QuestionHi,
One of my family members is asking me about volleyball since I played in high school and in rec leagues but never coached. They are volunteering for a middle school program. They want to run a 4-2 because they have two pretty good setters but unfortunately no really good outside hitters. I suggested they work on dinking with their good setters as an option, work with the hitters on dinking and maybe working on hitting from the back row or down the lines and being the best digging passing team they can be. The longer the balls in play the better.. any suggestions to help a shorter less tall hitting team to compete? Any thoughts to focus and practice on would be a big help.
Thanks so much.
Matt H.
AnswerGood evening!
Welcome to www.allexperts.com. It's great to hear from you.
Your message is typical for hundreds of coaches around the country.
I抳e had coached teams like you've described several times in my career. This is what I did.
#1: I Don抰 Ask My Girls To Do More Than They Can Do!
This is the top priority. How many times have we seen weak middle school teams give up 5 points each game because they抮e trying to run a mature 5-1 or 6-2 offense? How many times have we seen the team with only a few experienced players give up points because they cannot execute the transition from back row setter base to free ball. My stepdaughter was on such a team in the 7th grade. It was excruciating to watch.
For the bazillioneth time, do not coach your girls as if they抮e older than they are. That抯 not your job. It抯 the next coach抯 job. Do not burden your girls with expectations that they cannot meet. I want my players to be successful, if not on the scoreboard, then at least in fulfilling my requests. You will find that if you can serve in the court, limit the number of times you抮e aced, and execute your defense, you抣l be close in most games.
If you cannot tolerate this sort of team, then you may as well stop reading this now.
#2: My Serve Receive.
I have not used a 揥?since my 3rd year coaching. There抯 just too much confusion because of so many seams. Sure, a W requires each passer to cover less space. But that advantage doesn抰 surpass the issues you抣l have with your players?confusions day after day, game after game. I encourage you to ditch the W in all parts of your team抯 game (except free ball).
When I抦 coaching a weak or very young team, I use a 4-person serve receive. I place them in a C shape, two girls in the back, two in the front, each one with a clear look at the server. We talk about who has the seam ball everyday. I even tape the floor for the first few weeks of practice to ensure that the girls know which ball is theirs. From the bench we抣l say, 揚ass your zone. AGGRESSIVELY pass your zone.? Yep, I抳e discovered that the younger the team, the more they need to be told what to do! They don抰 need to try to figure out every seam ball on their own. They抎 much rather be told.
To further uncomplicate things, we receive with the girls who are in positions 1,6, and 5 and the front row OH. When the OH is in the 4 or 3, she抣l pass on the left line. When she抯 in the 2, she抣l pass on the right line. Of course, your MB may be a better passer than your OH, so adjust this as you need to.
#3: My Offense
When I have a weak, immature team, I like to run a 4-2. There are number of advantages!
No Transition. These back-row setter issues vanish. Guys, I can抰 spend 30 hours of critical practice time teaching base, free, base, free, base, free, and 揥ho抯 got that ball in the middle??
No Back Row Setter Issues. I抦 expecting poor passing from this team. So if my setter is reasonably tall, she can dump what she needs to dump. I wouldn抰 even be surprised if her dumps are our best attack! Happens all the time in middle school ball. Also, I don抰 want her to have to worry about the illegal back row attack rule. Have you tried to explain that to a 6th grader? Whoa. My kids need simple!
Three Hitters? Furthermore, why do some coaches believe that having 3 hitters is so critical when the 12-year old setter won抰 be back setting for a few more years? If your setter is too young/weak to back set, then that 3rd hitter is wasted.
#4: My Defense
Base Defense. Often our base defense just has one blocker up. She may be the only girl we have that抯 over 5?? Haha The other girls play the 揅hristmas Tree?defense. They are spread out in an upside-down V shape (thus we don抰 screen each other) and with the blocker as the 搒tump,?our 6-person defense kinda looks like a Christmas tree. The girls will say, 揑 LOVE CHRISTMAS!? Well, me too!
The Blocker. That tall girl may be a MB. Or she may be our setter. Whichever we decide, that抯 what we抣l go for. If she is our setter, we will be OK with her facing the right side when she wants to set the right side hitter. Otherwise, she抣l have to back set. Maybe not a good idea!
Free Ball. Yes, some shifting must occur here. So when your team says 揊REE,?and your setter moves up to target position, and the MB comes off, the entire defense must shift into the W.
And That抯 IT!! And now, after only about 1.5 pages of explanation, we抮e done with all you need to teach your players! Pretty cool!
Switching. Sometimes we抣l designate girls as OH抯 and rights and have them switch to typical base positions. Sometimes we won抰. It all depends on what the girls are capable of, how much practice time it takes to learn it, how many points it may give up if we try it, etc. We use the same logic in the back row, with one exception. Having the 2nd setter play defense on the right side behind the 1st setter is very very useful. So if we can抰 get the entire back row or front row switching, we will at least try to get the 2nd setter to the right. Hopefully by the end of the season, we will have everyone switching.
#5: When We抮e Serving.
For the advanced little ones (an oxymoron? Haha), have your players face their opponents when a teammate is serving. Maybe this will help them pick up the accidental one balls from their opponents, which may happen 5 times or 50 times a night.
#6 Find An Assistant(s) During These Practices! If you have 1 or 2 or 3 helpers, you will cut the time it takes to train way down, and can move on to other things. These helpers may be varsity players, college kids, or maybe even parents. Try to locate some help!
Finally. You will probably spend the same amount of time teaching offense and defense to these kids as you will teaching them to serve and pass. I will stress that playing your offense and defense correctly has MUCH more impact to this age group抯 success than spiking, digging, blocking and even conditioning. So before you waste time on running a mile and digging the 50 mph heaters (unnecessary in 99% of middle school games), make sure your little ones can execute your offense and defense. When that is mastered and we combine it with serving in the court, and limiting the times you抮e aced, your players will win those close matches against the teams that are even a little better than they are! Sweeeet!
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What else can I do for you?
Now would you do something for me? Would you visit us at www.coachhouser.com. I think you'll enjoy the pictures and the info regarding the site camps that my staff directs each summer. A total of 27 in the past 3 summers! Maybe the coach you're describing would like some info on hosting one. They're inexpensive, yet fun and intense. Nice combination! There are also 2 huge ebooks and a drill collection that I sell. If you're not interested in the purchase, you are free to download the samples.
Please contact me here or at
[email protected] if you ever need anything else.
Coach Tom Houser
Roanoke, Va
