Serve and catch

Purpose

Setup

• Divide the players into two even teams. One side starts as the serving team (S), and the other as the catching team (C).
• Give each player on the serving team a ball, and there should be a few extra balls in a bucket ready to be put into the drill.
• Both sides form a single file line going off the back of their respective end lines. The first person on the catching team should start in the middle of the court, about 10 feet from the end line. The first person on the serving team should be prepared to serve from any where behind the end line.

How it works

1. The serving team’s objective is to serve aces. The catching team’s objective is to catch the serves.
2. The serving team serves, one at a time, to the catching team. For every ace (a ball not caught that lands in the court) they receive 1 point.
3. The first person from the catching team stands on the court. The catcher must catch the ball and roll it under the net after the catcher’s turn. The next catcher then steps on the court.
4. For every caught ball or serving error, the catching team gets 1 point.
5. Give the serving team 2 minutes to serve, then switch serving and catching.

Coaching tips

• The players end up learning that it is easier to catch the ball (or at least touch it) than to serve an ace. And if one person can cover the whole court catching the ball, then no ball should hit the floor during serve receive if there are 3 or 4 passers receiving.