Serve reception for a u12s team

Question
Hi, I coach a 12 under girls team and my weakness is serve reception, can you give me any drills to focus on that and some formations. Thank you.

Answer
Good morning and welcome to www.allexperts.com!

You have asked a typical question.  But the answer is very very hard.

12's are very limited in their quickness, skills, and anticipation. For a player to be a good serve receiver, she needs all three.  12's often just wait for the ball to come to them; and, they are surprised when it doesn't, thus are flat-footed, thus try to react, and rarely make plays when the ball isn't sent directly to them.  

Will you have some girls who don't fit this description?  Sure.  There are always kids on teams that do things better than their peers, are more mature, taller, stronger, etc.  Every time I see a group of 6th graders play, 1 or 2 or 3 of them are ready to play 14's, while the others are still little girls.  

What will help their skills?  Reps, reps, reps done correctly.  No swinging, no praying, no poking, etc.  Serve receive is your team's top priority.  

What will help their anticipation?  Getting older.  haha  That's pretty much the truth.  Getting older and playing the game.  Of course, you can also do certain controlled drills where the players get points for touching the ball.  Yep, just a touch.  Then, as they get a little older, a touch isn't enough!  As they get older, the ball must be passed high enough for a teammate to catch.  

What will help their quickness?  Play other sports & staying active.  Sixth graders don't need much conditioning in order to improve their quickness and anticipation.  They just need to get older, stay active and keep their weight under control (which isn't usually an issue for active 6th graders).  

What else can I do for you?  I hope you have a great weekend, and I hope that you have time to visit www.coachhouser.com.  I think you'll like the free downloads and the smiling faces!  

Chat later!
Coach Houser