C A P I I C L I P B O A R D Volleyball game time strategies
By Matt Sipes Madfrog VBC • Plano, Texas
T
wo of the biggest challenges a coach faces are:
• The preparation for competition • Helping players adjust to situations
that occur during play. Game preparation is a key to great
match-time coaching. Teams should be mentally and strategically prepared to compete. Prior to a match coaches can have the team watch their opponents with focus on identifying opponent weaknesses in: • Rotations • Blocking schemes • Hitters and setters • Defensive schemes Having strategic conversations with
the team prior to matches will help with understanding substitution changes and maximizing timeouts.
SERVING SERVING TOUGH
A proven goal and philosophy is not
just to look for aces when serving. The goal of serving should primarily be to force the opponent out of system. When your team can limit an opponent’s offensive options, it will greatly increase the probability that you will win that point. Teams that are out of system will error more frequently and your team’s defense can be better prepared to defend the point. Ex- pect your players to serve aggressively without worrying about making mistakes. If a player is going to error, make sure the player is missing their serve deep into the court. If a ball contacts the net low on a serve, there is zero probability it will make it over the net (a negative error). If a serve is long (a positive error), an opponent may still touch it or gravity may kick in and the ball could drop on the end line.
MINIMIZING AN OPPONENT’S OFFENSE Another good strategy is to force a weak set-
ter to look over their shoulder from where the pass comes into their zone at the net. If the set- ter is pushing up the middle or is being pulled back with the right front, have players serve into zone 1 often. This scenario will generally force a weaker setter to have to look back over their shoulder when a pass comes into their base at the net and will limit their setting decisions and effectiveness. Setters will usually take the easy set when they are struggling. Generally speaking, if the setter is pushed back into zone 1, short serving into zone 2 will disrupt both setter and hitter transitions. This situation is a great strategy to impede the path of the setter, whether they are coming from behind a passer
or moving laterally. If playing open level competition in club
volleyball, you will rarely fi nd weak passing and setting. Therefore, it is best to concentrate on limiting an opponent’s best offensive threat. Most sets in volleyball are set to the outside attacker, and generally that hitter is the best hitter on the team. Serving the outside hitter that is pushed back in the passing formation is a great strategy when playing against teams with talented hitters. The goal with this strategy is to hinder the
hitter’s transition and tire them out as quickly as possible. By serving them repeatedly, that front row hitter is forced to touch many more balls than normal. This situation helps create pressure that the player was not intending to experience, which in turn can lead to mental mistakes. With that increased tension over time, there may be an advantage created for your team.
OUT OF SYSTEM PLAY CONTROLLING THE SYSTEM
At the junior club level, about half of the
team’s time in a match is spent out of system. So for many teams being out of system could be considered a secondary “system,” and a team should want to control that “system” as much as possible. The end goal when out of the primary system should be to create the most effective attack possible. The more a team can control a poorly passed ball, the higher probability they can win the point or at least receive an easy ball back over the net. When delivering the ball over the net in an
64 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
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out of system sequence, taking the opposing setter out of her system is a great way of minimizing your exposure to being at a an offensive disadvantage. Focus on placing the ball into the seam of zone 1 or 2 when the opposing setter is defending back row. If the setter is front row, drop the ball at a shallow angle into zone 2. The goal is to force the opposing setter to touch the fi rst ball, which in turn puts your opponent into out of system play. Another strategy is to push the ball
deep into the corners of the opponent’s court. Generally defenses will play inside of their base expecting the tip. Placing the ball deep may catch defenses off guard, giving your team more time to reset their block while forcing the opponent’s passers to scramble back into position. Minimiz- ing the impact of being out of system will hopefully force the opponent to return easier balls back over the net
and lead to more effective counter attacks.
FREEBALL PLAY The ball should always be sent over the net
with a purpose. It is important to not just hit the ball to “hit the ball.” Always have a game plan when dealing with free balls, both yours and the opponent’s. At a high level of play, giving a free ball to the opponent is one of the worst things a team can do. It gives the other team a statisti- cal advantage to win that point and spreads out your defense too much. There are two types of teams to look for when deciding what to do with a free ball that your team must send over the net. If an opponent has a weak setter, place the
ball into the setter’s transition path (generally into the seam of zone 1 & 2). This will force the setter to contact the fi rst ball, which places the opponent out of system immediately. The other strategy is to make the opponent’s right side hit- ter advance toward the net to play the free ball. With the right side hitter not able to transition, it helps limit the opponent’s offensive options. Your team’s block should then look for the
set to the opponent’s middle or outside attack- ers. Knowing this ahead of time, the block- ers can shift their base positions to the right and anticipate the middle or outside attack. Eliminating hitters gives a decisive advantage to your team’s block and back row play when defending. If an opposing team is very tall, quick and athletic, placing the ball deep into zone 1 will
PHOTO: WALLY NELL
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