By Nick Vogel, DePaul Women’s Volleyball Assistant Coach & Recruiting Coordinator
Intro:
Summer will soon be at an end and in no time, we’ll be back in our fall training gyms for high school and collegiate volleyball. Throughout any offseason, coaches will evaluate where they may have struggled as a team and look to find creative ways of improving on a particular skill as they progress through fall training. In this article, we’ll look at a drill that homes in on out-of-system offense, as well as defensive eye work; it can also be evolved to suit many other needs. The drill can be easily manipulated for ALL different levels of play, as well as for numbers between 6-20 total players. It’s fast paced, there’s a competitive scoring component, and it’s a whole heap of fun no matter what context you’re using it in. Its versatility and excitement have made it a go-to camp drill for me, so for those of you out there who have worked with me at camps, I’m sure you’ll recognize it.
Overview:
The drill is “3 Before 2”. The objective is simple, but how you get there can look a number of different ways. One side of the court is always on “offense” where they will be receiving down balls, chips, or rolls from a coach standing on the opposite side of the court. The goal on offense is simple… bump, set, spike and go get yourself some!
The opposing side is on all-time “defense”. Their goal is to prevent the offense from scoring and to eventually score a point themselves. On the defensive side, the aim is to dig the initial attack and then get the ball back over to the Offensive side as quickly as possible…typically in two contacts. If the defensive side NEEDS all three contacts, they are free to use them, but it just allows the offense more time to set up. This speed forces the offensive side to transition quickly, often creating a scrambled out-of-system situation.
On the defensive side, there is no overhead spiking or downballs… strategic setting and platform passing only. That being said, the setting/passing to get the ball back over the net can be MEAN. Deep corner, short zone 3, directly at the setter, whatever you think is most likely to score you a point. Get the ball to the floor!
Scoring:
Balls will be continuously inputted into the offensive side until offense scores three points in a row OR defense scores two points in a row (hence the deeply creative name of the drill :D). If offense scores two and then defense scores one, offense goes back to zero. Once one of the sides reaches their goal, everyone currently playing on that side of the court gets an individual point for themselves (which they add to their individual total), and the coach will call for everyone to “find a new spot on”.
PLAYERS ARE TO REMEMBER THEIR CUMULITIVE SCORES (this is often where athletes learning a new drill will forget to tally their scores and we don’t find out until 5-6 rounds have gone by). As the rounds progress, players accumulate points when the side that they’re on wins. We typically play to 7-8 total points with the first player to reach this goal being the drill’s winner.
As players find a new spot on the court, they will mix in between offense & defense, front row & back row, etc. I encourage athletes to handle the switching process themselves as it is an added factor to navigate throughout the drill. However, there is one rule; nobody can be “off” for more than 1 round in a row.
Setup & Adaptations:
This drill typically works well with one setter, one libero, and 1-2 attackers on offense, and three back row defenders on defense, meaning there are only 6-7 players in the drill at any given time. If the offense is crushing the defense, coaches can have players that are “off” hold blocking pads, or even serve as live blockers (1-2 more players involved each round). If defense is crushing offense, coaches can add one more back row player on the offensive side to help pick things up (one more player involved each round).
Players on offense can vary their attacking routes (i.e. outsides run go, rip, 2) so the opposing block/D has to adapt to their approach line, thus emphasizing block & defensive vision. If a coach wants to emphasize a certain offense or defensive focus, they can manipulate the drill setup to lead to this.
Adaptation #1:
If a coach wants to focus on blocking & defending against an “overload play”, they can have two attackers on offense that run a “3” from the middle blocker and a “go” from the outside. Blockers will have to read attacker routes as well as the setter’s positioning to try and gain an edge.
Adaptation #2:
If a coach wants to focus on offensive plays and how one player’s call can affect other attackers, they can have their attackers audible their routes. Coaches could put a middle blocker and a right side on as the attackers and require them to audible every play call. When the middle blocker stays close to the setter, the right side can stay on the pin…but when the middle blocker audibles to a slide, the right side would need to audible to a back 1, front 1, or 2 to allow the middle blocker space to run the slide.
Conclusion:
“3 Before 2” is a simple, but effective, drill that can be tweaked to serve countless purposes in numerous contexts. It works well in beginner practices with 6-10 athletes, on camp courts with 20+ athletes, and even high-level collegiate trainings for specific offensive and defensive focuses. The key with this drill is to pinpoint what specific need your current team has and adapt the confines accordingly, and with doing so, you will be able to target many different skills within a highly competitive environment.