Butterfly Drill: Serve, Pass, Target

A classic volleyball drill where students serve, pass, and catch as the target, and each player follows the ball to change positions. It builds the serve-receive chain continuously and keeps students focused on rotating correctly.

How to play

1. On each court, 12 students in three lines: servers behind one end line, passers in the back court on the other side, and targets by the net on that side (3 min).
2. Serve crosscourt to the passer, who forearm passes to the target; the target catches.
3. Everyone follows the ball: server to the passing line, passer to the target line, and target with the ball to the serving line, always around the court.
4. Run it 6 minutes from one diagonal and 6 minutes from the other.
5. Final challenge (3 min): count how many passes reach the target without the target taking more than one step.

Rules

• Change lines by going around the court, never under the net.
• Do not serve until the previous passer has cleared the zone.
• The target catches with two hands and does not hit the ball back.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: stay at the target spot or serve from a short line, without changing lines.
• Autism: show a diagram of the rotation path and walk through it before starting.
• Lower fitness: walk between lines instead of jogging.

Learning goals

• Link serving and passing in a continuous drill.
• Follow an organized rotation system.
• Work together to increase the group's accurate passes.

Equipment for a class of 25

• volleyballs: 8
• net: 2
• cones: 8

Teacher tip

The first rounds are usually chaotic: do a walk-through with one ball. With 25 students, set up two courts of 12 and give the extra student the job of signaling each serve.

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