I'm teaching volleyball at my camp this year...?

Question

its on a beach and it's all ages (7-14) it's just a fun activity but the goal is to teach the basics like passing, setting, serving. any tips and suggestions? i haven't played volleyball in a couple years so it's just basic volleyball like rotating 3 in front 3 in back nothing fancy. any games like queen of the court? any tips on anything would be great! nothing intense!!

Answer 1

Wish I could be there!!  Love it.  Sorry this got to be so long.

Make sure you have lots of balls... one for each person is not too many, but at least one for each pair.  Showing them good technique is paramount, no matter what age or skill level... their enjoyment of the game will be better if they practice good technique, especially when they see they can actually do it.  Most younger children have the most trouble just getting the ball over the net.  You could try some pint-sized courts for them.  You should ratio their size with the area they have to cover.  They should also be able to stand on tiptoe and reach the top of the net.  That way they can practice technique like the bigger kids without having to swing for the fences to knock the ball over the net (literally, not using a volleyball technique).  For warmups, you can have them practice passing and setting to each other in pairs.  If they are higher skill, then they can pass/set/hit to each other.  It's also a good exercise to see how many times you can alternate passing and setting to yourself in a minute, just as a gauge for how your skill improves.  

Once you teach the basic techniques of serving (just have each side serve back and forth to each other across the net, 3 to a side, the object being technique and control, serving straight across to the person opposite), passing (move into position - knees bent, platform to target, and transfer using your whole body, from the legs, not swinging with your arms) and setting (again, move to position, bend your knees, shape the ball, follow through with your whole body) you can do drills.

About half of your time should be spent on stretching, warmups (pairs) and basic skill drills (instructor), then let the younger kids start playing.  The older kids (and some of the younger kids) may want to spend a little more time learning more advanced skills and strategies, like hitting/blocking and positions.  If you have more than a day or two, you can spread this out over several days, focusing on one advanced skill at a time... setting/hitting, blocking, positions/strategy.  The younger kids may want to watch/participate in this also, or they may just want to play games.  Always leave enough time for a game or two, regardless of the age group.  Remind them as they play, the object at this point isn't to win but to improve their technique... focus on good technique.  By the end of the camp they'll be playing like pros.

I know that may sound intense, but I think nothing increases your love for a game more than being able to do it well.  It's a great feeling when you make a good hit... even being the person who passed or set it, or making a great save or a great block.  The better you are at something, the more you learn to enjoy it.  Nothing will teach good technique except 1) a good teacher and 2) lots of practice.

Whatever you do, I wish you well and I hope the kids have a great time.  Sorry I don't know any volleyball-based games for smaller kids.

Answer 2

For children's that age you can already apply the "2 on 2" or "3 on 3" player per team so that you can have many teams and so as the children are learning the basics in the sport, they gain their competitive spirit.

Answer 3

You have the right idea.  Make it fun AND instructional.  You want to teach them the skills but at that age, you need to make it fun as well.  

And do not think because they are young and inexperienced.  Last summer, I did a camp with that age group and younger.  They all learned to serve overhand.  We did not even teach the underhand serve.  It is harder to learn the overhand serve when you learn the underhand serve first.  

I like to add a different game for that age group.  It is very, very tough to get them to use 3 hits.  I give a point for the team that wins the rally and a point for every time a team used 3 hits in the rally.  By the end of the camp, we had to make the games to 100 in order to play.  They would often score 10 points in each rally once they got used to the game.

Since you are on the beach, you could have a fun game using a beach ball.