PracticeField

Volleyball drill · Forearm passing

Platform-Angle Partners

Every rally a young team wins starts with one clean forearm pass. Building it from a frozen platform outward keeps the swing habit from ever forming.

Why this drill works

The forearm pass has one steering wheel: the platform’s angle, since the ball goes where the flat arms face regardless of what the passer intends. Partner reps that deliberately move the target off-line force the angle to be created, shoulder dropped, body turned, while the arms stay quiet, and the immediate feedback of each pass’s flight makes the cause-and-effect impossible to miss. Passers who own the angle stop aiming with swings, the fault that ruins receiving everywhere.

How to coach it

Freeze the platform after contact regularly so both partners can see where it faced, because the angle is invisible at speed and obvious when held. Keep tosses easy while angles are being learned; hard balls teach flinching, not steering. Rotate target positions systematically, left, center, right, and grade passes by direction before height. The pair whose passes curve lazily toward the target with no arm swing has found the drill’s entire lesson.
Ages
7–14
Skill levels
first-time, beginner, developing
Players
4–20 (ideal 12)
Time
13 min
Setting
indoor
Space
10 feet per pair
Platform-Angle Partners setup Pairs facing each other in lines, one tossing and one passing off a flat forearm platform. T P T P
Pairs facing each other in lines, one tossing and one passing off a flat forearm platform.

Equipment

  • 1 ball per pair
  • Lightweight or trainer balls for the youngest groups

Setup

Pairs face each other 8-10 feet apart. One tosser, one passer. Demonstrate the platform: hands together, thumbs parallel, elbows locked, arms away from the body.

How to run it

  1. Stage 1: the passer holds a frozen platform; the tosser gently bounces the ball off it and catches. Ten reps, then switch.
  2. Stage 2: underhand toss to the midline; the passer angles the platform so the ball rebounds straight back to the tosser's hands. No swinging.
  3. Stage 3: tosses one step left and right; the passer shuffles, sets the platform, and passes back.
  4. Stage 4: the tosser moves slowly sideways; the passer keeps angling the platform to the moving target.
  5. Score the final round: ten tosses, one point per pass the tosser catches without moving.

What success looks like

Balls contact the forearms above the wrists, legs supply the power while arms stay quiet, and passes return catchable to the target most of the time.

Coaching cues

  • "Flat platform, thumbs together"
  • "Angle it to the target"
  • "Legs lift, arms don't swing"
  • "Feet first, platform second"

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the arms at the ball; return to the frozen-platform stage the moment swinging appears.
  • Contact on the hands or wrists; the sweet spot is mid-forearm.
  • Bending at the waist to reach low balls; bend the knees instead.

Make it easier or harder

Easier: Use trainer or beach balls and stay at stages 1-2 for entire sessions with ages 7-8.

Harder: Tosses become easy overhand serves from 15 feet, or the passer must call MINE before every contact.

Adapt it to your team

Small roster: Any even number; an odd player joins a triangle where the pass target rotates.

Large roster: All pairs on parallel lines tossing the same direction; walk the line adjusting platforms.

Limited space: Ten feet per pair is all it takes; a wall can replace tossers for half the group.

Limited equipment: One ball per pair; balloons work indoors for the youngest players learning the frozen platform.

Safety

Use lightweight balls until forearms toughen up; stinging arms teach flinching, which is the opposite of a good platform. See the safety page for general guidance.