King of the Hill

Volleyball is traditionally played with one net, one ball and many students standing and waiting. Here's a way to ratchet up the activity.

We do this activity to both practice and assess the different hits in volleyball. We begin by adding a net. They are both set up so they intersect in the middle, dividing the gym into four quadrants. Each player starts with a beach ball, or light volleyball trainer ball. Both are large enough to be able to hit consistantly and soft enough so an errant shot won't hurt anyone.

The game begins by explaining that the object is to try to empty your side of balls by using specific hits in volleyball (set, bump, underhand serve, overhand serve). On your "go," everyone begins hitting over the net. On your whistle, the game stops. The team with the fewest voleyballs on their side is the "king of the hill." A fun thing to do is to have the other three teams all bow to the kings.

The interesting part now is when you re-start the game, the other three teams all try to de-throne the kings! They all try to hit their balls into the king's court.

If you still want to spice things up, try hanging beadsheets over the nets (you will have to make sure that the nets are tightly tied up, so the weight of the sheets won't take the nets down). Now no one can see what the other teams are up to. It makes for some interesting strategies!