Prisoner Volleyball - A Fun Game For All Ages
As often as possible, I love to end volleyball practices and camps with a high-energy drill that has players laughing, cheering, and going all out for the ball. And that’s exactly what you get when you play this game!
With the constant threat of being captured, “Prisoner” is a volleyball drill that challenges players to step up and perform under pressure. And because players on the court can rescue their teammates, anyone who’s on the sidelines stays engaged in the drill, cheering loudly!
(NOTE: This drill is sometimes called Elimination)
WHO THIS DRILL IS FOR
Players of all ages will enjoy this drill. This is a very popular drill to end a day of volleyball camp with. The competition levels will go up the more that players are able to control the ball.
WHAT THIS DRILL EMPHASIZES
Fun
Communication
Competition
Playing Under Pressure
Ownership of Mistakes
Adapting to Unexpected Situations
DRILL SETUP
Split your team into two groups.
Each group takes a side of the net.
All players stand on the court regardless of the number of players (i.e., 7 players might be on each side if you have 14 playing, or 5 on each side if you have 10).
RUN THE DRILL
Toss a freeball to the loudest team, or to the side that has fewer players (if you have an odd number).
The teams will play the ball, rally back and forth until a winning shot is hit or a mistake is made.
The player who makes the mistake or who is closest to the winning shot is captured! They are sent to their team’s sideline, hoping to get back into the game.
Toss the next freeball to the side that has the fewest players. If the teams are equal, toss to the team who just lost a player.
Continue to capture players as mistakes and kills are made.
Teams can win back “prisoners” from being captured if they get a kill. For this reason, captured players should stand in a line in the order in which they left the game.
Once a team has only one player left, they are allowed three hits to get the ball over the net.
The team with the last free player wins!
Play 2-3 rounds of this game if time allows.
VARIATIONS
For younger teams who struggle with three contacts, have three touches be the trigger to allow a captured teammate back into the game.
Also for younger teams, an attack that goes over the net and in (without needing to be a kill) could rescue a teammate.
Toss the ball to the winning team (regardless of the number of players) to add pressure to the team who just lost a player.
NOTES
Players want to stay in the game… which can sometimes lead to disagreements about who made the mistake! This is especially true for younger teams.
For example, Player A might shank the ball, so Player B tries to go and save it. If they miss it, however, was it really Player B’s fault that the team lost the rally? No. With younger teams, players will often point to Player B and say it was their fault for not getting it back. Use this as an opportunity to teach your players to take responsibility for their own mistakes and see how they contributed to the lost ball. Act as the “referee” in the first game or two and players will start to catch on.
Finally, this game is fun. Really fun! And your players will likely want to play this one frequently. I like to save this as a special treat and don’t play it more than once or twice a month. There is a decent amount of standing on the sidelines if your team doesn’t rescue their captured teammates often, which is why I run this drill less often than my teams ask for. This is a fun game to liven up the middle of your season, and a nice way to bounce back from a tough match or tournament.