Spring 2024 Mailbag - Part 2

4s In-a-Square, Right-side footwork, Errors per set, and Triangle with Hudl

Alright, let’s keep it rolling with Part 2 of the Spring 2024 Mailbag. Check out Part 1 if you missed it.

Austin in Practice #3 asks:

I used this 4v4 set up and really liked it. My athletes kept digging balls that were hit to middle of the court, that should be "out". I wasn't sure how to coach this. I liked that they were playing aggressive defense and didn't want to tell them not to.

Options could be:

1) If they dig in "out" area, play continues

2) Play defense, but coach can stop play to say it was out

3) Tell players to let the ball land.

Thoughts?

For a little context here and for those of you too lazy to read the referenced article, Austin is talking about playing a 4 v 4 “In-a-Square” variation where zone 6 is out-of-bounds. So there’s a left-front, right-front, left-back, right-back. No middle-front, no middle-back. Naturally, your hitters are going to hit some balls into zone 6- especially in the beginning. And, sometimes your defenders are going to play a ball that’s going “out” into zone 6. How do you handle that?

I've used both (2) and (3) the most. I prefer (3) but only if you have the lines clearly marked, for example with tape on the floor. (2) Works well if you have your whistle in hand and are ready to blow it dead immediately. (1) Is good for beginners or when you just start playing this game because it gives you more continuity and less stoppage.

But (3) is the ideal to me because I also teach a middle-middle system that is more stay-in-your-zone oriented than a rotational shifting defense. If your left backs are used to rotating toward the center of the court to dig balls in your scheme, then just do (1) or (2) because otherwise it's going to confuse them.

I can’t emphasize enough that part of the point of playing games like this is for the players to beat the game. Most players exist in a state of semi-hypnosis. They just kind of do stuff because that’s what their vague impulses are. Being intentional about your movements and actions is a learned skill. In Cross-Training In The Sand, I say that a good definition of a good athlete is: somebody who can rapidly acquire new movement skills. You could even expand that to somebody who can rapidly adjust to new rule sets, new situations, etc.

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From a club director:

I was wondering if there is any articles you could point me to or information you have on average errors per set.  Total errors (points given to your opponent) including ball handling errors, service errors, serve receive being aced errors, attacking errors and total violations per set.

So I have data on some U-13, U-15, and U-17 AAU National Championship matches. The errors per set were:

U-13: 7.0
U-15: 6.7
U-17: 5.4

That doesn't count getting aced or getting blocked. Those are only unforced errors.

If you want to add Aces
U-13: 2.3
U-15: 0.9
U-17: 1.2

And if you want to add Blocks
U-13: 1.2
U-15: 2.4
U-17: 2.3

Or, put another way, here's how many kills teams averaged at these different levels:

U-13: 11.7
U-15: 12.0
U-17: 13.3

Now, these are championship games, your typical club team is much higher-error, especially at U-13!

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Gerald M in Another Week Of Practices asks:

I was just thinking, Texas ran their outside sets a little further in from their left antenna to much success. Why do I have a tough time imagining that it wouldn’t work as well on the opposite position and the right antenna? My setters on my club team when they get nervous, their back sets fall really short so I’ve been playing around with the idea of having them run a “back-2” instead of a traditional “5” just so my hitters don’t have to keep trying to adjust to their setters too much. Plus, one of my opposites is “ goofy-footed” so I already have a tough time helping her timing and body positioning as it is. Any thoughts or a suggestion?

In general, right-side players coming inside out struggle with a set that dies inside. Right-side players are much more comfortably drifting out toward their right hand than inside. There's some footwork patterns you can do to alleviate this. I like a Back-2 quite a bit, especially if they aren't your main hitters. They can hit and the Back-2 tip back toward the opponent zone 4 sideline is actually a really nice play.

It’s worth noting how difficult it is for many right-handed players to develop a line shot. Here’s every right-side attack from the Texas - Louisville National Championship in 2022: