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Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle
I try to keep the numbers of the two who are front row in my head. So if blue's setter is 12 and her opposite is 7, and red's setter is 4 and opposite is 11, then on any given serve I'll note that 12 is back row, and 11 is back row. So I'm saying to myself, "7, 4. 7, 4. 7, 4."
It's really not all that useful to me when I'm R2. But it's good practice for me for when I'm R1. I don't have my wheel when I'm up, but I identify setter and opposite. Each serve I find my setter and opposite, and remember the numbers of the front row players. Then with each hit, I try to identify "front" or "back", saying the word in my mind.
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I'm not a vet either, but this is exactly what I do. I admit that I'm lacking in identifying BRA and BRB. For some reason, I seem to be able to better identify back row players as R1 than as R2. I don't know if it's the vantage point from the stand or not having to worry about subs and timeouts, but it just seems so much clearer as R1. Heck, maybe it's because I don't have a card! I have found that using the signal for legal BRA helps me out also, though I try to use it only as clarification as Felix suggests.
Part of the problem I think I am still not completely comfortable with BRA and BRB is that I work about 20-25 matches and maybe 4-5 tournaments over a two month period. About half of those are MS matches, which are no help when it comes to seeing attacks or blocks by ANY player. Then I get a few varsity matches where one player from each team may be able to jump high enough to attack the ball above the height of the net. I'm not kidding.
As far as a wheel, I've tried it a few times but I just feel more comfortable with a card. I almost tried a wheel tonight but I chickened out at the last minute. I bought one of those dry-erase wheels before the season but have yet to try it out. I wish that I could have that light bulb turn on for me so that I could actually track everyone without a card or wheel, but I just don't see it happening. I can remember the starting lineups for both teams in the 1975 World Series (neither of which were my beloved Astros), but no matter how hard I try as soon as we get 2 points in to the match I feel fortunate to be able to track setters and opposites for both teams.