Coaching Girls Volleyball 101 – Forearm Passing

Over the weekend I spent 10 hours in a volleyball clinic -  a 3 hour session for coaches, and two 3.5 hour sessions for players (I went to the two sessions for 7th grade through High School players).  I decided I would do a brain dump of all the things I remember – both for myself and for any other  coaches who might benefit.  This information is free – take it for what it’s worth.

This post is about Forearm Passing (aka bumping):

There are four major keys to the Forearm Pass:

1. Arrive (Hop to the Spot)
   • The player should arrive at the spot before the volleyball
   • The player should plant their feet as they arrive so that it gives them a solid base (this looks like a little hop)
   • Legs should be bent giving the player a lower center of gravity – hence more balance
2. Face the Incoming Ball
   • The player should line up their belly button to where the ball came from
3. Create a Platform
   • Wrists down to thumbs should be together
   • As long as wrists and thumbs are together, the rest of the hand position is personal choice.  The exception is no interlocking fingers – it leads to catching the pinky and dislocating the finger.
   • Point thumbs down to create a natural volleyball groove with the forearms.  This is where the ball should connect with the player.
   • The platform comes together after  the player arrives at the spot.  The player should not run with arms together.
4. Tilt to the Target
   • Legs should face where the ball came from
   • Tilt your platform to where you want the ball to go by dropping your shoulder.
   • Basically, you want to deflect the volleyball from the incoming path to the new path (ie where you want it to go).

The best drill to practive passing is to create triangles where the ball comes from one direction and gets passed to another direction.