41 Volleyball Rules for Kids
Rules for Middle School & Club Volleyball

Here are 41 volleyball rules for kids that will help understand how to play volleyball.

The following are 10 rules all beginner volleyball players should know.

1) 6 Players on the Court for Each Team. The game is played with six players on each side, with each team allowed up to three hits to return the ball to the other side.

2) Match play. Most matches are best of 3 sets. Sometimes matches are played best of 5 sets. Each set consists of 25 points and a team must win by a margin of two points. For middle school and high school competition, the deciding set may be played to 25 points. In club and college volleyball, the deciding set is to 15 points and teams switch sides at 8 points.

3) Serve from the Endline. The ball must be served from behind the back boundary line and over the net into the opponent's court.

4) Ball Can Legally Contact the Net. The ball must clear the net on a serve, and the server must not step on or over the service line when serving.

5) Scoring Points. A point is scored when the ball lands on the opponent's court, when the opponent hits the ball out of bounds, or when the opponent commits a violation.

6) The Court Boundary Line is In. If the ball lands on the boundary line, it is considered in the court. When the ball lines on the line or inside the boundary lines, the opposing team is awarded a point and will be the team to serve next. 

7) Rotate After You Win the Rally When Receiving. The receiving team must rotate clockwise after winning a point, and the player who served last must rotate to zone 6. The team rotates clockwise.

8) No Catching or Throwing. To avoid the rally ending, the ball must not touch the ground on one's own side. The ball must not be carried, caught or thrown.

9) Net Violations. For high school volleyball, a player cannot touch the net at any time during play. For college and club volleyball, a player can't contact the net during a playing action on the ball.

10) Libero can't play front row. Each team may have a specialized position player called a libero. This player plays only across the backrow. Once the libero reaches the front row, the libero must be replaced by same player that libero replaced. This is called a libero replacement. The libero replacement isn't counted as a team substitution. 

There you have 10 volleyball rules for kids. Know these rules so you're prepared for your volleyball practices and tournaments.

31 Volleyball Rules for Kids

1. For club volleyball, a team cannot have more than one libero on the court at a time.
2. In middle school and high school, the team has only one libero and this player can serve in only one rotation.
3. In club volleyball, a team may designate two libero's. Each libero can serve in only one rotation.
4. If a player hasn't previously entered the set, the player can substitute for any player on the court, except the libero.
5. A libero cannot rotate to the front row.
6. A libero can only replace a back row player and must wear a contrasting jersey.
7. The ball must not touch the antenna during play.
8. The ball must not touch any object outside the court, such as the ceiling, walls, or a spectator.
9. A player can contact the ball with the feet. This contact counts as one of the 3 team contacts.
10. The ball must not touch any of the server's teammates before crossing the net.
11. On the serve, it's legal for the ball to make contact with the net.
12. A player can legally reach over the net to block after the opponent has attacked a ball.
13. A player cannot serve out of order.
14. A player cannot serve from outside the serving zone.
15. A player cannot intentionally distract the opponent during play.
16. A player cannot taunt or verbally abuse the opponent.
17. A player cannot deliberately delay the game.
18. In high school and middle school, a team can call a maximum of two timeouts per set, and a timeout lasts for one minute. In club volleyball timeouts are 30 seconds.
19. A player can only touch the ball once in a row, except for the block, which does not count as one of the teams 3 contacts.
20. The ball must be played within court space or the space around the court called the free zone or playable area.
21. When the ball isn't in the vertical plane of the net, a player can reach over the net to block as long as the player doesn't interfere with the opponents play on the ball.
22. A player can't attack the ball on the opponent's side when the entire ball is on the other side of the net.
23. In high school and middle school volleyball, a player can cross the centerline and touch the opponent's court as long as part of the hand or foot remains above the centerline. In club volleyball, a player can cross the centerline as long as they don't interfere with the opponent and aren't creating a dangerous hazard.
24. Loose hair contacting the net is legal.
25. When the ball is entirely on the opponents side of the net, an opponent cannot interfere with an opponent's attempt to play the ball.
26. A team cannot request a substitution more than once during a single dead ball.
27. A team cannot have more than six players on the court at any time.
28. A player cannot enter the game if they are not wearing the correct uniform.
29. In middle school and high school volleyball, a player cannot play with any hard objects in their hair.
30. A player cannot play with any type of brace or cast that is not approved.
31. A team cannot make more than three contacts with the ball before returning it to the opponent's court.

If you enjoyed these volleyball rules for kids and would like to keep it close to you at any time, just save this pin to your Pinterest Volleyball Training Board.