source: Coaching Volleyball

Three-time U.S. Olympic coach Terry Liskevych puts it plainly: "Passing determines the level you play on. Without the pass, nothing else can happen in the sequence of the game." That framing isn't motivational filler, it's a structural truth about how volleyball works.

An accurate pass gives the setter control of the offense; a shanked one collapses the entire rally before it starts.

This guide draws on instruction from Liskevych, NCAA Player of the Year and former U.S. national team member Cary Wendell Wallin, and coach educator John Forman to lay out what a reliable passing platform actually requires, and where most players go wrong building one.

The Foundation: Forming a Solid Platform

The forearm pass depends on one non-negotiable: your arms must form a consistent, flat surface before the ball arrives.

Wallin's instruction on this is specific, forearms together, hands clasped or overlapping, elbows locked out and rotated so the flat, fleshy part of each arm faces up and toward the target.

Arms no wider than hip-width is the constraint that matters most here.

Blogger and passing specialist Matt, whose work has been discussed by Forman at Coaching Volleyball, frames it this way: keep your arms no wider than your hips so you can redirect the ball toward the setter rather than letting it glance off an angled surface.

The wider the platform, the less predictable the deflection angle.

Body posture reinforces the platform. Keep the body low, shoulders forward, knees bent, the ready position isn't a half-measure. A passer who stands upright until the serve arrives has already given away the clean contact point.

Footwork: Getting Behind the Ball

The phrase "feet to the ball" is repeated across every level of the game for a reason. Moving your feet to get behind the ball gives you the best chance to take it near your midline, where the platform's angle to the target is most controllable.

Wallin's partner passing drill, a structured beginner-to-intermediate exercise from The Art of Coaching Volleyball, sets one player at the net facing the service line and the other a few feet behind the 10-foot line, switching roles every 10 reps.

The drill's three explicit points of emphasis are forming a solid platform with the forearms, executing proper passing footwork, and learning to handle balls not hit directly at you. The last one is where most beginners fall apart.

Shuffle steps, not crossover steps, are standard for lateral movement in serve receive. Crossovers rotate the shoulders and skew the platform angle before you've even locked your arms. Keep the shoulders square, shuffle to position, then lock the platform.

The Center-Line vs. Angle Debate

This is where passing instruction gets genuinely contested among experienced coaches, and it's worth understanding the split rather than assuming one answer covers everything.

The center-line approach teaches passers to move their feet so the ball arrives at or near their body's midline, simplifying the redirect to the setter.

The platform angle approach, favored by Karch (cited in Forman's analysis of USA women's national team practice) and taught in the Dutch youth system from an early age, instructs players to step "out of the ball" and never stand in the trajectory of the serve, angling the platform from a position beside the flight path rather than behind it.

Tom Tait, described as the grandfather of Penn State volleyball and a professor of exercise science and coaching, addresses this in the 2nd Volleyball Coaching Wizards book, and Tod Mattox has published a direct challenge to the angle-only approach.

Forman's own position, developed across more than 20 years coaching across the NCAA, club volleyball in the UK, and professional coaching in Sweden, is that the center-line answer breaks down at the top of the men's game: against a jump serve, "there is just about zero time to move to take the ball center-line."

The practical takeaway for most players, junior through collegiate, is to prioritize getting behind the ball while building in the platform angle adjustment as a secondary skill. setting footwork and hand positioning follows similar logic: the fundamentals that hold up under pressure are the ones you build first.

Adjusting for Short and Deep Serves

A static platform position only works if the serve arrives at your midpoint. It rarely does, which is why serve-type adjustment is its own skill set.

For a short serve, Wallin's instruction is to drop the lower body closer to the floor and raise the platform. The body goes down and the arms come up, keeping the platform angled correctly without forcing an off-balance lunge.

For a deep serve, the adjustment reverses: take shuffle steps backward, hunch the shoulders forward, and take the ball with a lower platform angle.

If the serve is deep enough that a normal platform height can't reach it cleanly, Wallin advises pivoting the body and creating a platform to the side rather than forcing a backhanded or overhead contact.

The Russian Passing Drill, covered by Jackson Chlebowy at CoachTube, is built specifically for this scenario, a partner or coach tosses balls deep and to the sides; the passer shuffles back with shoulders forward so the platform adjustment happens under movement pressure rather than from a standing start.

The drill also addresses off-center balls: for a ball to the left, get the right arm down first, then bring the hands together; for a ball to the right, lead with the left arm.

Strength supports all of it.

Wall sits, bodyweight squats, lateral lunges, and quick shuffle footwork drills build the leg base that keeps posture stable through these adjustments, a passer whose legs fatigue straightens up, and a straightened passer shanks balls they should handle cleanly.

Common Passing Mistakes

Swinging the arms. The platform redirects the ball; it does not hit it. A passer who swings introduces uncontrolled spin and trajectory change, so the contact should feel like a bump off a flat board.

Arms too wide. This one keeps appearing in Wallin and Matt's instruction for the same reason: a wide platform narrows the contact window and turns predictable angles into guesswork.

Standing up before contact. Rising out of the ready position before the ball arrives is the footwork failure that looks like a platform failure. The fix is in the knees.

No pivot on deep serves. Players who try to reach behind themselves with a standard platform, rather than pivoting and redirecting, almost always send the ball sideways. Wallin's pivot instruction is the cleaner solution.

FAQs About Volleyball Passing Fundamentals

What is the correct arm position for a forearm pass?

Forearms together, elbows locked out and rotated upward, hands clasped or overlapping. Arms should stay no wider than hip-width to maintain a controllable, flat platform surface.

Should I always try to get behind the ball to pass it?

At most levels, yes. Getting the ball near your midline is the most reliable way to direct it accurately to the setter.

At the elite level, particularly against jump serves in men's volleyball, coaches like Karch favor angling the platform from beside the ball's flight path, but that technique builds on, not replaces, the foundational footwork habit.

How do I handle a serve that isn't hit directly at me?

Move your feet first. Shuffle laterally to get into position, keep shoulders square, then lock the platform. For an off-center ball to your left, get the right arm down first; for one to your right, lead with the left arm.

What's the difference between passing a short serve and a deep serve?

A short serve requires dropping the lower body and raising the platform angle.

A deep serve requires shuffling back with shoulders hunched forward and using a lower platform angle, or pivoting and passing to the side if the ball is too deep to reach cleanly from a forward stance.

How can I improve my passing footwork?

Lateral shuffle drills, quick-reaction footwork exercises, and high-tempo drills like the Russian Passing Drill all build the movement patterns passing requires. Strength work, wall sits, squats, lateral lunges, sustains the low body position that footwork depends on.

What mental habits separate good passers from average ones?

Reading the server's body and contact point before the ball crosses the net, staying in the ready position until the last moment, and making a deliberate footwork decision rather than reacting with the arms first. The arm platform is the final step.

Is the partner passing drill suitable for beginners?

Wallin's partner drill is designed for beginning players and teaches platform formation, footwork, and handling off-target serves simultaneously. It also builds the underhand toss skill used across many partner drills, so it pays dividends beyond passing alone.

Your Platform Is the Starting Point for Everything

An offense that runs at the highest level of the game, whether the Pro Volleyball Federation, the AVP, or a club final, depends on a setter who receives accurate, usable passes.

Every setter tip, every blocking scheme, every terminal attack starts with that first contact.

Get the platform right first. The footwork is what gets you there, the arm position is what makes it reliable, and the serve-type adjustments are what make it durable under pressure. Master those in order and the rest of the offense has something to work with.