Tactical setter training

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Tactical setter training

We have probably all experienced plays such as a setter going to the second-tempo hitter before establishing the first tempo set, usually resulting in a career block for two or even three of the members of the other team! Another painful example is the middle blocker who beats her blocker with deceptive steps to a quick slide only to hit the ball cross body right at that blocker. A coach needs to do more than just put in a good sytem, she needs to teach her team how to use the system to their advantage. In this article I will discuss the process of training your setter to independently run your offense.

A future article will discuss teaching your hitters to use the openings the system provides for them.

I have found that teams function more effectively when the setter is in complete command during the match. My setters are responsible for calling sets for each hitter on every play. As a match goes on she will receive input from the coach as to what is working and what the other team is running, but the responsibility for calling the plays will remain with her. In previous years I have been very involved in the play calling, based on what I thought would work best. I discovered that while the coach has the greater tactical knowledge, several important factors are left out when this occurs. The coach does not know what the setter feels most confident in setting at that moment, nor is she included in the flow of the game. This makes it much harder to know how the setter is connecting with each individual hitter. Also a coach reliant system does not allow time for communication by hitters regarding what set they want to hit.

Thus it is imperitive that your setter enter the match understanding what the team will accomplish through their system.

The tactical training of your setter begins when you first walk your team through your serve receive formations. Allow time in each rotation to cover the following questions with your setter:

Quick Attack:

1. where is the quick hitter(s)?
2. what sets are available?
3. what does the particuler quick hitter like to hit?
4. what does her substitute like to hit?

Play-sets:

1. which hitter is most available to hit a play-set?
2. which set will create an isolation or overload versus the opposition’s block?
3. is there another option for that hitter?
4. is there another hitter to hit a play-set?

Release Set:

1. what hitter is most suited to hitting the high ball off
2. of a bad pass?
3. what set will that be?

Back row Hitters:

1. who is best suited to hit a back row set in this rotation?
2. given what you are running, what back row set is
3. available in this rotation?

Certainly this is an awful lot of information to be covered! While I am doing this with the setter my assistant will be working with the rest of the team on footwork patterns, passing responsibilities, overlap concerns, etc.

The next step in the setters’s training occurs at the end of that day’s prtactice. I will sit down with the setter(s) with our rotation sheet ( the best rotation sheet has room for six courts and notes next to each court). We will then go over each rotation and write down the two or three best series of calls for each rotation ( make sure you discuss WHY these are the best plays according to the questions above!). The setter is then responsible for knowing these calls at practice the next day. Because the setter is sure of herself, she will give the hitters their call in a confident manner thus inspiring confidence in the rest of the team.

The team now is ready to practice siding out. We normally stay in each rotation for quite a while (20-25 serves) while we run through different series. At this time the coach is smoothing out any problems that may arise (attack lanes, serve receive responsibilities, coverage,etc.). This is the time to experiment- throwing out what looks good on paper but does not work and adding new series that present themselves.

Once a team develops two or three series of plays in each rotation, you can begin to challenge them a bit in your sideout drills. A common drill for my teams is the following- In order to rotate the receiving team must terminate off their first attack on three consecutive serves. They cannot use the same series of calls more than once, nor can they set the same hitter the same set twice as part of the three in a row. The series in this drill would look like this:

Note that you can set the same set twice in a row (B1) but not to the same hitter. Also, you can set the same hitter the same set (32) or run the same play ( 32 - B1- 2- D) if the first ball is not killed. This drill forces your hitters to hit a variety of sets. When your team can do this drill you will have an offense with unlimited options.

Any team that reaches this point will have the following charecteristics - flexibility, adaptability, and unpredictability. Your offense will be capable of isolating any hitter or matching your best attacker to your opponent’s weakest blocker.

Your next task as a coach (and the next part of this article) will deal with teaching your team to use the right options against a specific opponent.

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