QuestionI have read through this site as well as some other but i still cant seem to completely sort out the calls my setter is calling.
I played volleyball from grades 7-12 and consider myself a decent athlete. I am now playing for a competitive rec team, everyone on the team played club or college ball except me. Apparently my high school team did not call plays the way everyone else did because everyone on the team seemed to know what was going on but me. I asked and the setter explain it to me but i just got a lazy explanation... basically figure it out. Some of the calls were, Fifty-Three, Thirty-three, thirty-two, sixty-one etc...
my under standing (but seemed wrong) was
the first number is position on court
5 power (outside left)
3 middle
6 offside (outside right)
second number is the height
1 short set (hitter jumps before the set)
2 low set, hitter jumps just after set
3 high ball
why cant the calls just go with the position number on the court (power 4, middle 3, offside 2)
is the first number the position on the court the ball should be set and the 2nd number the height of the ball.
maybe you could clarify this for me. Thank you ever so much
Dave
AnswerHello Dave and welcome to www.allexperts.com!
The first number is the net "zone". The 1 zone is what you refer to as power. The 5 zone is middle and the 9 zone is what you refer to as offside. Your words "power" and "offside" is unique and some of the men may be saying, "HUH?" You numbering system of 5, 3 and 6 (then later you use 4, 3, 2) are unique to me. Never heard of this in 25 years. If you had played on the men's teams that I played on about 10 years ago, none of us would know what you were talking about either.
The second number is, you're right, the tempo of the set. So, a quick in the middle is 51, a really high ball outside is a 14, a shoot between the outside and middle is a 31, etc.
This play calling method has a LOT of advantages. First, you don't need a nickname for each set. Second, after the team members are fluent, communication is a breeze!
For example, when I give private lessons and a setter says, "I just can't set the slide that my hitter wants," I ask her what she's intending to set. After she explains it to me, I give it a number. "OK, I think you're trying to set an 82". Then I let her set a few dozen. After each and every set, I tell her what her set was. Here how it may go. "72. 83. 81. YES. YES. 92. YES. 92. YES. YES." See? I don't have to say, "too low, too high, too far outside," etc.
Next: The reason advanced players don't use 1 number is b/c that just indicates the location along the net. It doesn't indicate the height. So, as an OH, you can be hollering, "TWELVE!! TWELVE!!", and the setter knows that you want a shoot at the antenna. At the same time, the MB may be hollering, "EIGHTY-TWO!! EIGHTY-TWO!!" Yeah, I know, the OH's play calling will probably evolve into just hollering "SHOOT," and as the season goes on, the MB will probably begin hollering "SLIDE"; but, that system evolves AFTER the players are comfortable with both the location and height. When you have people from different backgrounds (in your case, that person is you!), the two-number system is a great place to start!
So, next time you holler, "OUTSIDE," and the setter sets you too high, tell him, "That was a 14. I want a 13," or "I need a 12," and the communication is done. Even if your setter is from a foreign country, all he has to do is know our number system, and you guys are communicating! :)
I have a handout that will show all this to you, if you want to see it. Just email me at
[email protected], and I'll send it right to you.
Now, I need a favor from you! :) Please visit me at www.coachhouser.com. My staff and I directed 9 site camps last summer! We can't wait for Dec 1st, when all the new camp hosts for 2010 can schedule the camps that they need!
Have a great day and a great weekend!
Coach Houser
