Setting

Question
Hell Juan, this is Bianca. I am currently a sophomore in high school and on JV team and have been since I was a freshman. Lately my team has been playing tougher teams, and I've noticed that the setting on the other teams are completely different from our own. The setters almost looks like they are dropping their hands before pushing the ball up; giving it a cleaner, quieter, and overall higher set. My coach hasn't really worked on real 'setting' because all they tell us to do is set with our finger tips. I wanted to learn better techniques to help improve my team, even if my coaches don't teach it.

Also, I watched a few college volleyball teams and noticed that most of them are very flexible. Like if they went to dig the ball they were in a full spilt. Do I need to become flexible if I wanted to play volleyball in college?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

Answer
Hello Bianca and welcome to www.AllExperts.com

My name is Coach Tovar

To make sure that all my readers young and old can understand some of my comments, I have chosen to use simple vocabulary words and interpret the rule for this sole purpose.

Well Bianca I like the way you show leadership by going out and trying to improve yourself either through internet help or watching videos. You remind me of this young girl who went to my college and was looking for volleyball help on setting. I helped her for two weeks 2 hours a day. She was a freshman at her high school ans was looking to make the team. She came to me after her try outs and told me she didn't make the freshman team, she made the varsity team. I was very happy for her. They almost went undefeated at her school and then lost on the first play off game. She still has three more years to go.

With that in mind here is a checklist of things you can do to help you become a better setter.
Volleyball is 90% mental and 10% physical in other words it's more important on what you know than what you do.
Becoming a great setter is knowing everything that you can about the position even though you might never get to use all it's responsibilities.

1. You are a weapon - let the other team know very quickly that you will dink or set the ball over every chance you get. Set behind their right side blocker. This will be a great place to set the ball because that blocker will pick up the ball but will have problems handling it. If the blockers are always in the middle then do a back set not to your player but behind their left side blocker. It is the most unanticipated move a setter can do. You can do that all day. They will eventually play that but your hitter will have a better shot if you set it to them eventually. You will get their defense very nervous every time you touch that ball. Your opponents and especially their libero hate to go up against a setter that they fear. Be a weapon.

2. Know your boundaries - a setter should never take more than 5 steps to set a ball. Help is the best and smartest option. Your players should all be able to set the ball and give you help when you are far away.

3. Be smart - the set to the closest hitter is always the smartest one. Don't be a hero and set a ball way to other side. Let the player close to you know that you will be ready for a back row spike if they have to set the ball to you. Stand behind the back row line in that corner or position 1 and be ready for a set to spike in case you don't get the second bump.

4. You run the show - give a signal to one of your players that they will get the ball if the bump to the setter is good. This will build your players confidence and help that player prepare for a better spike approach. Learn the signals to perform certain sets like a shoot =  like shooting a gun, a quick = snapping your fingers, a two or meter ball = two fingers up, rainbow = moving fingers up and down or shaking the hand. Also make eye contact with your player and point behind you or in front of you when you want them to go in that certain area. Look for video examples on these on You Tube. "The number of weapons on your team will depend on how well you know your players" Tovar

5. Ways to set the ball - there are five ways to set the ball even though you might never use them all, "a championship is won by one point and one mistake which equal to two points." Tovar "I didn't win because I knew your weakness, I won because I knew mine" Tovar
A. Regular finger set - this is the set everyone uses and the best way.
B. Bump set - this is used when the bump to the setter is low. You can fake a regular set and still perform a bump set.
C. Punch or Palm set - this is used when the bump to the setter is too high and too close to the net.
D. Top Hammer set - this is used when the bump to the setter is too low and you can barely reach the ball so you run through the ball and set it will one hand.
E. Triangle set - this is used when the ball needs to be set or moved very far and a bump or overhand hit is not enough to get the ball over the net.
* Note sets D and E are my own techniques.

6. Parallel - always be parallel to the net when you set. Plant your right foot parallel to the net and align your body to that foot for a better set preparation. Practice with your left foot as well. You can practice this with a wall, a line and without the ball.

7. Know your hitters -  don't set the ball the same to everyone. All hitters have there special set that they usually never change. Some hitters like the ball close to the net, others like some distance from the net and others like the ball quicker. This is especially true for the middle blockers. The higher jumpers should have higher sets. This is super important. Middle hitters just like outside hitters should hit the ball at it's highest point. If there is an awkward bump to you always set the ball super high and outside. The middle sets should all be 12" away from the net.


8. Elbows and Knees - to fool any hitter and make them commit your sets you must use the same set speed and movements at all time. Use your elbows for short sets and use your knees for higher sets. You must use both at all times but limit the power used within both. This technique of using both will later prepare you for spiking the ball when you are in the front row.

9. Cheat to your area - tell your front row players to help you move closer to the area in which you will receive the bump. You shouldn't have to take more than five steps to go to your area.

10. How straight do you set - in this drill, get on your back and on the floor and set the ball about two feet high and catch the ball around you without lifting your back. This will help you see you straight set extension. You will see how your hands come together. Your hands should come together in the middle and your thumbs should touch. This will tell you if you have a crooked set or not. If you do this correctly you will be able to set better and only use your arms for better setting on certain sets.

11. Finger and arm strength - in a wall or up in the air throw a basketball as in a set but never set as the ball is going down. Set basketball on the way up and catch the basketball on the way down. Do this ten times.

12. Flexibility - on a wall, set the ball like you would on a middle set or two feet high. Do this ten times in a row. Do the same at four feet and ten feet. At the end do 5 sets where you would set the ball at your highest point in a straight line that hits the wall. Your two hands should come together as well as your thumbs as you set these super high sets. Let the ball drop before resetting. The more you keep doing this drill the better you will get.

There's a lot more to learn but that would be the physical part to it.
If I were you I would record yourself in a game and save that material in case you want to do a video to turn in to a college for a possible scholarship. Most small colleges accept smaller players but better ones. A lot of players and their coaches don't know about recruiting themselves. By the time they are playing in their last season it's too late. Your wins don't matter but what you do in a volleyball game does and colleges also agree.

I hope this answers your question. Please take the time to rate me. Any feedback you can provide for me will be great.

PS. visit my website at www.volleyballplaystorun.com and become a free member plus:

See ?Volleyball Offensive Systems ?over 25
See - Over 31 different serves  
See - The Volleyball Gods
Get ?FREE 28 play playbook just for being a free member
Get ?FREE 20 Volleyball T-Shirt Designs from the mind of ALIENTECH
See - Alien Attitude Balls
See - Over 145 volleyball 揃all?designs

Please visit me at www.volleyballplaystorun.com

Thank you for visiting www.AllExperts.com

Coach Tovar