Basically, a wash drill in volleyball is one which forces a team to do multiple things – like winning a rally – often in a row. If the team does so, it earns a big point. The objective is to accumulate some number of total points, or to beat another team. If the team fails to reach the objective it is a wash. They don’t earn the point, or alternatively, the opposing team gets the point.
There are a few primary variations you’ll find in wash drills. They include the following.
X before Y
One team has to get X number of points before the other team gets Y points.
X out of Y
A team must get X number of points within Y number of attempts (or could be done on time).
X in a row
The team must score X number of “little points” in a row to get a big point.
Note that you can replace “points” with just about anything. For example, good passes.
There is also the variation of wash drills where achieving some objective doesn’t immediately give a team a point. It instead gives them an opportunity to earn a point. The bingo-bango-bongo game is a variation of this. It uses an “X in a row” core approach. Once a team gets that, though, they must win a service rally to actually get the point.
Wash drills in volleyball are useful for any number of purposes. Here are some examples.
- An “X before Y” variation can make for more competitive games between teams of unequal levels, such as starters vs. non-starters.
- An “X out of Y” type of game can pit hitters against each other in an attack vs. defense drill or game.
- A variation of “X in a row” could be used to focus on executing a skill or tactic, such as successfully running a quick attack.
If there’s something you want to work on with your team, there’s probably a way you can do it with a wash drill. The advantage of this approach is that it gets players and teams focusing on not just singular executions. That is the case with many skill development drills (think serve receive or hitting line drills). Instead, the focus is on execution repetition, creating more pressure. This, of course, is much more realistic in terms of game expectations.
Also, wash drills tend to feature the quick introduction of additional balls. As such, they keep the training tempo high. This is good for both player intensity and conditioning.
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