Were having SERIOUS trouble serve receiving!

Question
Good Morning! I am working with a Varsity Team composed of three seniors, two sophomores and six freshman. We are a smaller 2A school in NM. They can be good passers but they loose confidence quickly and can't seem to make the minor adjustments in time, although we have tried to change their passing technique we can't seem to make them better. We have worked on footwork, body position, arms in mid-line, shoulders to the target? Not sure what else I am missing. We are using a four person serve receive, but may shift to a three? Any suggestions on what I may be missing? or drills that I can us that will help correct their natural tendencies? Oh and how do you suggest you reinforce positive behaviors and correct the bad habits? Thank you in advance! Coach Diana

Answer
Good afternoon Diana!
Welcome to www.allexperts.com!
The answer to what you've asked would take about a chapter in a book.  So, let's get after it!  :)  

Before I give you my serve receive "theories,":
a) I do sell a drill collection. If you want to see some samples, please visit www.coachhouser.com, and touch the "I Can't Wait" link at the top.
b) Reinforce positives: Just like you would a dog.  Compliments, smiles, praises, rewards, etc.  
c) Correct bad habits:  Same methods as reinforcing + talk, show video, demonstrate, withhold playing time, etc.  Physical punishment and speaking to the parents should be your last resort.  
d) You're trying to serve receive with a team with only 3 girls older than sophs?  THAT'S probably your #1 problem!  
* Do the opponents have girls who played club ball?  That's a problem!  
* Do your girls play club ball? If not, then I'm SURE that's your problem.
* If your opponents play club, but your girls don't, you may not win 2 or 3 matches this entire season.
* Are you opponents jump serving? If not, JUST WAIT until you encounter that!  
 
Your team is too young, immature, inexperienced, etc. to be good serve receivers.... unless they are playing equally young, immature players.  You're asking children to do a mature teenager's job.  

I wrote the following article in 2007.  It is included in my ebooks.  You can also see them at the "I Can't Wait" link.  

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My serve receive concepts are pretty simple:  we pass with 3, they are shoulder to shoulder and they know who has the seam/short/deep serves before the opponent ever contacts the serve.  Let me expound on each.

Pass With Three, Or Less.  

You can pass with how every many players you choose.  However, the more serve receivers you have, the more seams there are.  揝eam?here is used just like a seam in a garment.  A seam is the area between passers where balls often fall or are fought over.

So if you pass the court with two, there抯 only 1 seem.  If you pass with three girls in a shoulder-to-shoulder formation there are only 2.  If you pass with three in a triangle formation, there will be three seams -- that抯 one reason why I don抰 pass in a triangle formation!  Regardless, that抯 a manageable number of seams.  

But if you pass with 4, there are 4 seams and the 揷ampfire?  Five receivers have 7 seams plus two campfire balls.  

So, one of the earliest dilemmas of a young volleyball coach is how many serve receivers will be used.   Choosing fewer receivers requires them to be responsible for more area.  Choosing more receivers will lesson each player抯 area of responsibility, but it will also create more confusion.  

I watched one Division 1 college team this past year play several matches.  It became apparent to me (and to the opponents) that the team didn抰 have three strong serve receivers.  One of the receivers was a DS, the other was the libero.  So, their opponents feasted on the weaker passers.  In my opinion, the team should have dropped down to 2 serve receivers in the 3 rotations where both strong passers were on the court.  The team should have also allowed the libero to pass at least 50% of the court in the other rotations.  Sure, 10% of the tough serves may have aced those two; but that would have been no worse than what was already happening!  Meanwhile, the other 90% would have been much better passes than the team was getting.  

My opinion on serve receiving:  Pass with as few passers as possible.  Your strong passers want to take more area, your team wants to be successful, your poor passers really don抰 want to be aced, etc.  

In basketball, you really don抰 expect the weaker players to take the same number of shots as your stronger players.  So why ask your weaker passers to share in the serve receive load?   But at least in basketball, it抯 the players?choice as to who shoots.  In volleyball the opponents decide who receives serve!  So, if you expose weak passers, then you抮e asking for it!  

Shoulder To Shoulder.

In just the past few months, I have seen 3-person serve receive formations with 2 short and 1 deep.  I also see formations where the receivers are very deep or very short.  

Here抯 my advice.  Place your 3 serve receivers shoulder-to-shoulder.  In this way, what抯 served at one of your players is hers, what抯 served in front of her is hers, and what抯 served behind her is hers.  That抯 very little confusion.  

The only exceptions I can see that makes sense are when you have one girl who, for some reason, has extreme difficulty passing a short serve, you have one girl who, for some reason, is horrible at serve receiving with her hands, etc.   Then I can see you instructing your passers, 揓enny take the short in front of Cindy.  Cindy take what抯 behind Jenny.? 

A few years ago, my team won the Region Bid Tournament.  My libero was asked the next fall to serve receive from a deep middle position, while the other two passers took the short and middle.  My libero was asked to pass all balls that were served in the 1, 6 and 5 zones.  She asked me what I thought.  I told her, 揟hat抣l be really challenging, but the coach knows you can do it.? Inwardly I was thinking, 揟hat抯 almost asking the impossible!? She dove and sprawled and hustled, but just couldn抰 pass those tough serves in the corner.  I felt sorry for her.  

