• Young Buck Sand Drill (PDF) (Deven Bukoski)

CAP II Drills

These drills were submitted to fulfill requirements for CAP II certification.

• Fake Out (PDF) (John Beckett)
• Pick Points (PDF) (JT Oates)
• Ball-Setter/Ball-Hitter (PDF) (Lamar Hurd)
• Read the Hitter (PDF) (Jason Davis)
• Ultimate Mintonette (PDF) (Chris Anagnostopoulos)
• Middle vs. Middle (PDF) (Jim McShane)
• Server vs. Receivers and Hitters (PDF) (Eric Vergara)
• Coverage & Out-of-System Play (PDF) (Steve Kish)

Competition Ideas

• Pools of Three (PDF)
• Round Robin All-Court (PDF)
• Top 10 Nominee and Mad Hatter (PDF)
• Vary the Net Height (PDF)
• Family Volleyball (PDF)
• Competitive Cauldron (PDF)
  • Open Source Competitive Cauldron (.xls)
  • Open Source Master Team Scheduling Sheet for Cauldron (.xls)
  • Open Source Coaches Assessment Competitive Cauldron (.xls)
• More Competition Ideas (PDF)
• Multi-team/Multi-court Tournament Draw Sheet (.xls)
• Pool_Sheet_Blank_Region_Formats_v4 (xls) 3-6 Team Pool Chart for Outdoor Competition (.xls)

and John Kessel’s 166 Volleyball Drills

Growing the Game

John Kessel’s Growing the Game blog is one of the greatest tools for new and veteran coaches. You can search for Growing the Game in Related Resources below for more recent blogs. Previous blogs are captured in PDF format in four volumes.

• Growing the Game Together Coaches and Club Directors Edition Vol 1 (PDF) (2008-12)
• Growing the Game Together Vol 2 (PDF) (2013-May 2014)
• Growing the Game Together Vol 3 (PDF) (May 2014-Octobr 2015)
• Growing the Game Together Players and Parents Edition (PDF) (2013)

More John Kessel Recommendations

• Increasing Contacts Per Hour (webinar)
• Motor Learning (webinar)
• Maximum Contact Net System (video)
• Q&A with Karch Kiraly in 2014 (video)

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Related Resources

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May 18, 2021

The Path to Being a Pro Volleyball Player

Few athletes are going to beat the odds and make it to collegiate or professional volleyball. John Kessel's son is one of those few. Here are tips from John about raising a potential professional athlete.

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May 17, 2021

Six Things I Learned as a New Coach

Being a first-time coach can be nerve-wracking, and coaches can often feel lost during their first season leading a team. Here are a few tips from USA Volleyball staffers who recently wrapped up their first season of coaching volleyball.

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March 8, 2021

Increasing Participation Across the Board

In an effort to get more touches in practice for his teams, CAP III coach Dennis Belaire has combined speedball and the Competitive Cauldron to form a new game-like drill: SpeeDron.

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January 12, 2021

The Agony of DeParent

Parents agonizing over defeat need to learn to enjoy all matches, including losses, and spend more time teaching the values and lessons to be gained in the journey.

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October 22, 2020

Teaching More Effectively and Efficiently

Time in the gym is limited - especially now - so practice must be efficient as possible. John Kessel has ideas on how to best use your time in the gym.

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Featured Video

Spotlight on Skills

Learn how to direct the X-box competition for beach players, and then adapt it for indoor play. This Spotlight on Skills video was created originally for Your Court, the official magazine of USA Volleyball.

Steve Kish's CAP II Favorite Drill

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Countdown Drill

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Speedball