Training includes wall work, movement, attacking, serving and a game at the end. Everyone takes part, the ball circulates and the session looks complete. But the difficulty that led the team to train remains unchanged: when the setter digs, no one can prepare the next ball well.
Was a drill missing? Perhaps what was missing was choosing what needed to change.
Before building the sequence, describe the problem. Who is involved? When does it appear? What happens to the ball? The next session becomes clearer when these answers replace a vague instruction to “improve everything”.
Where to start: defining the aim, progression, sample session or assessment.
Choose a difficulty you can observe
“Improving control” can mean many things. Compare it with a more precise description: after digging, the team loses the second contact because the responsible player arrives off balance and delivers a ball without enough height for the hitter.
Now there are elements to work on: agreeing responsibilities, movement, body organisation and trajectory. You do not need to correct them all at once. Start with what prevents the sequence from happening.
In Ricardinho and Fernanda’s content, overhead contact starts before the finish: stance, legs and positioning are part of the correction. If the player can barely reach the ball, repeating an instruction about the fingers may leave the main problem untouched.
Write the aim as an action
One possible aim is: when the setter digs, another player takes the second contact and delivers a ball that lets their teammate prepare the attack.
This sentence makes clear what to observe. It does not require every attack to end in a point. The opponent also takes part; second-contact quality can improve without guaranteeing the rally’s final result.
Agree what will count as a usable attempt
Before starting, define a reference with the group: can the hitter reach and execute without an emergency adjustment? Does the ball have height and direction suited to the task? Does the responsible player know they need to take over?
You can record these observations without turning the session into a complicated spreadsheet. What matters is keeping the criterion consistent across attempts, so you can compare what happened before and after the adjustment.
A drill helps more when everyone knows what problem it is trying to solve.
How to increase difficulty without losing control of the task
Ricardinho says wall work was part of his learning of overhead contact, forearm passing, attacking and ball control. The logic is simple: repeat, observe and adjust. Then the task needs new demands to move closer to the game.
In Ricardinho’s work with Fernanda, development involves recognising the action, moving and handling different ball conditions. Progression is not a race to reach the hardest drill.
Control one part of the situation first
Against a wall or with a teammate, choose a reference direction and a trajectory the player can work with. If control is lacking, reduce the difficulty: distance, speed or movement demands, depending on the problem.
Briefly holding the ball can be a teaching tool to recognise a position. If you use it, make clear that the pause belongs to learning. It must be removed to reach game contact, which does not allow catching and throwing the ball.
Add movement before multiplying the choices
If contact from a stationary position works, include a short movement and check whether direction holds. Then vary the ball’s origin. This is where an expression Ricardinho uses in training comes in: “discomfort will bring you comfort.” Here, discomfort means controlled difficulty — not difficulty for its own sake.
There is an important instruction in drills after a simulated block: do not move off automatically without recognising where the ball has come. The player needs to finish the previous action, locate the ball and organise their response.
This does not mean standing still during a match waiting for everything to happen. In the drill, the instruction prevents the player from anticipating a memorised route and missing the information that should guide the movement.
Let the play continue
When the drill always ends at the set, you do not see what the ball allows the hitter to do or how the setter participates afterwards. Add continuity suited to the group’s level.
The material from USA Volleyball on learning through play helps explain why tasks need to retain elements of the game. This does not eliminate work on one part of an action; it guides the reconnection of that part with the full situation.
Sample session: organise the second contact after defence
The proposal below is an editorial structure for a group that can already sustain basic exchanges. The coach should adapt space, participants, breaks and volume. It is not an official session attributed to Ricardinho or an individual physical prescription.
Problem: the setter digs and the team loses the next build-up.
Aim: recognise who takes over, arrive with control and deliver an attackable ball.
Resources: balls, a net when available, a target reference and enough players to alternate defence, second contact and attack. Before the tasks, carry out preparation suited to the group and activity.
Stage 1 — recognise the ball the hitter needs
One participant sends a controlled ball to the player making the second contact. A teammate positions themselves as an attacking option. The task is to prepare a trajectory they can use, without adding a block or multiple choices at the start.
