🏐 How to Plan a Volleyball Practice (Free Templates + AI Planner)
Planning great volleyball practices shouldn't be stressful — but for many coaches, it's one of the hardest parts of the job. Whether you coach high school, club, or rec volleyball, you're balancing player skill gaps, roster changes, injuries, and fatigue — all while trying to keep practices fresh and engaging.
Why Is Volleyball Practice Planning Important?
A good plan means better practices, better players, and less stress. The best teams aren't just talented — they're prepared.
- High school coaches juggle daily practices plus matches every few days.
- Club coaches handle multiple teams, long seasons, injuries, and fatigue.
- Youth coaches face novel situations and need ways to keep players engaged, especially if the team isn't performing well.
For every level, the biggest frustration? Seeing development stall or never happen at all.
"Coaches sometimes plan like they're prepping for the Olympics — but kids can barely serve or pass at first. If you visualize the game your players can actually play, you'll know what to plan."
✅ Pro Tip: More touches per player per minute = faster improvement. SoloCoach helps you adapt your plan when skill levels or rosters shift mid-season.
Free Volleyball Practice Plan Templates
Use these examples as your starting point — download, tweak, run them this week, and remember: a template is just a baseline. Customize and adjust regularly. SoloCoach helps you do that automatically.
- Warm-Up (15 min)
Dynamic stretching, footwork ladders, serving warm-up. - Skill Block 1 (30 min)
Serve receive & passing — Columbus drill: cooperative (10 in a row) → competitive (to 5 points with variations). - Skill Block 2 (30 min)
Team systems: rotations, defensive coverage. - Scrimmage Play (40 min)
Scrimmage with scoring focused on skills learned earlier (e.g., award points for perfect passes). - Wrap-Up (5 min)
Quick feedback circle, static stretch.
- • Warm-up (10–15 min)
- • Skill block: focus skill (serve receive, transition hitting)
- • Tactics block: rotations, live reps
- • Scrimmage sets with scoring that reinforces the day's skill
- • Quick review & adjustments
✅ Club coaches juggle long seasons, injuries, and fatigue — adapt your plan weekly to match.
- • Fun warm-up (relays, tag)
- • Skill stations: passing, setting, serving basics
- • Small-sided team drills — divide courts with tape or cones
- • Mini scrimmage focused on fundamentals
✅ Smaller courts mean more touches, faster rallies, and less chasing the ball — more fun for beginners.
Must-Have Drills for Every Volleyball Practice
Good practices balance fundamentals, teamwork, and game-like play.
- Columbus Drill: Cooperative then competitive — a go-to for all levels.
- Serve Receive Progression: Free ball → down ball → serve receive → tougher serves, always with consistency goals.
- Scrimmage with Purpose: Add scoring focused on the skill trained earlier. Example: give points only for perfect passes.
✅ You can use the same drills but switch the goals. Change scoring targets or add constraints to keep players focused and development moving.
🚫 Overused Drills to Watch:
- Endless hitting lines into open nets — no blockers = bad habits.
- Serving with no targets — track % in, speed, location.
- Free balls with no passing goal — demand "Perfect Pass" targets.
✅ Pro Tip: 50% of your practice should build serving and receiving skills — but that doesn't mean boring drills. Blend serve/receive touches into every block, including scrimmage.
Common Volleyball Practice Planning Mistakes
⚡️ Biggest Mistake: Planning drills for the game you wish your team played, not the game they can play. If players can't pass or serve consistently, there's no real rally.
⚡️ Another Trap: Coach-centric, coach-initiated drills — one toss at a time while players stand in line. Instead, run player-initiated drills in pairs or groups and walk around to give feedback. More touches, more progress.
✅ Pro Tip: Combine skills naturally. Serve to start a rally drill. Pass to trigger a hitting drill. It keeps reps real and game-like.
Why Use an AI Volleyball Practice Planner
Templates are great, but they're static. Your players' skills, roster, and confidence change all season.
SoloCoach helps you:
- Adjust skill focus as players improve.
- Re-balance when players are missing.
- Blend in fresh scoring goals and small tweaks.
- Keep touches high and drills player-led.
You don't need a new plan every day — you need a plan that evolves with your team.