When it comes to volleyball spike trainers there’s some really incredible tools out there that work surprisingly well.
Yes, there’s a whole heap of junk on Amazon but there’s definitely a few diamonds in the rough too!
I’ve spent the entire day sifting through the impractical, flimsy, and straight up useless spike training tools to create a list of 6 products actually worth looking at.
Some of these are quite expensive, but that’s simply the price you have to pay if you want something that’ll last.
Volleyball Spike Trainers (Comparison Table)
Best Complete System
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This is the holy grail of volleyball training systems because of how incredibly efficient it makes spike training. If there’s one piece of equipment that will turn you into a freakishly good spiker, it’s this one.
Runner Up
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The Aceletiqs rebounder is a large market rebounder ideal for volleyball use.
Best Rebounder
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Using a rebounder is one of the best and most affordable ways to practice volleyball while at home by yourself.
Best Budget Option
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Best Elastic Rebounder
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If you happened to be searching for the best elastic volleyball rebound trainer, Ovanto spike is for you.
6 Best Volleyball Spike Trainers (Detail Review)
I’ve also included some more affordable options for those of you on a budget.
Let’s begin!
This is the holy grail of volleyball training systems because of how incredibly efficient it makes spike training. If there’s one piece of equipment that will turn you into a freakishly good spiker, it’s this one.
Best Overall Volleyball Spike Training Equipment
My old national team coach once said that the skill of spiking a volleyball is the most biomechanically difficult skill to learn of any skill in any sport.
Whether that’s true or not, it can’t be far off the money!
The Edge Pro is essentially an adjustable volleyball stand that will hold a ball in the perfect hitting window, so you can practice hitting a static object instead of a moving target.
So much of the frustration of learning how to spike comes from inexperienced setters (who are also learning how to set) not putting the ball where you need it.
Timing is extremely difficult to master, even at the highest levels of the game.
When an athlete can take their time to focus on jumping high, making a smooth arm swing, and following through on the volleyball, they’re going to develop as a spiker extremely quickly.
Whether you’re just practicing at home by yourself or are planning on using the Edge Pro in an on-court team environment, the amount of use you can get out of one of these is incredible.
If you thought this was cool, wait til you see the full system which is also included in this article!
The Good
- Extremely well designed and durable. This is not a piece of plastic crap you would expect to find on Amazon. This is a professional-grade training device that’s built to last.
- Super versatile. The list of possible applications for this thing is virtually endless.
- Feels incredible to use. I have a friend who trains with one of these and says that contacting the ball is super smooth and it feels just like you’re hitting a regular set!
The Bad
- Fairly expensive. This item isn’t cheap, but I think it’s actually a fair price since you’re paying for functionality as well as quality materials that won’t break.
The Bownet practice station allows users to practice spiking over a regulation height net while automatically capturing and storing the volleyballs, so you can get more reps in quicker.
Best Volleyball Practice Net
The Bownet is a two-piece contraption that allows volleyballers to practice spiking on a regulation height volleyball net from the comfort of your own home.
The net collects the volleyball after you’ve spiked it and stores it conveniently, so you’re not having to waste time chasing after volleyballs.
This makes the Bownet perfect for practicing at home alone or with a friend.
In the above drill you can see the coach using the Bownet to warm his players up. It’s highly effective at allowing players to get multiple touches in very quickly.
I personally think the best use case for the Bownet is for at-home use where a spiker and her friend, who maybe only have 1 or 2 volleyballs, are now able to get plenty of spiking practice in without having to waste time retrieving the balls!
There’s a couple products on the market that do effectively the same thing, but the Bownet is superior because the net height is adjustable.
The Bownet can be set to regulation women’s height or regulation men’s height, whereas other products like the PowerNet are not adjustable and are fixed at the senior men’s height.
This makes Bownet the superior choice, especially for girls volleyball training!
This is another product with absolutely raving reviews that has become extremely popular over the years.
The Good
- Quality materials. These things can take an absolute beating and won’t fall over, collapse, or snap.
- Adjusts to women’s net height. This is the only product on the market that can be set to regulation women’s volleyball net height (as well as regulation men’s too).
- Easy to set up. The Bownet comes with a setup video that is very easy to follow, making this very simple to put together and start using.
The Bad
- Not cheap. These nets definitely cost a bit of money.
This is the holy grail of volleyball training systems because of how incredibly efficient it makes spike training. If there’s one piece of equipment that will turn you into a freakishly good spiker, it’s this one.
Best Spike Training System
If you’re using the Edge Pro to train at home alone, you realistically need a net or even a wall that’ll rebound the ball back at you so you aren’t having to waste time chasing after balls.
Well the Edge Pro guys thought of that and have added a target stand which collects the balls you spike and stores them in a pouch so you can quickly retrieve the ball to begin spiking again.
This makes spike training insanely efficient so you’re able to get more repetitions in than your competition.
This will allow you to learn the skill of spiking significantly faster than most players!
But wait… there’s more!
The target net is a fully functional setter target net which is one of the single best tools for practicing setting at home alone when you don’t have access to a volleyball net.
So not only are you getting a top of the line spike training tool, but you’re also getting the perfect tool to become an elite setter as well!
Every single review I’ve read on these things are extremely positive and now I’m wishing I had one of these when I was growing up!
The perfect Christmas or birthday gift!
The Good
- Stores volleyballs so you don’t have to chase after them! This makes solo training alone at home way more enjoyable and efficient.
