Forearm Platform Builder
Passing
Legend
- player
- coach / parent
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Teach young players to form a flat, locked forearm platform and make controlled contact with a tossed ball.
What you need
- volleyball
- open gym space
Your focus
The forearm pass is the most fundamental ball-control skill in volleyball. Establishing a correct platform shape early prevents the development of compensatory habits like wrist flicking or arm swinging that cause errors later. A flat, locked platform creates a consistent and predictable ball trajectory.
Players stand in self-space and practice making a platform by clasping hands (thumbs parallel, palms together) and extending arms in front of the body.
Coach checks every player's platform for flatness, elbows locked, forearms together, thumbs pointing down.
Partner A tosses the ball softly underhanded from 3 feet; Partner B bumps it back using only forearm contact, no swing.
Complete 10 successful contacts each, then move to 5 feet apart for the next round.
Goal
You've got it when the ball comes off your forearms and goes straight up, no spinning sideways, just up toward where a setter would be.
Helpful cues
- Thumbs down, elbows together
- Let the ball hit the flat part of your arms, not your wrists
- Move your feet first, then make your platform
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Use a beach ball or balloon so the slow movement gives more time to form the platform before contact.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Partner tosses slightly off-center left and right so the passer must move feet to get behind the ball.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.