Observe the arrival and the result. If the second contact goes too close to the net, check whether the player arrived under the ball able to direct it. If it falls short, see whether the whole movement is organised rather than automatically asking for more force from the hands.
Progress when: the responsible player can recognise the directional reference and repeat a usable delivery. Simplify when: they are merely surviving the toss and cannot notice their own execution.
Stage 2 — vary where the ball comes from
Keep the attacking option and alternate the source of the toss. The player stops executing from the same stationary position every time and needs to adjust their arrival.
Change one condition at a time. If the movement increases, initially keep a relatively controlled ball trajectory. This lets you observe whether the difficulty appeared in reading, the route or final execution.
Progress when: control holds from more than one starting point. Simplify when: the player runs to the agreed spot without following the actual ball.
Stage 3 — add the setter’s dig
Now the first ball goes to the setter to dig. The agreed player takes the second contact, and the team tries to organise the same attacking option.
The new element is recognising the change of responsibility. If the player still waits for the setter to do everything, stop and clarify who takes over. The correction is about organisation before it is a demand on execution.
Progress when: the responsible player makes themselves available without needing a stoppage on every ball. Simplify when: uncertainty over responsibility prevents any technical comparison.
Stage 4 — allow two attacking solutions
Add a second option. The player setting needs to consider how they arrive and who is available. Simply pointing to an area chosen before seeing the dig is not enough.
After a few attempts, ask what led to the choice. A useful answer identifies the condition of the ball or the hitter. If the player always chose the same side without observing anything, keep the task and help them recognise the available information.
Progress when: the decision considers the situation. Simplify when: the number of options completely removes contact quality.
Stage 5 — play and check whether the adjustment holds
Let the rally continue with opposition suited to the group. Observe whether responsibility for the second contact remains clear when the dig does not come exactly as in the previous toss.
You do not need to stop every attempt. Record a few cases to discuss later and select one adjustment. The number of balls should allow attention and execution; increasing fatigue alone does not show that the task has improved.
How to know whether training worked
Compare similar situations at the start and end of the session. If the final task is much easier, more successful attempts may come from the changed conditions. If it is much harder, fewer successful attempts do not prove nothing was learnt.
Look for concrete signs: the responsible player recognises when to act, arrives more organised, delivers a usable ball and can explain an adjustment. Then see whether this appears again in other sessions and matches.
Do not invent a percentage improvement when there was no record. An honest observation of a few situations is more useful than a statistic without criteria.
Training ends with information for the next training session.
What to change when the session gets stuck
| Observed sign | Hypothesis to check | Possible adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| No one knows who plays the second ball | Undefined responsibility | Agree who takes over before increasing difficulty |
| The queue grows and participation is low | Task organisation | Reduce waiting or work in groups suited to the space |
| Control disappears when opposition is added | Too large a jump in complexity | Remove one variable and preserve continuity |
| The player succeeds in the drill but gets lost in the game | Information or choice missing from the task | Progressively vary the source, responsible player or target |
| The group repeats without observing | Unclear aim | Recall the criterion and ask for a concrete observation |
A simpler drill can make training more demanding in attention. Difficulty needs to serve the aim, not the desire to build an impressive sequence.
To choose other problems, use the fundamentals map. If the aim concerns the serving team’s first contact with the match, consult serving practice.
FAQ — questions about volleyball training
How long should volleyball training last?
There is no single duration suited to every group. Level, age, calendar, aim and preparation influence planning. First define what needs work and adapt the session with those who support the team. The example in this article organises stages without prescribing a physical load for everyone.
Can you train alone?
You can work on parts of ball control and execution, for example with a wall and suitable space. This does not reproduce all the decisions in a match. When possible, add partners, variation and continuity to see what happens with a ball you do not control from the start.
Is filming training worthwhile?
An authorised recording can help observe a specific difficulty. Choose an angle that shows the relevant action and review a few comparable attempts. Avoid using video only to look for everyone’s mistakes: it works best when it answers the question that guided the session.
Sources and references
- USA Volleyball — The Game Teaches the Game: institutional discussion of game context and learning.
- FIVB — Official Rules 2025–2028: rule 9.2.2, the difference between pauses in a drill and contact permitted in a match.