Your Players Will Know Who Has The Seam Before The Serve

Most teams I watch are told to 揅ALL IT!?by their coach.  So the coach wants the girl with the most attitude to pass the seam?  The girl with the loudest voice?  The most skilled?   My wife is a science professor, so we watch a lot of the Animal Channel.  What I just described sounds like the males in a group of animals working out which are the top males.  Do we really have time for our players to likewise figure out the serve receive hierarchy?  

OK, let抯 say after a few weeks the girls finally get the pecking order straight.  Then what happens when you make a sub?  Oh, my, now the receivers have to figure it all out again!   You really expect the sub to have a successful experience?  You really expect the team to play like they haven抰 missed a beat?  

No, we抮e not a team of male monkeys.  I decide the hierarchy.  

My players are instructed to take the seam to their right PERIOD.  The only exception:  when we/they decide otherwise before the serve is contacted.  

Some coaches require that one girl takes the short part of the seam, while the other girl takes the deep part.  I抳e never required this from my players, because -- like other ideas in volleyball -- I want to see it done successfully before I implement it.  And after sitting in the bleachers the past 5 years more than I抳e been coaching haha, I have yet to see a team do the short/deep seam receiving successfully enough for me to believe in it.   In fact, I don抰 even recall a team even attempting it.

Here抯 more about passing the seam.  I expect my players to, 揟ake the seam with your body, not your arms.  No, we don抰 reach into the seam.? My passers may have to stand on the court and say to themselves, 揟he seam is mine.  It抯 mine.? Seam brain-cramps cannot occur; else, easy point are given away.   揧ou will your seam because we decided it was yours before the serve was contacted.  So do it!? 

I also tell my players, 揥e don抰 fight over the seam.  If the passer on the left is hollering for the ball, and she actually crosses the seam into the next passers 慳rea,?then the passer on the right should give it up.  All seam passers do this occasionally.  They抮e not being greedy; but, they misjudged the ball, they抮e trying to make sure the ball gets passed and they don抰 want to be taken out of the game for not passing the seam!  haha? 

Let Your Serve Receive Evolve!

But I do tell my players the following:  揧ou are free at anytime to change my seam rules.  But the pass isn抰 made, or if there抯 confusion, I will overrule your changes and require that you do it my way.  Clear?  And I may have to take you out of the game for a while to discuss your seam decisions!? 

Are there reasons to change my rules on seams?  Sure.  I can think of several reasons.  The girl on the right side of the seam is passing great!  The girl to the right passes great every night!  The girl on the left is hurt, flustered, passing poorly, etc.  The girl to the right passes well to her left.  I抦 sure there are others.  

When my players are young, they don抰 change the rule much.  I guess when a girl is 14 and is in middle school, she抯 just accustomed to following directions.  But as they get older, develop more self-esteem, and realize their own strengths and weaknesses, they start changing my rules a little more.  In fact, you抣l hear my varsity players saying, 揑抣l take what抯 behind you.? 揑抣l take this middle ball.? 揧ou got that?  OK, take it!? 

Warning:  If you抮e a coach who allows your serve receive to evolve, take a few minutes several times a season to look for overlaps.  (I check my formations by using the video of matches!)  Yep, as the year goes on, and one of your receivers sneaks up, or one sneaks to her right, overlaps can occur that you didn抰 envision.  Then, in the conference semi抯, the referee will blow the whistle, and you抣l go, 揥hat?  Who?  Huh??    Your serve receive just evolved into an illegal formation.  The easiest overlap to evolve is the one where your left back or right back crosses over your middle back setter as she抯 pushing the middle front to the net.  You didn抰 teach it to them, you didn抰 give them permission.  It just happened.  

Final Things I抳e Learned About Serve Reception!

First, I encourage you to protect the left sideline.  This is a very difficult area to serve receive from unless the passer is very talented, or your serve receive formations are specifically intended to deal with balls that are to your left.  In my formations, that area is our most vulnerable.  Therefore, I expect my left-side passer to take a step to her left, and make sure she doesn抰 get beat on the left sideline.  

Also, don抰 allow your serve reception to bunch up in the middle of the court.  As your girls get older:

a) It抯 no longer necessary.  Your players are quicker, stronger and they anticipate better.  I have even been known to encourage my left side passer to put her left foot on or close to the left sideline.  

b) Opposing servers will take advantage of your formations by serving in the short and/or deep corners.  Hey, if your passers get beat in the seams, the problem isn抰 in the quickness of your players!  It抯 in their decision making process.  So don抰 allow your passers to cheat into the seams.  If your left side serve receiver抯 athleticism is just average, passing the 2-zone serve or deep corner 5-zone serve will be much more challenging than stepping into the seam.   So encourage your passers to spread out and cover the court.

Finally:

Sure, serve receiving is the most critical skill in the sport.  Sure, your players need reps.  In fact, today at practice, while the MB抯 and setters are on another court, I will be ripping serves at the other girls.  

But your passers also must be smart, anticipate and disciplined.  During today抯 drill, I will tell them the same things that I抳e told you here.  揇on抰 cheat.  Watch and anticipate.  Take the seam with your body.  If you start for the ball, follow it!  Don抰 cheat up or I抣l beat you deep.?   

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