Dig-and-Chase
Defense
Legend
- player
- coach / parent
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Introduce basic defensive digging mechanics through a low-pressure ball-chasing activity.
What you need
- volleyball (soft/foam)
- open floor space
Your focus
Young defenders learn dig technique most effectively when they experience what it feels like to keep a ball alive from a low position. Chasing a tossed ball and getting under it with a flat platform builds the instinctive crouch-and-dig posture that underpins all floor defense. The playful format reduces fear of the ball while building fundamental mechanics.
Coach rolls or tosses a soft ball along the floor ahead of a player standing in a ready position.
Player chases the ball, gets low (knees bent, hips down), and contacts it with a forearm platform, aiming to pop it upward.
After each dig, coach provides one tactile cue: 'Show me your flat arms' or 'Show me your low hips.'
Progress to a partner toss where the tosser rolls balls to different sides so the chaser must move laterally before digging.
Goal
You've got it when you make contact with the ball and it goes up, not sideways, even a messy dig that goes up is a win.
Helpful cues
- Get low before you dig
- Chase with your feet, not your hands
- Flat arms send it up
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Allow players to catch the ball first, then toss it up to themselves to practice the platform motion without chasing.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Tosser rolls two consecutive balls to alternate sides, player must dig both without stopping.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.
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.