When we see the ball heading for the net, our first emotion is worry. Why? Because if we haven’t trained our athletes what to do in this situation, the ball is most likely going to drop without a touch on it, or get shanked in the opposite direction. But we can turn this into a situation that our players handle with ease and confidence! It just takes a little practice.

With this quick and easy drill, you’ll have your players not only passing out of the net, but attacking the ball back over!

FYI: I’m working on putting a video together for this but don’t have it yet! Stay tuned!

Purpose of the Drill

• Teach our players how to read what the ball will do based on the angle and speed the ball is heading into the net.

• Teach our players how to react to this information for a better pass.

• Teach our back row to be ready for the pass out of the net so they can react and attack the ball after their teammate passes it up.

Drill Setup and Explanation

1. Have your players lineup so they can see the net. Throw a ball into the top of the net a few times and ask your players if they see any pattern to how the ball behaves.

The answer? The ball will drop quickly, almost directly below where it first made contact with the net.

2. Next, throw a few balls into the middle/bottom of the net and again ask your players if they see a pattern.

This time, the ball will tend to “pop out.”

Overall, the ball will drop faster the closer it is to the top, and pop out more the closer it is to the bottom. This is especially true for quick-moving balls.

Run The Drill

Now that your players have seen how the ball reacts based on where it hits the net, we need to teach them how to position themselves to effectively deal with these net balls.

Have a shagger or two ready, a cart full of balls at your side (standing in middle back), and line your players up at right front.

Round 1: Throw the ball into the top of the net. Players should hurry to where it is going to hit the net, drop low, and try to pass the ball up. We want them standing parallel to the net (not facing it) so they can pass the ball to their left. For now, there is no target. Go through 3-5 passes each player, rotating from passing to shagging.

Round 2: Throw the ball into the top of the net, but this time have a target. I like to have mine standing in either left back or middle back, but you can have yours stand anywhere. Your targets will catch the ball only. Go through 2-3 times each player.

Round 3: Throw the ball into the top of the net, and have your target in back row attempt to attack the ball, either via downball or back row attack. Add a shagger across the net, and have players rotate from passing to hitting to shagging. Go through about 5 times each passer.

Round 4: Throw the ball towards the bottom of the net. Players should hurry to where the ball is going to hit, but be prepared to sort of “wait” and have the ball pop out to them. They should remain parallel to the net, and this time do not have to drop as low. Go through 3-5 passes each player, passing the ball up without a target. Players usually love this round, because passing it out of the bottom of the net is easier!

Round 5: Throw the ball to the bottom of the net, encouraging players to pass the ball to a back row target in the position of your choice. Go through 2-3 times.

Round 6: Throw to the bottom of the net, add in back row attacks, and watch as your players become excited and confident in their new skills! Go through about 5 times each passer.

If you decide to not add any of the more difficult variations, I encourage you to go into a game-like drill (Queens, Freeball-Downball, etc) as soon as this is over. There will likely be one or two opportunities for players to use their new skill and they will be very excited to see it in action!

Drill Variations

Make this drill easier: Eliminate the back row attacks and instead have your players try to pass the ball over the net. If you are taking out hitting because your players are not yet confident in their attacking abilities, I highly encourage you to go through this Back Row Attack Progression Drill with them.

Make it more difficult option 1: Add a 7th round where you will mix up your throws into the top or the bottom of the net. Players must use their judgment and decide where to best position themselves as the ball is in the air. This is highly encouraged to solidify their new skills in their mind.

Make it more difficult option 2: Have two lines, one in right front and one in left front. Now players must work on passing out of the net from both directions. Go from passing in the right side line to hitting in the right side line, shagging, and then entering the left side line to hitting in the left side line.