Noise Tolerance Drill

Composure

11 minutesbeginnerteammental

Legend

player
ball
movement path

How it works

Build composure under sensory distraction by practicing ball-handling skills with crowd noise or music playing.

What you need

volleyball
net
speaker for music or crowd noise

Your focus

Real matches are loud , crowd noise, opponent cheering, and music can overwhelm players who have only trained in quiet gyms. Introducing controlled noise during practice desensitizes players to distraction and builds the focus required for composure under match conditions. USA Volleyball IMPACT emphasizes training the mind as rigorously as the body.

Begin a serving or passing drill at normal volume (no music).

After 5 minutes, coach adds background noise at low volume (crowd noise playlist or music).

After 5 more minutes, increase volume significantly.

Players continue the drill. Coach notes which players show composure (maintained focus) vs. distraction (errors increase).

Debrief: how did the noise affect your performance? What mental strategies did you use to stay focused?

Goal

It's clicking when your passing mechanics stay the same whether it's silent or loud, your body doesn't react to the noise.

Helpful cues

Your routine doesn't change because the environment does
Focus on what you can control, your platform, your toss, your breath
Noise is information for your opponent, don't let it be information for them

Adjust the challenge

Make it easier

Strip it back

Start with quiet music (no crowd noise) and only gradually increase.

UpLVL it

Add the next challenge

Add teammate cheering for the opposing team during competitive drills to simulate real game noise.

No account needed

Build a practice plan

Add drills, keep the plan in this browser, then share a link with your staff or parents.

This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.

After every practice, UpLVL automatically surfaces the drills each player needs to work on most. See it for yourself.