Volleyball serve receive is often cited as one of the least favorite practice aspects by players, particularly in high school and junior leagues. As Karin Keeney, the accomplished head volleyball coach at Hebron High School in Carrollton, Texas, notes, “Kids don’t like to practice serve receive.” Despite its unpopularity among athletes, Coach Keeney’s Hebron team, a recognized volleyball powerhouse, dedicates significant practice time to serve receive. They understand its pivotal role in match success and have innovated methods to enhance engagement, notably through dynamic and competitive passing drills that incorporate live serves.
The Wave Drill: A High-Energy Volleyball Serve Receive Drill
Among the favored serve receive drills at Hebron High School is the “Wave” drill. This drill is purposefully designed to refine both serving and passing proficiencies simultaneously. Here’s a breakdown of how to execute the Wave drill effectively:
Setting Up the Drill: Team Formation
Begin by dividing your players into groups of three. One trio will position themselves behind the service line to act as servers, while another group will adopt a line pattern serve-receive formation on the opposite side of the net. Mirror this setup on the other side of the court with the remaining two teams, ensuring balanced participation.
Drill Execution: Serving and Point Collection
In the Wave drill, servers take turns delivering serves from varied spots along the end line. A crucial rule to enforce is that servers must target different court areas with each serve, avoiding repetition to the same spot. Failure to diversify serve location results in a pre-determined penalty, such as burpees or push-ups, adding an element of accountability.
The receiving teams each designate a target player or coach at the net, simulating the setter position. The core objective for the receiving team is collective: to achieve ten successful passes directed to the designated target. The target person is responsible for scorekeeping. Critically, any overpass or if the ball contacts the ground prematurely resets the team’s score back to zero, emphasizing precision and teamwork.
Rotation and Progression
After each receiving team successfully completes three good passes, a rotation occurs within their line. The left-side passer moves to the right, the right-side passer shifts to the middle, and the middle passer takes the left position. This rotation is vital as it ensures every player gains experience and skill development across all three serve receive positions.
Each round of the Wave drill is timed for two minutes. If a receiving team fails to accumulate ten “good” passes within this timeframe, they undertake a physical consequence, such as sprints, reinforcing the time-sensitive and performance-oriented nature of the drill. To elevate the challenge, coaches can adjust the criteria from “good” passes to requiring “perfect” passes, progressively increasing the drill’s difficulty.
Once the two-minute interval concludes, all teams rotate roles. The serving team transitions to become receivers, the receivers on the same side switch to become receivers on the opposite court, and the receivers from the opposite side rotate to the service line, completing the cycle. This continuous rotation keeps all players actively engaged and dynamically moving throughout the practice.
Enhancing Serving Accuracy and Strategic Placement
Beyond its benefits for serve receive proficiency, the Wave drill significantly enhances serving skills by providing numerous repetitions under pressure. Coach Keeney’s rule prohibiting servers from targeting the same receiver consecutively is instrumental in developing serving accuracy. This constraint compels servers to focus on precisely directing their serves to different zones on the court, a skill that becomes invaluable when coaches strategize serve placement during actual game scenarios.
Expert insights from figures like USA Youth National Team Coach Jim Stone underscore the strategic advantage of precise serving. By targeting specific court areas, particularly the seams between passers, servers can apply greater pressure on the opposing team’s serve receive, disrupting their offensive setup and gaining a tactical edge.
Cultivating Well-Rounded Volleyball Skills
Elite volleyball teams, especially at the junior levels, distinguish themselves through the versatility of their players. To foster this comprehensive skill set, Coach Keeney ensures every player on her team, regardless of their primary position, participates in the passing rotations within the Wave drill.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a setter or a middle, all my kids pass,” Keeney emphasizes. “Everybody does everything.” This philosophy of universal skill development ensures that every player contributes to serve receive, enhancing team cohesion and adaptability on the court.
The Fun Factor: Speed and Engagement
The Wave drill is designed to maintain high levels of player engagement. The rapid succession of serves demands constant attention from the receiving players, sharpening their focus and reaction times. Servers, too, are required to remain mentally engaged, planning each serve strategically to avoid repetition and target varied zones. The inherent competitiveness of the drill, fueled by the race to reach ten points first and the element of physical consequences for underperformance, injects an enjoyable, game-like intensity into what might otherwise be a routine practice. In summary, the Wave drill effectively condenses crucial serve receive and serving practice into a fast-paced, fun, and highly productive two-minute interval, making it an invaluable asset for volleyball training sessions.
