Underhand pass and set ladders
Ready when: Play with the ball alone (b1) started.
What you are learning
The two main passes. The dig: forearms together as a flat platform, knees bent, lifting with the legs, not swinging the arms. The set: a triangle of thumbs and first fingers, elbows bent, pushing up with the legs.
Words on this card Forearm pass, Set, Rally
- Forearm pass
- Passing the ball off the forearms held together as a flat surface.
- Set
- Pushing the ball up with the fingers, the thumbs and first fingers making a triangle above the forehead.
- Rally
- The play from the serve until the point is won.
Show it first for the one teaching
- Dig: put one hand in the other, thumbs side by side, arms straight and together to make a flat platform. Bend the knees and let the ball bounce off the forearms as the legs lift.
- Set: hands above the forehead in a triangle, elbows bent; as the ball arrives, push up with the legs and the arms together.
- Set to a chalk mark on the wall, then to yourself.
Your part while they practise
Feed and count.
Step by step
- The dig: forearms together as a flat platform, knees bent, lift with the legs.
- Dig to yourself, then to the wall, then back to a partner's toss.
- The set: a triangle of thumbs and first fingers, elbows bent, push up with the legs.
- Set to a chalk mark on the wall, then 30 to yourself without moving the feet.
How much: 30 digs and 30 sets 12 min a session 4 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Pass ladder
Set or dig to a partner 2 m away, just above their head; count the passes in a row.
Who plays: 2 together against their best; or 1 against the wall.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Stand 2 m apart
- Pass back and forth with digs or sets, the ball just above head height
- Count until it drops or is caught
- Each new best moves you up a rung: 5, 10, 15, 20
- Fair play
- A grown-up digs only, never sets.
- Points
- 1 point for each pass in the best rally.
- Fouls
- The count stops
- Catching or throwing the ball
- A swinging arm dig that sends it wild
- The same player touching it twice in a row
- Winning
- Reach the next rung.
- 5 points for 1 star
- 10 points for 2 stars
- 20 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
A balloon.
Add a clap or a turn between hits.
What you will see, and what to say
- the arms swing
Still arms, legs lift the ball
Lift with the legs. - the ball goes sideways
Face your target
Point the platform.
Self-check
10 forearm passes and 10 sets to yourself in a row; then 10 sets in a row against a wall.
Stop and get a coach when
Pain in the wrists or forearms.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains forearm pass, set.
awiseathlete.com/sports/volleyball/volleyball-b2