Drills library
Defense drills
31 beach volleyball defense drills. Reading, digging and pursuit drills to keep balls off the sand.
31 drills
Defensive Read & Dig
Teach defensive base position and reading the attacker's body for shot vs. swing.
View drill4 Steps to Paradise
Train the diagonal defensive shift — defender reads the attacker and moves to the gap before contact.
View drillPeel and Play Stations
Train the blocker-to-defender peel — pull off the net, find the seam, and play defense.
View drillKing/Queen — Transition Ball
King/Queen with a transition emphasis — points only count when won on a transition swing (not on the first sideout attack).
View drill3 Man Cross Court
High-volume cross-court digging — defender works the diagonal between two attackers continuously.
View drill6 Ball Block Defense
Train the blocker-to-defender transition through a fixed 6-ball sequence covering every common attack scenario.
View drillThe Pit
Defense-only timed scoring drill — one team pinned in 'The Pit' for 3 minutes hunting digs and stuff blocks.
View drillCoach Tip Chase to Target
Train defense through coach tip chase to target with a clear rep structure and game-like feedback.
View drillDownball Dig & Catch
Train defense through downball dig & catch with a clear rep structure and game-like feedback.
View drillHard-Driven Angle Digs
Train defense through hard-driven angle digs with a clear rep structure and game-like feedback.
View drillHard-Driven Direct High Digs
Train defense through hard-driven direct high digs with a clear rep structure and game-like feedback.
View drillHard-Driven Outside-Body Digs
Train defense through hard-driven outside-body digs with a clear rep structure and game-like feedback.
View drillHard-Driven Outside-Body High Digs
Train defense through hard-driven outside-body high digs with a clear rep structure and game-like feedback.
View drillPartner Toss Tip & Chase
Train defense through partner toss tip & chase with a clear rep structure and game-like feedback.
View drillKneeling One-Arm Dig Training
This drill introduces athletes to the basic technique for diving and digging a ball with one arm.
View drillSoft High-Ball Option Training
This drill gives athletes a number of repetitions of the basic techniques for playing the soft shot above the head.
View drillShifting Over Defense
This drill assists in the development of court awareness in beginner athletes. In particular it focuses on how the position of the set affects where the...
View drillTowel Defense
This drill develops a defenders ability to react to a soft shot after it is hit and chase it down. Often defenders are lured into anticipating, and movi...
View drillDigging Hard-Driven Spikes
This drill gives athletes practice at digging hard driven spikes that are directed at and around the defenders body.
View drillDefense Commitment Drill
Although technique is important this is a drill that tests more of an athlete's attitude and commitment to the ball than anything else. This objective o...
View drillMoving Together Defense
The objective of this drill is for athletes to develop an understanding of the idea that partners move together to cover the court, and that it is impor...
View drillChase Down Line Behind a Block
This drill develops the ability of an athlete to defend the hard driven ball and chase down the soft line shot.
View drillHard Line Defense
The objective of this drill is for the defense to become comfortable moving from their initial defensive position to the line to make a play.
View drillTwo-Person Defense Drill
The objective of this drill is to allow 2 athletes who have no other individuals to train with the opportunity to get defense and transition play practice.
View drillWatch it first
Defense technique videos
Pair these drills with coaching videos so players can see the movement before they rep it.
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