Technique Tuesday

A quick look at some setting.

Here’s setter tutor video from 3 practices over the past month or so.

I want to keep this relatively short, so I’ll avoid a lengthy discussion about why I prefer a right-left jump set to a left-right finish. So skipping the why and going to the what, I’m looking for a setter to:

1. Stay vertical through the jump set. (Not flying through the ball, fading backward, or falling out toward the basline)

2. Create power with rotation rather than with the back or shoulders.

3. Maintain a smooth righttttt…. left rhythm rather than a rightleft bunny hop.

If the setter can do these 3 things, she can maximize her ability to run an offense with speed and accuracy.

In the first clip, she’s squared to the outside too early, and the ball is coming in over her left shoulder too much. This is a big priority for me to change with setters. Many setters face the left side of the court too early and the ball comes in across their face. This can affect the quality of contact and also hinder rotation.

So a big priority for me is get a new setter used to facing the passer with her whole body, so she can receive the ball and then rotate her body as she sets, not before she sets.

The second thing I wanted to change was the rhythm. A lot of setters, even good ones, “bunny hop” their jump sets. While this, in theory, could be a way to generate a little more power in your jump, there’s a couple drawbacks

1. Rotation comes from the left foot (see more below), which is why you teach beginning setters, who are only ever setting off the ground, to use that left-right motion because it creates some weight transfer. The “front-to-back” is really more of a counter-clockwise rotation. So when you bunny-hop to jump set, you hop off that left foot too early, leading to poor rotation.

2. I think setters who maintain more of a righhttttt-left rhythm (akin to a hitter going slow-to-fast on her spiking approach) stay a little taller and have a more consistent contact. It’s easier to time than a bunny hop.

So I’ve been pleased with the progress here of this setter. Over the course of those 3 clips, I see her staying more vertical, setting with a smoother rhythm, and generating a cleaner (and ultimately, more powerful) rotational setting motion. Now, we’ll see if we can transfer this to an improved offense.

“Rotation Comes From The Left Foot”

(I was asked for a little more clarity on this line…)

I’ve taught pivot setting for a long time. I like right-left jump set when the pass is good and the setter can stay vertical and jump set. But when you’re on the run, the right-foot pivot is valuable.

I used to think (and demonstrate) that setters pivoted off their right foot. I mean, in a sense, they do. There is some body rotation happening while they are on only the right foot. But when we look at what actually creates the rotation, it comes from the back foot; the left foot. Stand on one foot, just your right. Now try to rotate your body clockwise. You can do it, but it’s kind of weird. Now stand on your left foot and squeeze your left glute. Boom, you instantly spin powerfully in a clockwise direction.

Look at these 2 still images from a GMS video on pivot setting.

The first image is as her left foot strikes the ground and then second is as her right foot strikes the ground to pivot. Look at the words on her shirt. See that most of the rotation is already complete by the time her right “pivot” foot strikes the ground.

This is what I mean when I say that a setter’s rotation comes from the left foot, not the right.