Competitive volleyball requires a good deal of strategy. Each player has a specific role to play and identifying the right roles for each player is highly important. By playing their part well, everyone is able to contribute to the overall goal of winning.
Here’s how to identify roles among your volleyball players:
Understand the role:
Each one of the six volleyball players on the court has a different and vital function to perform in the game. It is possible that a role on the court may alter when a player is substituted out of the game due to the shift in chemistry on the floor.
Set clear expectations and establish standard communication. Coaches should work with individual players to identify their strengths and areas for improvement. If a player struggles with execution, put them around players who can encourage and support them.
Once strengths have been identified, you need to establish which players can be leaders on the floor, communicating with their teammates and calling out plays. Allow your best strikers to focus on net play, your most controlled setters to set the ball for their teammates, and make sure you have well-rounded players on each line.
Interchangeable roles:
It is also possible for roles to shift within the same squad and even during the same game. Perhaps your club’s best hitter is out with an injury, and the team needs to lean more heavily on other key players.
When players refine their strengths and drill their weaknesses, you’ll find that they can play multiple roles comfortably. Talk to your players to understand where they feel they can improve and give them opportunities to do so.