Learn Volleyball with Animated Formations, One Rotation at a Time

Learn Volley is a free volleyball guide for first-time players, PE teachers, coaches and parents. Its animated courts let you step through every rotation of six formations, from the beginner 6-6 to the competitive 5-1, so you can see where each player stands and moves. Behind them are the rules, skill guides, drills, printables and tools to put it into practice. Everything is free, with no sign-up, in five languages.

See the formations New to volleyball? Start here

Start here

New to volleyball? Start with The Basics, then learn the skills and see how teams line up in the formations. Coaches and parents each have their own card.

The Basics

Rules, court zones, positions and the words you will hear at practice.

Formations

Animated rotations, from the beginner 6-6 to the advanced 5-1.

Skills & Training

Technique for every contact, plus a 7-day plan for beginners.

Coaches

Drills, PE lesson plans, printables, tools and coaching equipment.

Players & Parents

How-to guides, a parents' guide and playing volleyball in college.

Why coaches and players use Learn Volley

See it move. Step through all six rotations of each formation instead of decoding a static diagram.
Rules checked against the rule book. Rules pages follow the FIVB Official Volleyball Rules, with US differences noted where they matter.
Ready for practice. A drill library you can filter by skill, level and group size, a sample 90-minute practice plan, and printable sheets in US Letter and A4.

Last updated: October 4, 2026

How a rally flows

Every rally follows one of two cycles, depending on which team serves.

Your team serves: you defend first. Form the block, with teammates covering behind it, dig the attack, then switch to offense.
Your team receives: you attack first. Pass the serve, set and attack, then switch to defense.

Read each column from the top. Grey boxes are defense, green boxes are offense. The dashed arrow shows where the cycle restarts if the ball comes back over the net.

Once these cycles feel automatic, you can stop thinking about where to stand and focus on the ball.

Tip: On any formation page, click or tap the court to show or hide the zone numbers (4-3-2 along the net, 5-6-1 in the back row) — the zones are the core of what these animations teach. The animations are simplified models, so adjust them to your team's ability.

Learn Volley is free and paid for by light advertising and reader donations. If it helps your team, you can support the site or report a mistake.