Perhaps one of the most difficult sets of volleyball drills for a coach to do is plyometric drills to help improve a player’s ability and jump height. A strong jump is important for the overall performance of a player, which will have a direct impact on the performance of the team as a whole. It’s much harder to land a kill shot on a blocker who can jump higher than you. The opposite also is true. If your players can jump higher than their opponents, they will be able to spike the ball over the defenders’ heads. For that reason, it’s important to develop volleyball drills that help gain those valuable inches on every jump.

Each set of volleyball exercises that you implement will work the muscles of your players. Plyometric exercises should be no different. In order to have a stronger jump, it is important to know that the jump starts with the ankles. To that end, you should be sure to include volleyball exercises that will help stretch and exercise the muscles and connective tissues of the ankle. A good starting exercise is the ankle jump exercise. To do this, the player will stand with their feet comfortably apart. It is good to have them move in the opposite direction to help increase energy in the muscles. They must then immediately release that energy by jumping up using only their ankles. Have them land on their feet and immediately jump back up. This will help strengthen your ankles, which is the foundation of a good jump.

Another set of muscles that is important for a good jump is the calf muscle. Using volleyball drills that help strengthen your players’ calf muscles will be the next step in creating a higher jumping team. For this, you can use the forward jump. Have your players start by standing on one leg, with the other bent up at almost a 90 degree angle. Bend the elbow of the opposite arm. Perform a slight countermovement, then jump up and forward. Keep the bent leg still 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 with balance, which can be almost as important to good jumping form.

To continue volleyball exercises that work the calves and all the other leg muscles, have your players work on two-legged vertical jumps. For this volleyball drill set, you will have your players start in a squat. When you are ready to start, have the player wave his arms behind him. He will then swing his arms forward and up over his head, exploding into a straight up jump. At the highest point of the jump, his arms should be fully extended, reaching for the sky. This must be repeated several times.

When working on volleyball drills that work on stronger and higher jumps, it’s important to remember that all of your player’s muscles must work together. Because of this, it is imperative that you include a set of low intensity exercises in your drilling patterns. The goal is not for a player’s legs to become huge muscular limbs, but to give them strength and flexibility. These volleyball drills will become the solid foundation needed to continue with some of the higher intensity drills you will be working on.