This Session works on your players' ability to react quickly, get low and keep the ball alive with the Defensive Dig
The dig is an invaluable skill which no self-respecting player should be without. It enables your players to keep a point alive by preventing it from hitting the floor after the opponent has played an attacking shot into your half and also gives your side a starting point from which they can look to build their own attack!
There's more to the dig though than simply swinging your arms blindly at the ball which is what we look at in this week's session.
Your players should be thinking about their body position, their movement into the correct area and always be watching for visual cues. That way they're ready to react and can avoid having to react late to perform a dramatic, diving dig shot!
Coaches spend hours correcting arms in serve receive when the real fault is almost always the feet. Fix the movement and the platform fixes itself.
Most teams win the dig and then hand the point straight back with a slow, predictable transition swing. The best 2026 sides treat the moment after the dig as their sharpest scoring chance, feeding the middle in transition and running first-tempo attacks off a defensive ball.
When the first pass breaks down, most teams collapse into a high ball straight into the opposing block. The best 2026 sides are building structured out-of-system offences that turn broken plays into scoring chances using libero sets, left-side options and disciplined hitter routes.
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