Quiet Setter... Who is now the TEAM CAPTAIN! Need advice!

Question
Hi,
My name is Tammy and I have a daughter that is a Freshman in High School this year.  She attended a Catholic elementary school for 8 years and only played volleyball for CYO (Catholic Youth Organization).  My daughter has been chosen to be the setter for the Freshman team.  They say she has great soft hands (I don't know what that even means).  My question is how much does the setter need to talk and what are some things she might say.  Unfortunately, she is somewhat shy.  She just found out that she was chosen a steam captain, which is a great honor, but she is kind of shy to plan team outings.  I'm not sure what to tell her.  I know she's a good setter because during tournaments I have heard parents from the other teams talking about how they thought she was really good, but I'm not sure to help her become more outgoing.  Does a good setter need to be outgoing? Thanks :)

Answer
Good evening Tammy!
Welcome to www.allexperts.com!  You've come to the right place.  

First let's tackle shy. Like everything else, being a setter is a "job".  And jobs have responsibilities.  Let me digress for just a moment.  Last night as my team and I were waiting to practice on an occupied court, my setter and I were watching the setter that was on that court.  My setter said, "Why does she do that? That's wrong. Whoa, I used to do that, too. Wow, she's not doing that right either."

This was an 8th grader talking.  The following is what my setters HAVE to do!!

1.) THE SETTER MUST BE IN THE HABIT OF ASKING FOR THE BALL.  Why?  Yeah, most of the time, the setter will be standing at the net; but, sometimes the setter will be out of position, coming from the back row, etc.  So if she's not in the habit of asking for the ball, then there will be instances where the hitters will pass a ball to the net...........and there will be no one there.

2.)  DURING A SCRAMBLE PLAY the setter calling for the ball will be like a mother's voice to a lost child.   So, setters, if play is deteriorating, then you must say, "Doris, DORIS, here, right HERE!!!!"   The MB's on the team are the players who most often freak on first contacts because they get balls off the block so often.  They give opponents free balls constantly because there's only a moment to make a decision厖卆nd they spaz.   Setters:  Be the mom!!   

3.) SETTERS MUST MAKE A DECISION on the second contact, even if it's the wrong one. If there is confusion, then the rally is over. Setters MUST say either, "I got it," or "Doris, Doris, take it!!"  I can tolerate setters making a wrong decision, but my setters are not allowed to make no decision.

4.) SETTERS MUST FACE THEIR OUTSIDE HITTER if at all possible. There's no deception if you face right when setting right, face back row when setting back row, etc. And if the other team KNOWS where the sets are going, even the bad teams will dig/block twenty percent more balls!!  And if that抯 the case, guess what the good teams will do to your offense?  

5.) WHEN BUMP SETTING, "Don't, Don't, DON'T drop your arms down to your knees, then set the ball while your arms are swinging" . Keep your arms at rib-height and let your body set the ball. Why? Because we want the ball to go up rather than forward. Setters who drop their arms will set a few "grandma" sets. (I call them grandma sets because that's where about fifteen percent of them will end up: in grandma's lap!

6.) A SETTER'S BODY LOOKS THE SAME on a good pass regardless of where she's setting. So as the ball is entering the setter's hands, the opponents should have no clue where she抯 going to set the ball.

7.) HANDS MUST BE UP EARLY AND STILL to avoid lifts and double contacts.

8.) DUMP ONCE EVERY 15 MINUTES. And if the other team isn't picking them up, dump more often.  If the other team is picking them all up, then you need to work on dumping at practice!  

9.) Finally, THE SETTER SHOULD BE THE BIGGEST CHEERLEADER, be the hardest worker and have the best attitude on the team. Why? It's just natural for teammates to gravitate towards the person who has the most control over the outcome. If that person then has no leadership characteristics, the team is like a ship without a rudder. Hey, so you think it's coincidence that quarterbacks are the leaders? No, it's more likely that the coach saw a leader on the team and then decided to make him a quarterback!! So, if a setter wants her team to play their best, then she will encourage, cheer, smile, and dedicate herself to the team's success.

Now, let's tackle team bonding activities.  

Is her team a unit?  Do they like each other?  Well, there are dozens of ways to promote team bonding.  Here are a few.
a) Secret Santa;
b) team movie or team dinner;
c) Secret Valentines?br> d) team web pages;
e) team sleepovers;
f) team tie-dyes, making team Tshirts;
g) attend a concert, the county fair, the circus, etc. together.  

I recommend that the movies, dinners and sleepovers be voluntary.  In that way, no one feels forced to like someone.  (That抯 sounds odd, doesn抰 it?  Haha)   Do these things and the girls on the team just like each other because they want to!  

Thank you for visiting www.allexperts.com!
I hope you also have a moment to visit www.coachhouser.com.  We've directed 27 site camps in the past 3 summers. In just a few months we'll start taking reservations for summer 2012.  Please give my email address, [email protected], to your daughter's coaches.  I think they'll like what they see.  
Coach Houser