- ‘Fake’ volleyball net so you can simulate real court situations. You’ll notice that below the target net is a miniature volleyball net which simulates having an actual volleyball net to hit over. This helps simulate that in-game feel extremely well.
- Comes with top quality setter net. If you changed your mind about becoming a spiker and just wanted to practice setting, this is one of the best tools to use to get setting reps in as it allows you to get feedback regarding your accuracy even while training alone.
The Bad
- Not cheap. I’ll just come right out and say it… This training system is expensive. But there’s nothing else on the market quite like it. Definitely worth the price for those who can afford it!
Best Volleyball Spike Training Rebounder
Using a rebounder is one of the best ways to practice spiking as well as your other skills when you’re at home alone and don’t have a partner to train with.
Rebounders are super inexpensive compared to the earlier items on this list and for around $150 you’ll be able to enjoy countless hours of self-entertainment!
In my articles I always talk about the thing that separates great players from good players being how many repetitions they’re getting in during practice.
A rebounder is the perfect way to supercharge your rep rate which will develop your arm swing, follow through, and ball control much quicker than many other methods.
The SKLZ rebounder is one of the most adjustable rebounders, which gives you plenty of variation in the types of shots you can practice with these things.
They’re not only affordable but completely collapsible making them very convenient and portable too.
You can easily fold them away in 10 seconds for storage but they seem to do really well even when left out in the sun.
The Good
- Adjustable frame. This rebounder adjusts to the perfect angle for hitting a volleyball with!
- Portable and stores easily. This rebounder is completely collapsible and folds away for easy storage in just seconds.
The Bad
- Relatively weak rebound velocity. This actually functions as a positive when using these things for volleyball. Some softball/baseball users were disappointed with the amount of spring, but that won’t be an issue for a larger object like a volleyball.
This is another spike training tool which removes the aspect of timing from the skill, allowing the volleyballer to practice and master jumping, arm swing, and follow through.
Best Budget Spike Training Equipment
The Start Right Spike Trainer is essentially a very cost effective version of the Edge Pro.
Because it requires someone to hold the pole, you can easily adjust the height of the ball to the spiker’s perfect hitting window for maximum efficiency.
This makes it absolutely perfect for coaches with players who contact the ball at different heights.
This tool is also great for parents or coaches working with younger athletes who are learning to spike a volleyball.
Please note that the product does not ship with the pole and is only the foam attachment.
You’ll need to use your own ACME pole attachment which will look something like the following.
You can grab a broom handle like this from any hardware store for very cheap, or you may already have something that’ll fit lying around at home.
I recommend this product for younger volleyballers who are just learning spiking technique, as there’s some questions about the durability of the foam.
A couple of users experienced breakages when their players missed the ball and hit the foam.
However in the right hands, this is an awesome training aid that’s extremely affordable and is a great, hands on way of teaching young players how to spike a volleyball.
The Good
- Easily adjustable. Because someone is required to hold the pole, they can easily put the volleyball in the spiker’s ideal hitting window.
- Collapsible and very portable. This can be easily detached from the pole for convenient transport.
- Extremely affordable. This is one of the most cost effective ways to teach/learn the art of spiking a volleyball!
The Bad
- Doesn’t come with the pole. It’s a bit unfortunate that the pole isn’t included and that you’ll have to get one separately.
- Durability with older/stronger athletes. The foam is quite a thin material and may not last as long as you’d like, particularly if you’re using it with older volleyballers.
Perhaps you had something different in mind when searching for volleyball rebounders… If you happened to be searching for the best elastic volleyball rebound trainer, I’ve got you covered!
Best Volleyball Spike Solo Trainer
This product allows users to efficiently practice both serving as well as spiking a volleyball on their own.
Usually practicing serving and spiking is very tedious and annoying if you don’t have a partner, because it simply isn’t feasible to be running after the ball you just hit.
A solo trainer overcomes that problem by returning the ball right back to you!
This allows players to get tons of repetitions in which will help them develop at a much faster rate.
Perhaps your son or daughter is just getting into volleyball and is struggling to serve the ball over the net…
This is the quickest way I’ve seen to get your kid used to contacting the ball in the right location with power.
Bonus Inlcuded!
These things also come with a pair of setting straps which wrap around your hands to help encourage proper setting form without excessive hand contact.
The attachments prevent the ball from sitting in the palm of your hands when setting, forcing players to develop good technique.
The Good
- Contacting the ball feels typical. Even with the fabric on the ball, it still feels almost the same as hitting a typical volleyball.
- Extremely affordable. This is one of the most cost effective spike training aids on the market!
- Includes volleyball setting aid. This is a nice bonus to help out with improving setting technique.
The Bad
- Not great for top spin tosses. If you wanted to toss the ball up with top spin, as you would for a jump serve for instance, the harness will prevent this. So you simply have to toss it up neutrally/as you would for a float serve.
Final Verdict?
Without a doubt the coolest spike training product on this list is the Edge Pro w/ Target Stand as it’s the most comprehensive all-in-one spike training aid going around.
Either of the Edge Pro products are ideal for practicing alone when you don’t have teammates to set or toss for you.
The Bownet is also an incredibly versatile tool that is perfect for 2 or more people to practice spiking with, as it’s much more effective when you have someone who can set or toss to you.
If you’re not looking to spend quite as much cash, I can’t speak highly enough about just how effective using a rebounder can be for training alone at home.
The SKLZ rebounder adjusts perfectly for volleyballers and is exceptionally well priced.
