Finding the setter

[Scrapper1]

Thank you for all the answers. I've read them all. I don't really understand them all yet, but I'll re-read them several times.

Originally Posted by FMadera

Most (I'd say 90% of) teams use a rotational order of "Right, Left, Middle," with the setter being considered a "right." If you find the setter, then the next player would be your left side, and the one after that, the middle.

This one, however, is Greek to me. Please remember that I never played. So I have absolutely no idea what you're saying here. Isn't the rotational order the same for every team?

[TimTaylor]

Hey Scrappy!

Lots of good information in the responses so far. I know it's a lot to digest, so treat it like eating an elephant - if you do it a fork full at a time, eventually you'll get through it, but try to swallow the whole leg & you're gonna choke.

As others have said a big portion of the game revolves around the setter, so knowing who & where she is can be a big help to you. As Andy said, watching the teams during timed warmups can really help you identify who the setters are. Once you've got that down, the next step is figuring out where the other players are in the rotation relative to the setter. There are a number of approaches to this - I'd suggest you ask a few experienced officials what methods work for them, then try a couple to see what works best for you & go from there.

The main thing is not to get discouraged, it's going to take some time before this all makes sense, and it will probably be at least several seasons before you start to feel comfortable with it. Remember, a fork full at a time..........

[FMadera]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

Please remember that I never played. So I have absolutely no idea what you're saying here. Isn't the rotational order the same for every team?

Some teams go left-right-middle, instead of the traditional right-left-middle.

(Referring to positions the players play, not positions on the court)

[jkumpire]

I have not done a ton of VB like the most of the big dogs on the board, so let me try to help out here some.

1. If you are using a wheel or card, always circle the setter once you find out who it is by watching warm ups, or even after a rotation or two. Your veteran partner will help if you ask them! Then as you see more games, you will see how much the game revolves around the setter, even in JH/MS. Or even ask the scorekeeper who the setters are, they might tell you!

2. Get a good pen. Write on the top of your palm your captains (for each team), On the underside of your palm, note the numbers of the setters! Then refer to them during the game! You can take a look at your numbers as you are getting ready to call for serve when you need it. But make sure you try to find the setter on both sides. The more you do it, the easier it gets!

3. The light started coming on for me about half way through my 2nd year about where setters are, where they move, etc. It's just like other sports, do every match you can, and watch other people work with a card or wheel in your hand until you start to see patterns.

4. Get a book on VB coaching, and team offense, or sit down with a local coach. There you will get a good introduction as to the type of offenses people run, and you will pick it up.

5. Setters reveal themselves quickly in a match. Find one, then look at the opposite player. If the setter is the RB, look to the LF. There you find the other setter if there are two of them, and rotations will get easier once you find the opposite of the setter!

6. In a lot of HS offense, at least in my area, you will see two players stacked , either on a wing, or in the middle. There are several reasons for this, the main two being clearing space on the floor for the two or three people who the team wants to receive serve, or to give the setter an easy path to the middle. As you go on, you will find that the setter is usually stacked in one of those places.

7. Like so many others have said, once you find the setter you will find where most of your trouble with back row attacks and IA's are. Keep track of these players, and life is good for you and you partner.

Just keep working at it, and digest the hints above, and you will start to see why it is so important to find the setter!

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by FMadera

Some teams go left-right-middle

Again, I'm sorry to be dense, but I simply have no idea what this means, to "go left-right-middle".

And again, thanks for all the genuinely helpful replies.

[jkumpire]

Scrapper,

Think of 1,2,3, as RF, CF, LF.

The setter will usually go to the RF position (1) or CF position (2), depending on the situation and rotation. Then she sets to a position 1, 2, or 3. Sometimes with a call, other times w/o a call, which allows the person in that slot to know the ball is set for her. Sometimes, if the setter is coming from the back she cal set for all three positions.

This is why at times you will see RF and LF positions swich as soon as the serve is hit, to get the setter or big time hitter into their best positions. That is why you will see them hold hands behind the CF (or in other positions), so they leave as soon they both know the ball has been served.

On lower levels I will hear setters say "set 1", meaning she is setting her person in the #1 slot, usually RF. This of course can change at times, but that is the general idea.

I hope it helps!

[FMadera]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

Again, I'm sorry to be dense, but I simply have no idea what this means, to "go left-right-middle".

And again, thanks for all the genuinely helpful replies.

For example:

Let's say a coach submits a lineup of (player numbers): 10,11,12,13,14,15. (Serving order doesn't matter for this example).

That's the rotation that the team must follow (subs notwithstanding).

By "right, left, middle", let's say #10 is the setter. On the vast majority of teams you'll see, 10 is your setter (considered a right, because they would usually block right side if they play front row), 11 would be the left side, 12 would be a middle, 13 would be a right (or setter), 14 a left, 15 a middle.

10 - Right
11 - Left
12 - Middle
13 - Right
14 - Left
15 - Middle

Again, once in a great while, you'll see a team that will go in "left, right, middle" order. In about 50 or so matches I've seen this year, I've seen it once, but you might see it slightly more often than that. Right, left, middle is your norm.

So...once you've determined from watching warmups who's playing what position, when you check the lineups, you should have a good idea what order they are in, R-L-M or L-R-M. When you know that, and you find your setter, in theory, you should be able to find your lefts and middles and know if they are in the proper order.

[Back In The Saddle]

Okay, I'm starting to get an idea of how this works. I can see that it'll take some time to be able to see it well.

Thank you for the patient explanations.

Maybe time to get a copy of Volleyball for Dummies

[jkumpire]

Thanks F man,

I learned a lot with that last post. Please excuse my previous scribble.

[TimTaylor]

Nice explanation Felix!

Scrapper, one thing that really helped me was going to watch some matches on nights I wasn't working. It gives you a chance to focus on watching one or two things without the pressure of the other duties you have when officiating. Another thing that will help is working tournaments. You'll see the same teams several times during the day & start to recognize the patterns.

Another thing identifying the setters will help you with down the road is recognizing the offensive setup the teams are using, which in combination with the position information Felix described, can give you an idea what to watch for during the match. I start by identifying the setters during prematch warmups, then when the lineups are submitted I note how many setters are in the game for each team and their relative positions to each other & their teammates as Felix described.

There are 3 basic offensive setups:
6-2: (6 hitters-2 setters) The setters are in opposite positions (ie RF, LB) and the person setting always comes from the back row, which means they always have 3 hitters in the front row.

4-2: (4 hitters-2 setters). As with 6-2 setters are opposite, but the front row setter usually does most of the sets. Disadvantage is they only have 2 hitters in the front row, advantage is that front row setter can legally tip or dump the ball over the net forcing the other team to be ready to defend her.

5-1: (5 hitters-1 setter). In this setup there is only 1 setter, so half the time they have 2 FR hitters and the other half 3 FR hitters.

So what does this tell you? Anytime you have a setter coming from the back row there is an increased potential for an IA to occur. In my experience at least, this seems to happen more often with a 5-1 set, usually when the setter is LB and in too big a hurry to get to the RF area to be ready to set. I would be interested if others have noticed anything similar. There's also an increased potential for a BRA or BRB you need to be aware of. As the R this helps you identify BRA/BRB situations and see IA of the serving team. As the U it helps you identify IA of the receive team and to feed things like server position (FR/BR) to the R via discrete signals to assist them.

Like I said, some of this is down the road a ways from where you are now, but hopefully gives you an idea why knowing who & where the setters are is important.