--- title: "Volleyball Passing Drills: Platform, Angle & Target Game" description: "Volleyball passing drills build a still, angled forearm platform. Follow a serve-receive progression with a scored target zone, steps and coaching points." url: "https://www.coachboard.app/library/volleyball/passing-drill" sport: "Volleyball" category: "Drill" level: "beginner" dateModified: "2026-09-24" --- # Volleyball Passing Drill — Volleyball Drill This volleyball passing drill builds the forearm pass in three stages, from a partner toss to live serve receive, and scores every pass by where it lands relative to a target zone at the net. Passing is the first contact of almost every rally your team wins on serve receive, and a poor pass limits the setter before the play has started. The forearm pass, or bump, looks simple, but consistent passers share a few habits: they beat the ball to the spot, hold a flat platform still, and aim it with their shoulders rather than swinging their arms. This progression moves from a controlled toss to real serves in one session. Each stage adds a single demand (movement, then angle, then a server trying to make it hard), and every stage ends in the same place: a marked target zone near the net where the setter would stand. ## Objective Develop a stable forearm platform, teach passers to angle the ball to the setter's spot from any part of the back court, and measure serve-receive quality with a simple pass rating. ## Setup - **Area:** One half of an 18 × 9 m court, plus the service zone behind the opposite end line - **Players:** 6–12 players: passers in groups of 3, a target, and servers or a coach - **Equipment:** A cart of 10+ balls, Tape or a 2 × 2 m mat to mark the target zone, Cones to mark passing lanes - **Duration:** 20–25 minutes - **Level:** beginner (U10+) ## How it works 1. **Mark the target zone** — Tape a 2 × 2 m box about 1 m off the net, just right of centre, between zones 2 and 3. That is where the setter wants the pass. A target player stands in it and catches every ball. 2. **Partner toss: platform only** — Pairs stand 4–5 m apart. One tosses underhand to the passer's midline; the passer holds a flat platform (thumbs together, wrists down, elbows locked) and lifts the ball back with the legs, not the arms. Ten reps each, then swap. 3. **Toss with movement and angle** — The coach stands across the net and tosses to the left or right of three passers in zones 1, 6 and 5. The passer shuffles to get outside the ball, drops the outside shoulder, and angles the platform toward the target zone. 4. **Live serve receive** — Servers serve from behind the far end line into the three-passer formation. Passers call the ball early ("mine") and the player who is not passing opens up to watch it. Rotate a passer out after every five serves. 5. **Score each pass** — Rate every pass on the common 0–3 scale: 3 lands in the target box, 2 forces the setter out of the box, 1 only allows a high ball outside, 0 is an ace or overpass. Track the average for each passer and set a team goal such as 2.2. ## Coaching points - Feet first: move to the ball, stop, then pass. A pass made while still travelling carries that momentum off target. - Contact on the forearms above the wrists, well away from the hands, with the platform out in front of the body. - When the ball is outside the body line, tilt the platform by dropping the shoulder nearer the ball instead of swinging the arms across. - Freeze the platform after contact for a second. If the arms are pointing at the target, the pass usually went there. ## Variations - **Two-person serve receive** — Drop to two passers covering the full width of the court. The seam between them becomes the key decision, which forces early calling and makes each passer own a larger area. - **Target pressure game** — Passers compete to reach 10 perfect passes before the servers get 5 aces or 0-rated passes. The losing side does a short penalty, and the score keeps both passers and servers focused on quality. ## Build it in Coach Board Draw the target box on the volleyball court in Coach Board, place your three passers, and add arrows showing each serve lane and the passing angle back to the setter. Duplicate the board for two-passer and three-passer formations so players can compare who covers which seam, then share both links with the team before practice. [Volleyball coaching app](https://www.coachboard.app/sports/volleyball) · [Start 14-day free trial, no card](https://my.coachboard.app) ## FAQ ### What is the best drill for volleyball passing? A drill that ends in a marked target and uses real serves is the most transferable. Start with partner tosses to groove the platform, add coach tosses that force movement, then finish with live serve receive rated 0–3 on every ball. Scoring the pass gives players honest feedback that a simple "good job" never does. ### How do you pass a volleyball accurately? Get to the ball early and stop before contact, then angle a flat, still platform toward the target using the shoulders. Contact the ball on the forearms, not the wrists or hands, and let the legs supply most of the force. Accuracy comes from the platform angle, not from swinging the arms. ### How many passers should be in serve receive? Most teams use three passers in serve receive, typically the two outside hitters and the libero. Some higher-level teams receive with two players to hide a weaker passer, while beginner teams often use four or five because young servers produce slower, shorter serves. ## Related - https://www.coachboard.app/library/volleyball/butterfly-drill.md - https://www.coachboard.app/library/volleyball/serving-drill.md - https://www.coachboard.app/library/volleyball/pepper-drill.md - https://www.coachboard.app/library/volleyball/digging-drill.md --- [Volleyball coaching app](https://www.coachboard.app/sports/volleyball) · Animate and share this drill with your team: https://my.coachboard.app