QuestionI have been put in as a vb 'coach' at an international school because of a sudden teacher departure and have seven new 10th graders with some, but limited, background with volleyball; me too. My sports is limited to baseball, football, and wrestling. My understanding of the individual VB responsibilities of players is good, and I understand the basic strategies of handling the ball, but have no idea how to teach the rotations on serve and receive. I want to run a simple 4-2. I have two decent setters and three solid hitters; two others who will have to fill the final position on the court.
Defensively, they are quite good at digging the ball and getting the ball to the setter.
I need some basic help with receive positions and service rotations. Detailed diagrams would be best. There are many different ways things can be explained with regard to player position. For example, S/Setter, M/Middle Blocker, H/Hitter or MF/Middle Front (Setter?), RF/Right Front (Hitter), LF/Left Front, RB/Right Back, MB/Middle Back (Setter?), LB/Left Back. Simple is best...
Can you recommend your best sites or pass some of your information along. I have two weeks before the first game and have scheduled extra weekend practices and will do the best I can. But, I need some good solid information on the 4-2 to organize this team so that they (and me, too) will not be at a complete loss...Some sites provide the first three and then say "after the third
rotation, the positions will repeat" As a novice at the positions, I could use the fourth, fifth, and sixth rotations, too. (Sorry, just lack confident...)
Thank you for your understanding and I do understand your busy schedule...I will check out your STAR Site Camps as I would like to continue to work with the girls as I like sports and am motivated to learn as quickly as I can. Thank you, Jay
AnswerGood morning Jay!
It's great to hear from you.
What you've asked me is to send you a chapter in a book. :) And that's OK. Let's see what we can do.
* The site that provided the first 3, then said the next ones are the same..... that site was correct! If you have the first 3 rotations, then #4, #5 and #6 are just like that.
If you email me, I can send you the serve receptions I would use when I run a 4-2 offense. I typically pass with my 2 OH's and my libero. My email address is
[email protected].
Below is an article I wrote when a coach asked me, "I want to change offenses and serve receive formations for next season. How should I get that done?" In the article, I talk priorities, overlaps, teaching it to the girls who doubt that this will work, etc.
The Coach抯 Job:
Your Complete Understanding Is Mandatory.
Serve receive formations are things that you must have 100% under control and understand. If you're unsure, then your players will be also. You may want to try getting little squares of paper and putting your players?names on them. Then make a court on your kitchen table, or even on the top of a chair, and move the squares around, simulating each serve receive, until you're comfortable with what you抮e trying to do.
Then, before presenting it to your players, redo it all with pencil and paper without looking at your squares. When players at practice say, 揥here do I go after the ball is passed??or 揑sn抰 this an overlap??or 揥hy do you want me here?? you must be able to answer those questions. The more prepared and confident you are, the more they抣l believe in you. It抯 normal human behavior.
Overlapping.
Since I mentioned overlaps, the rules appear ridiculous at first, but just like all other rules (offsides in soccer, offsides in hockey, etc.), you抣l get used to them. The cut-and-dried version of overlapping is: At the moment of serve, a player cannot be on the other of the girl whose positioned to her right, left, front or back. Therefore, 6 can抰 be in front of 3, 2 can抰 be behind 1, etc.
More on overlapping:
It is impossible for a player to overlap the person who is diagonal to her. I mean impossible, it cannot happen....like I will not be 6'8" tomorrow. So 3 and 5, 1 and 3, 6 and 4, etc. can never be in a position where they are overlapping. So you don抰 waist time worrying about that!
I tell even the veteran vball coaches that if you design a serve receive formation where you want to pass with the MB抯 and rights, then avoiding an overlap will be challenging for you, even in private. If you're not 100% sure of what you're talking about, then it's pretty embarrassing if you're bumbling as you try to explain it to your players.
Regardless, Pass With Your Best.
But, bottom line, pass with your best 2 or 3 or 4 passers. Period. If it confuses the players, then un-confuse them. Starting in around 1990, I began passing with my 3 best passers, regardless of who they were, how old they were, and what position they played. In 1995, we ran a 4-2 because my best passer was my setter. In 1996 and 1997, my 2nd best passer was a MB, so she was passing. In 200, my three best passers were consecutive starters who never came out. In fact, my 2003 receiving formations were so complicated that my poor young bench players never understood them. But it was a gamble that I had to take.
If the serve receiving confuses the coach, then we have problems. Any day that a player asks you a question, and you抮e not sure, go back to your squares of paper, or your pencil and paper. Then re-present the formations to your players so that they can understand it.
The Player抯 Reactions And Your Responses
In 1998, we had a team in our conference that had one very talented setter. But throughout the season, the team ran the same 6-2 that their coach had used since 1985. At the end-of-the-year coach抯 meeting, I mentioned to the coach, 揅indy is so good! She has great hands,?and the coach responded, 揥e tried to run a 5-1 for a few days, but the girls were so confused that I went back to the 6-2. I wish we would have stayed with the 5-1.?br>
Coaches, when you change offenses or implement complex serve receive formations, expect to hear, "I'm lost." and "I can't do this." And "I do WHAT?" When you hear those things, explain the concepts again. You know what抯 best for your team. The new offense will be implemented. It will be done.
The Players?Jobs
I expect my players to learn the new offense. I will not fuss much, I will not personally criticize them. Of course, some of the girls are going to be hesitant, especially if the team has been successful with the previous formation; especially if they抮e 11th or 12th graders, and it抯 the only offense they抳e ever known. But players do not pick the offense, just like they don抰 pick their starting lineup or the time of their practice.
If I have players who lag behind the rest in understanding, I will do as much as I can for them. I will re-teach them using pencil and paper if I have to, I will take them out for a few minutes, I will have my assistant explain it, I will take them out for longer, etc.
Regardless of the players?skepticism, we expect our players to learn it, do what we ask, and do it all with strong effort and respect. Sure they can ask questions. Please encourage questions. But do not flinch when you see their hesitation or their uncertainty. Reteach it. Reteach it again. Then go for it. It will happen.
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You mentioned bringing a STAR volleyball camp to your girls. Fifteen minutes ago I sent some info to a coach in Oklahoma. It's only Sept 29, and coaches are already asking for info about summer site camps at their school. We've directed 38 camps the past 4 summers, and we can't wait for 2013! You can see all about our camps, private lessons, free downloads, etc. at
[email protected].
If I can ever do anything else for you, please contact me anytime.
Coach Houser
Roanoke, Va
