11 Great Drills To Perfect Your Pickleball Volley

Pickleball was created as a combination of badminton, ping-pong, and tennis. But, with how much volleying happens at the net, you might think it derives from volleyball as well. Whether you’re new to the game or you’ve been around for a while, the chances are there’s always room to improve.

This article discusses 11 great drills to help you perfect your pickleball volley. 

Drill #1: Straight On Volleys

This is a great drill for improving your drive and accuracy on straight volley shots. To perform it, you and your partner should be on opposite sides of the court, standing right at the NVZ line. One of you starts the volley, and the goal is not to let the ball touch the ground. To do this well, you need to hit the ball with enough force and aim at your partner’s torse or above. 

Both of you should keep your feet stationary and simply swing your paddle just enough to keep the volley going for as long as possible. It should seem fast-paced but in control. Your stroke should be compact with barely any backswing, almost like you are pushing or punching the ball with your paddle.

Make sure to get your paddle back to the ready position as soon as possible. This means the paddle is close to your chest area and out in front of your body. If you are struggling with this, keep with it. This will likely be the easiest drill of the bunch. So, do not move on until you feel good about your straight-on volleys.

Drill #2: “Closing In” Volleys

This drill starts similar to the previous one–with you and your partner on opposite sides of the court and volleying the ball back and forth.

The deviation for this one is that after about four or five volleys, you take one step toward the net, getting as close as you can before dropping the ball.

You should be inching closer to the net simultaneously with your partner. As you get closer, try not to adjust your shot speed. The goal is to get quicker and better, and you do that by practicing difficult volleys. Similar to the previous, aim at the torse or higher and try not to look at the ball but straight ahead at your opponent. This will help your hands react and become faster.

When the ball drops, both of you should start back at the NVZ line and begin again. For variation, have one of you inch closer while the other stays back at the NVZ line.

Drill #3: Close Volleys

Take the last two drills and combine them, and you get close volleys. Stand about halfway or three-quarters of the way between the net and the NVZ line. Yes, that means you’re standing in the kitchen volleying, which is a no-no. But remember, this is just practice.

Drill #4: FH to FH Volleys

Stand back at opposite NVZ lines and start volleying the ball again, but this time, the goal is only to use your forehand to hit the ball. This means you should aim for your partner’s forehand side while still keeping the ball high enough for volleying. This drill forces you to get back in the ready position and move your body slightly to help you get that forehand through on each shot.

Drill #5: BH to BH Volleys

Of course, what’s the opposite of a forehand? The backhand. Do the same drill but now aim for your partner’s backhand side. Each of you should practice hitting the backhand volley back and forth to each other. This may take a bit of practice, but don’t get frustrated–you’ll become a master soon enough.

Drill #6: “Figure 8” Volleys

This is a more advanced drill and will likely take you longer to get into a rhythm. Both you and your partner are still standing at the NVZ line, but you are making “figure 8s” with your paddle. Your first shot should be a forehand or backhand, and your next shot should be the opposite. And you simply switch back and forth with each shot. Forehand to backhand to forehand to backhand. Or vice versa.You may have to move your body more to make the adjustments, but your goal should be to keep your feet in the same spot as much as possible. 

Drill #7: Quick Feed Volleys

This one is intense! One of you (your partner or you) should stand at the NVZ line, while the other stands a few feet away from their NVZ line toward the net. The player closest to the net is going to “feed” the volley into the player on the line. They do this by dropping the ball and hitting it out of midair at the line partner’s chest. The person on the line should focus on “blocking” the volley and sending it back over the net, where the feeder now catches it and feeds it back again. 

This drill helps with hand-eye coordination and helps you react quickly. After a few rounds, switch so that the other player is the feeder. 

Drill #8: “Leading” Moving Volleys

Being able to move well laterally is essential in pickleball. Leading moving volleys have you start at one sideline and move one step at a time (while volleying back and forth) toward the other sideline. This is another more advanced drill, but it will help you get used to moving and volleying quickly. The steps shouldn’t be sudden; instead, they should be in sync with your partner as you slowly side walk across the NVZ line. Each volley should “lead” your partner to the side that you’re both working toward. The rhythm is hit, step, hit, step, hit, step, etc.

Drill #9: Straight On Moving Volleys

Now instead of leading, the point of this drill is to still work toward the opposite sideline, but while keeping your feet square (or straight on) with your partner. It’s still a hit, then step mentality, but you no longer have the help of your partner hitting the ball so that it’s easier for you to move in that direction. You should aim for the torso or higher, like in the first drill, but the step will help you reset quickly and work on your balance across the court.

Drill #10: “You-Go-I-Go” Volleys

In this drill, one of you stays stationary while the other moves toward the opposite sideline. This teaches you to hit volleys crosscourt and forces you to use different amounts of pressure for your volleys as you are farther away from your partner. Once one of you reaches the sideline, you can start back toward the original sideline or stay there while your partner works his way over to you.

Drill #11: “Bryan Brothers” Volleys

To start this drill, you should be crosscourt from each other–one of you on one sideline and the other on the opposite. You should volley the ball back and forth while stepping toward your opposite sideline. Eventually, you’ll “meet” in the middle and keep going across until you are both in the opposite crosscourt positions from where you started. This drill was coined by the Bryan Brothers and is a whole lot of fun. 

We hope you enjoyed these drills; we know they will make you a force to be reckoned with on the courts. 

Ready to see all these drills? See the video from Briones Pickleball. And learn more strategies and tips from our blog.