The Complete Guide to Coaching Volleyball for Beginners

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Someone handed you a team. Maybe you volunteered. Maybe you were the only one who said yes. Either way, you're now a volleyball coach, and you need to figure out what that actually means before the first practice.

This guide covers the essentials: what your job is, what you need to know about the game, how to structure a practice, what equipment to buy, and where to go when you want to keep learning. It's designed to be the first thing you read — not the only thing, but the first.

What a Volleyball Coach Actually Does

A volleyball coach is not the referee. You don't call balls in or out during practice. You don't settle disputes about whether the ball touched the line.

What a volleyball coach actually does:

• Creates an environment where players can develop skills, game awareness, and competitive habits

• Decides what to work on each practice and runs it with enough structure to get real repetitions

• Communicates clearly with players, parents, and (where applicable) an athletic director

• Makes decisions during games about rotations, substitutions, and timeouts

• Manages the season — scheduling, equipment, eligibility paperwork at organized levels

At the beginner level, most of what you do is teach the fundamentals and keep players engaged long enough to build them.

The Basics of the Game Every Coach Must Know

You don't need to have played volleyball to coach it. But you do need to understand the game well enough to explain it, enforce it, and correct errors in it.

Scoring: Rally Point System

Volleyball uses rally point scoring at all organized levels. A point is scored on every rally — not just when the serving team wins the rally. The team that wins the rally gets the point and serves next.

Sets are played to 25 points, win by 2. Most matches are best of 3 or best of 5 sets. A deciding set is played to 15, win by 2.

The Three-Touch Rule

Each team has up to three touches to send the ball over the net. A player cannot hit the ball twice in a row. A block touch does not count as one of the three at most levels of play.

The classic three-touch sequence is: pass (bump) → set → attack (hit). Beginning teams rarely execute this cleanly, but it's the sequence you are building toward.

Positions and Rotations

A standard volleyball team has six players on the court at once, arranged in a 3-3 formation: three at the net (front row) and three along the back line (back row).

The six positions by role:

• Outside Hitter (OH): The primary attacker. Usually receives serve and hits from the left side of the front row.

• Opposite (Right Side): Attacks from the right side of the front row.

• Middle Blocker (MB): Plays in the middle of the front row. Primary job is blocking.

• Setter: Takes the second ball and distributes to hitters.

• Libero: A defensive specialist who wears a different jersey color and can substitute freely for any back-row player.

• Defensive Specialist (DS): Similar to the libero but follows normal substitution rules.

Players rotate clockwise one position every time their team wins the serve back. At the beginner level, teach the rotation rule, keep players in rough rotation order, and let them play.

Faults to Know

• Double contact: Hitting the ball twice in succession

• Lift or carry: Holding or guiding the ball rather than striking it cleanly

• Net violation: Touching the net during play

• Foot fault: Stepping on or over the service line before the ball is contacted on serve

• Out of rotation: Being out of position when the ball is served

How to Run Your First Practice

A good volleyball practice has four sections in sequence.

• Warm-Up (10–15 minutes): Get players moving before a ball is introduced. Two laps, dynamic stretching, then a few minutes of cooperative passing.

• Drill Block (30–40 minutes): The skill-building core. Two to three drills per practice at the beginner level, each run long enough to get real repetitions.

• Scrimmage (15–20 minutes): Putting skills into a game context. Don't cut this to add more drills — the game context is where learning consolidates.

• Cool-Down (5–10 minutes): Static stretching, a recap of one thing that went well, one focus area for next time.

Essential Drills for Beginners

Three skills get more repetitions than anything else in a beginner program: passing, serving, and ball control. Every other skill sits on top of those three.

Forearm Pass (Bump) Drill

Set players in pairs, 10 feet apart. One tosses underhand; the partner passes back with a forearm platform. Switch roles every 10 passes. This is the single most important skill to build in the first month.

What to coach: Feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent before contact. Arms flat and together. Let the legs drive the ball up rather than swinging the arms.

Standing Serve Practice

Split the team on either side of the net. Players serve from the 10-foot line and retrieve their own balls. The only goal: clear the net consistently.

What to coach: Toss slightly in front and to the hitting side. Step with the opposite foot as you swing. Contact on the heel of the palm. Underhand serving only until players have control.

Pepper (Partner Passing and Setting)

Pairs face each other, 8–10 feet apart. Player A tosses to Player B, who passes to Player A, who sets back to Player B. The sequence repeats: pass, set, pass, set.

What to coach: Pass with the forearms, set with the fingertips. Stay balanced under the ball. Call "mine" to avoid hesitation.

Equipment Every Coach Needs

Volleyballs

The most important piece of equipment. For training balls across price tiers — budget, mid-range, and premium — All Volleyball carries a wide selection from Mikasa and Molten.

All Volleyball — https://www.allvolleyball.com/?utm_source=coachvb&utm_medium=affiliate

Volleyballs on Amazon — https://www.amazon.com/s?k=volleyball+training+balls&tag=coachvb-20

A Volleyball Net

Official height: Men's competition nets are set at 7 feet 11 5/8 inches. Women's competition nets are set at 7 feet 4 1/8 inches. Youth programs often use lower heights — check your league's specifications.

All Volleyball — Nets — https://www.allvolleyball.com/?utm_source=coachvb&utm_medium=affiliate

Training Aids

• Ball cart or hopper: Keeps balls contained and accessible during drills.

• Cones: For marking drill zones, service lines, and court boundaries.

• A whiteboard or clipboard: For your practice plan.

Shoes

When parents ask for a recommendation, volleyball shoes matter for two reasons: gum rubber soles (designed for gym floors) and lateral ankle support. The primary brands coaches recommend are Asics and Mizuno.

Resources to Keep Learning

Books

Coaching Volleyball: A Survival Guide For Your First Season by Whitney Bartiuk is the most practical starting point for new coaches. It covers the real situations new coaches run into and gives direct, experience-based guidance.

Coaching Volleyball: A Survival Guide For Your First Season on Amazon — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9XLPQR5?tag=coachvb-20

Whitney Bartiuk also runs Get The Pancake, a resource platform specifically for volleyball coaches that includes free drill libraries, printable coaching tools, and coaching packets.

Get The Pancake — https://getthepancake.com

Online Courses

VolleyCountry offers online volleyball coaching courses taught by certified coaches. The catalog covers foundational coaching principles, position-specific training, and tactical development. For coaches who are past the first season and want structured development, a video course is faster than piecing together scattered sources.

VolleyCountry online volleyball courses — https://volleycountry.com/?ref=coachvb

Certification Programs

• USA Volleyball's CAP (Coaching Accreditation Program) has multiple levels and is the standard certification for club volleyball coaches in the United States.

• NFHS coaching certification is typically required for high school coaches at schools that operate under NFHS guidelines.

FAQ

How many players does a volleyball team need?

A regulation volleyball team plays 6 players on the court at once. A full roster typically runs 10–14 players at the high school level. A minimum of 6 is required to play; having at least 8–10 gives you flexibility.

What is the libero and do beginners need one?

The libero is a defensive specialist who wears a different jersey color and can substitute freely for back-row players without it counting against the team's substitution limit. At the recreational or beginner level, you don't need to designate a libero until players understand rotations well enough for the role to be useful.

How many sets are in a volleyball match?

Standard matches are best of 3 sets (first to win 2) or best of 5 sets (first to win 3). Sets 1–4 are played to 25, win by 2. A deciding set is played to 15, win by 2.