At what point do you make someone a setter?
- A setter with experience in all positions understands them.
- Some of the best setters mature late 20s to early 30s
- For juniors, running a 2 setter system lets the setter learn to hit and defend
You may want setters to do a specific warm-up that you let them get on with: quick set-bounce into the floor; volley-lying-down; volley-walk court width; volley-walk with lunging; volley-walk with foot-pattern movement; volley-to-wall with squats and/or lunging; volley side-step
Hand shape - hands-on-hips, to in-front, to above head (all the same shape). Wrist movement is essential (no shot-putting): the wrists give and then push through the ball (the arms follow the wrists, not drive the wrists - the fingers follow the wrists too). Hands should finish to the target (not out, not down).
Some flex in the knees, hips elbows and wrists. The contact point should be above the feet/hips to be able to maintain the ability to set to any target (a neutral position), and along the player's centre-line.
Some drills to work on specific bits:
- Have the hands as high as possible to accentuate the drop/acceptance of the ball before pushing through
- Have the hands return to their starting shape as quick as possible to get them to feel what the hands are doing through the set.
These are not targets for matches, but training for technique.
Footwork often focuses on the last two steps. Footwork can be left-right or right-left; both have their advantages. The right foot should target 4. They should consider which shoulder they are watching over and which way they turn. They should see the server's contact and the passer's contact. Sometimes they will be more confident one way over the other.
Consider who's responsible for taking a serve that clips off the net; if it's the setter then they have to watch the ball all the way from the serve.
Setters usually have a nice rhythm.
Drills can be standard penetration drills, sidestep and move, hop off one foot (either foot), with the drill working on movement to different zones and setting to each target. Almost every setter drill should consider the footwork pattern though.
- be ready to move
- read the passer's platform (you should be stationary at your base setting position)
- beat the ball
- establish your position (and your right foot), facing off to 4.
- read the defence
- choose your target
- execute to your target
At the point of contact, there should be a moment of stillness.
You can think of the setter as having 3 setting windows: left of centre, on their centre-line and to the right of centre. The setter can use these to control the timing of the set, e.g. using the right-setting-window can be a "late" set that takes time away from the blocker. It can also dictate which way they turn to cover.
The attack should use the full 9m of the net, so you should consider how to expose gaps in the opposition's defence, both through tempo and position/direction. You can also consider how your setter/middle use the middle 3m of the net: win that battle and you will usually win the match.
Setters need to understand the flow/rhythm of the game to know when to go fast and when to buy time back for the hitter. They should know where their hitters are at the point they contact the ball.
The dump/tip should be a threat as often as possible.
Does set effectiveness, in relation to zone location and touch type impact on point and game outcome throughout various stages of the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships? - Leah Perkis
Typical setting locations (with above 10 % of the time)
- There is a strong correlation between setting effectiveness and winning
- There is a strong correlation between passing to 2 1/2 and setting effectiveness
- Teams that win more can still build an effective attack from zone 1
- The setter/coach relationship is vital, and you want to work with them regularly
- A team is as good as their setter
- A setter should be unpredictable (within a framework ): decide late and execute fast
- Don't underestimate the bump set; it's useful on a bad pass. The setter just has to give the outside a chance to swing, so it must be inside the antenna.
- When to jump set; does it give you an advantage in the current situation?
- For ladies game, the setters base position can be moved closer to 3 in order to open up the slide. It also opens up the 10-ball when the setter's front court.
- A setter's location will dictate the opposition's blocking positions. This can dictate where you run the pipe and 10-ball attack. This is kind-of a spatial pressure on the block (rather than temporal pressure with middle-pipe attacks).
- Positive/Negative sets are about energy: positive sets maintains the direction of the ball, negative sets involve major redirection and take more effort from the setter. Receiving from 5 accentuates the difference.
- Equipment wise, a hoop target is useful. A vertical pole pointing to the peak height of the set is another very useful tool.
- For drills, don't just run off a pass: make the setter do their defensive work before the set.
- For drills, challenge the setter with more dimensions. e.g. add a blocker they have to track and counter-set.
- Setters need to think tactically: they need to track the opposition players (e.g. know when the opposition's middle served and is still on defending) and their own team (e.g. know when they're back court and how that changes their setting options, decisions and tempos).
- The closer the attack point is to the setter, the more the attack is the setter's responsibility.
- In training, you can focus on technical matters; in matches, focus on tactics.
- Volleyball England "Setting Session" 2016 https://vimeo.com/170591134
- Does set effectiveness, in relation to zone location and touch type impact on point and game outcome throughout various stages of the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships? - Leah Perkis