Lloy's Corner: Volleyball Systems
GOOOOOOD MOOOOOORNING VOOOOOOLLERBAAAAAALLERS!!
Just saw Good Morning Vietnam the other day.
Let’s talk volleyball. The Olympics came and went. It’s a hard time for me. I miss playing so much, yet I am so happy to see our young men and women compete against the World. Three Bronze Medals, not too shabby!!!! They should all be proud of themselves, I know I am proud of them.
High School season is coming to a close and club season is just around the corner. Here are some random thoughts on club volleyball and the systems they run.
Very few of us (I have a club as well) have the ability to get (recruit) all the best players. The top clubs in the country have that luxury. With that, they can have unified systems of play from the 12 to 18’s. They can always run a 5-1 or a 6-2 because they can get those kinds of kids in their gym every year. They can run pinch read blocking systems and black slides with pipes or 31’s with D’s because they are assured they will have players with those abilities.
Unfortunately, the rest of us don’t always have those means. So, we need to be “creative” in our systems. Here are some examples that my small clubs uses, maybe they can help you too 🙂
1. All our teams 12U and down run a 4-2. We have middle front or right front set. On some teams, we make EVERYONE set!!! This develops the younger ones’ all around skills and doesn’t pigeon-hole them into positions based on physical attributes at such a young age. Because believe it or not, that 5’8″ 10 year old, may be 5’8″ when she’s 15 🙂
2. From 13’s and up, we will run offensive systems that best fit the girls we have. It could be a 5-1 if we only have one credible setter. It may be a 6-2 if we have two average setters that are good athletes or two equal setters that can bang the ball. I am not opposed to running a 6-0 or a 4-2 with the older teams as well.
3. Defensively because we are smaller than most other clubs, we use a line blocking system. Some coaches call it the “one up” system. By blocking line on the left side all the time, we allow our better ball handlers in right back to take all tip responsibility. This also funnels the hard-driven balls to left back and left front where our OH and L are. We allow zone 6 to read the set, and hitter to then decide if she will shade left or right to defend. By doing this, we assign everyone a role so that when things break down, we can identify the problem quickly.
4. Lastly, because smaller clubs have difficulty scoring “real points” against our bigger opponents, we use a very aggressive serving philosophy. We try to train our girls to have a “point getting” serve. We do not call zones, we say Go For It!!! We tell these girls that we are looking for a 2-1 ratio. Two aces for every one error. The girls who don’t have that type of serve are given zones that they must hit. I am a big fan of short zones to take middles and outsides out of their side out rhythm, and also serves to zone one. Zone one serves make the setter take the ball over her left shoulder. Most of those balls will be set in front of her due to the angle, so you can load your block up on the front quick and Go’s.
Well, it’s good to be back. I will writing a blog every two weeks to share more vb thoughts with you.
Be Well,
LB