The Five Most Common Forearm Pass Errors (and How to Fix Them)

You’ve worked through the basics—platform formation, footwork, quiet arms. Yet your passers still make the same frustrating errors game after game. Maybe it’s not about drilling more; maybe it’s about drilling smarter. The difference between good passers and great ones often lies in how they handle the subtle, recurring mistakes that creep in under pressure.

The misconception?
We often think that fixing forearm pass errors is just about repeating the same correction over and over. But the truth is, effective error correction requires understanding why the error happens and designing drills that make the correct response feel inevitable. Elite passers aren’t born—they’re shaped by precise, targeted feedback that reshapes their instincts.

Below are five common forearm‑pass errors, each paired with a correction strategy to help coaches build lasting, automatic skill.

1. Swinging the Arms

The Mistake: Using arm swing to generate power instead of letting the ball’s pace do the work.
Why It Happens: Natural instinct to “hit” the ball rather than “receive” it. We’ve all seen young players swing the platform aggressively at the ball.

The Fix: Really Short Pass Drills

Feed easy balls across the net to the players.
Challenge the players to pass the ball as low and as little forward as possible. Can they successfully pass the ball only a metre or two off their forearms then catch it?
Focus on keeping elbows locked and making minimal arm movement.
The ball should hit the player, not the player hit the ball.
Goal: Feel the difference between active swinging and passive redirection.

Coaching Cue: “Quiet arms – let the ball do the work!”

2. Extending the Arms Straight as You Pass

The Mistake: The arms are still being extended as the pass is being anticipated, only getting completely straight at the moment of contact (or even a bit after).
Why It Happens: Players want to feel like they are “guiding” the ball to the target.

The Fix: Lock the Elbows

Have the players start in their ready position with straight arms and locked elbows.
Don’t let the players bend their arms as they clasp their hands together or at any time before contact.

Coaching Cue: “Arms like 2x4s – no hinges!”

3. Placing Your Hands Together Below the Chin or at the Chest

The Mistake: Players form their grip close to their body, either below their chin or at their chest, and then rapidly extend the arms straight just before contact.

The Fix: Lock the Elbows

Have the players start in their ready position with straight arms and locked elbows.
Don’t let the players bend their arms as they clasp their hands together or at any time before contact.

Coaching Cue: “Arms like 2x4s – no hinges!”

4. Using the Legs to Add Power

The Mistake: Extending the legs straight through the contact.
Why It Happens: Trying to add power with legs instead of using a small arm swing. Players think using legs is a good way to add power when what it mostly does is destroy accuracy.

The Fix: Freeze

Have players “freeze” during and for a second after contact. No movement allowed!
Encourage players to keep the head level during and after the contact.

Coaching Cue: “Freeze – keep that head down and level!”

5. Not Maintaining the Back Angle Established in the Ready Position

The Mistake: As players pass, they leave their forward crouch and raise their shoulders up, changing their back angle. Shoulders slip back. Hips slip forward, under the shoulders.
Why It Happens: In an attempt to play the ball higher, they raise the shoulders up, hoping to add power and increase the angle of the platform so the ball goes higher.

The Fix: Freeze

Have players “freeze” during and for a second after the contact. No movement allowed!
Encourage players to bend at the waist during and after contact. No raising up!

Coaching Cue: “Freeze – set the back angle and fight to keep the back angle!”

The Bottom Line

Error correction works best when you focus on ONE or TWO errors at a time. Overloading players with multiple corrections leads to frustration and slower learning. Pick the one or two errors you see most in your players, drill it relentlessly in a variety of situations until you see significant change, then move to the next issue.

Ready to build passers who can handle anything that comes over the net? Discover the complete technical breakdown and mastery drills for the forearm pass in our comprehensive Volleyball Knowledge Base article: The Forearm Pass: A Full Technical Analysis →

This is where you’ll find the detailed biomechanics, perceptual training methods, and advanced concepts that transform good passers into great ones.