Perhaps one of the most difficult sets of volleyball drills for a coach to come up with is plyometric exercises to help improve the ability and height of a player’s jump. A strong jump is important for the overall performance of a player, which will directly impact the performance of the team as a whole. It is much harder to perform a killshot on a blocker that can jump higher than you. The reverse is true also. If your players can jump higher than their opponents, they will be able to spike the ball over the head of any defenders. For that reason, it is important to develop volleyball drills that will help gain those valuable inches for every jump.
Every set of volleyball drills that you implement will work the muscles of your players. Plyometric drills should be no different. In order to have a stronger jump, it is important to know that the jump begins with the ankles. To that end, you should be sure to include volleyball drills that will help stretch and work out the muscles and connective tissues of the ankle. A good beginning drill is the ankle hop exercise. In order to perform this, the player will stand with their feet comfortably apart. It is good to have them counter move in order to help build up the energy in the muscles. They should then immediately release that energy, hopping straight up using only their ankles. Have them land back on their feet and immediately jump again. This will help build up their ankles, which is the base of a good jump.
Another set of muscles that is important for a good jump is the calf muscle. Using volleyball drills that will help strengthen the calf muscles of your players will be the next step in creating a higher jumping team. For this, you can use the forward skip. Have your players start by standing on one leg, with the other leg bent up at an almost 90 degree angle. Bend the elbow of the opposite arm. Perform a slight counter movement and then jump up and forward. Keep the bent leg stationary until landing. Switch legs upon landing and jump again. This set of volleyball drills, while working most of the leg muscles at once, will also help balance, which can be almost as important to a good jump form.
To continue on the volleyball drills that work the calves and all other leg muscles, have your players work on double leg vertical jumps. For this set of volleyball drills, you will have your players begin in a squatting position. When ready to begin, have the player swing their arms behind them, They will then swing their arms forward and up over their heads, exploding in a straight upward jump. At the highest point of the jump, their arms should be fully extended, reaching for the sky. This should be repeated several times.
When working on volleyball drills that work on stronger and higher jumps, it is important to remember that your player’s muscles all need to work together. Because of this, it is imperative that you include a set of low intensity exercises in your drilling patterns. The object isn’t to have a player’s legs become huge muscular limbs, but to give them strength and flexibility. These volleyball drills will become the strong base needed to continue with some of the stronger intensity drills you will work on.
