Your Yes I Can Gold Gift Message
January 25th, 2008 at 10:42 amServing Strategies To Increase
Point Production
-By Mark Ragland
All of us enjoy the ace serve. It's fun to
rack up some easy points without having to go
through the nerve-racking ebb and flow of a rally,
especially if our teams tend to make lots of
unforced errors. If you are fortunate enough to be
loaded with stud jump servers or if you're just
praying that the ball goes in, then you may not
find the ensuing information very helpful.
However, if you've got some servers who may not be
ace threats, but who can hit spots fairly
regularly, then you may want to read on.
Most coaches at this level call serves for their
players. Usually, they pick out the weak passer or
a spot that will disrupt the transition of the
setter. While these are excellent strategies,
teams may adjust their receive to eliminate these
options. In addition, these strategies may not be
beneficial if there isn't a weak link or if the
transition of the setter is uninterrupted by the
placement of the serve. Therefore, you may want to
consider some other ways to impact their
transition into the offense they want to run.
One of the strategies that is often overlooked is
trying to serve to eliminate a hitter option on
serve receive. In other words, I will try to serve
in an area that makes it difficult for the passer
to get the ball to the setter in a position to run
their bread and butter plays. Here are some
strategies that may be helpful in keeping the
other team out of rhythm:
1. Middle Heavy Offense: If the opposing team
likes going to their middle hitter(s) more than
anyone else, then I suggest that you inundate them
with a heavy dose of serves to the 4 and 5
positions. Quite often, passers in high school and
club have difficulty in passing the ball from
these positions completely to the setter's target
area. Most often, these passes end up near the
center of the court, often behind or in the area
where the middle hitter sets up for attack. If
that occurs, the middle is usually rendered
unavailable for that attack so the setter has only
the left or right front to choose from for
completing the attack. This gives you an
opportunity to get at least one rally without
having to face their best hitter. If your team is
good at defending and then terminating medium
speed attacks, then this will result in easier
points and a longer serving run.
I would suggest that you start with deep serves to
the 5 position. These are usually more comfortable
for your server. They also will probably give more
fits to the receiver until (if) they adjust to
making a stronger pass. If the 4 spot is not well
covered, then I would alternate that serve in
every 2-3 serves to make that receiver move around
and not get too comfortable with receiving from
the same spot. Now, the receiver is faced with a
mental game of cat and mouse with your serve,
while having to retain muscle memory of how much
force they need to pass the ball to their setter's
target area.
2. Outside Heavy Offense: This one is a bit
tougher because the setter is usually going to
have an angle to this hitter on just about any
type of pass that is settable. However,
influencing the setter's angle on the ball may be
our best bet to negate the quality of the set that
the hitter will receive.
Quite often, the short serve to the 2 position or
short 1 position will result in a pass that is
behind the setter's target area. These passes are
often shorter than normal passes from other areas.
If that is the case, then the setter's hips will
now be facing away from the outside hitter as she
pursues the pass. If this is the case, it now
becomes more difficult for the setter to get to
the ball and re-square her hips to the outside
hitter. The result is often that the ball location
from the set is lower or off of the net more than
usual, which may cause the outside hitter to have
more difficulty in performing their usual attack.
3. Strong Right Side Hitter: If the team likes to
go to their right side hitter frequently out of
serve receive, then the area between 2-3 is a
great spot to serve. Often, that player will have
difficulty knowing whether they should pass the
serve, so their may be some confusion and
hesitation in that hitter. In addition, if the
pass is made, quite often it is too short to allow
the setter to position their bodies appropriately
to perform the desired set. Most setters at this
level have difficulty setting a ball behind them
if they are rushed or having to move rapidly to
get in position.
4. Other Considerations: Here are some general
tips that may be useful to you if you have servers
who can place the ball, even if it's not
blistering:
a. The deep 5 ball gives most passers fits at this
level. Most of the time, you can slow down the
other teams offense with this serve, especially if
your servers can keep the ball towards the
sideline.
b. If the opponent plays a two or three
person receive, then the short serve is a great
tool to keep them off balance. I would recommend
serving to the 2 position, behind the setter
target area, so that the difficulty level for the
setter is increased. Quite often, this serve
results in confusion among passers, setters, and
hitters as well.
c. Serving between passers is also an effective
strategy with some teams. When you put a ball with
some pace on it in the gaps, it presents problems
with communication, action, and body positioning
for a number of players.
In general, the decisions that you make regarding
serve placement depend as much on your serving
personnel as much as the opponent's reception
abilities. However, if your servers have some
ability to serve to zones, then they can have
quite an effect on the tempo of their opponents
attack out of serve receive. Therefore, I would
recommend that you include zone serving in every
practice. It will pay huge dividends at the
intermediate level.
-Mark Ragland
Albemarle H.S.
Virginia
-By Mark Ragland
All of us enjoy the ace serve. It's fun to
rack up some easy points without having to go
through the nerve-racking ebb and flow of a rally,
especially if our teams tend to make lots of
unforced errors. If you are fortunate enough to be
loaded with stud jump servers or if you're just
praying that the ball goes in, then you may not
find the ensuing information very helpful.
However, if you've got some servers who may not be
ace threats, but who can hit spots fairly
regularly, then you may want to read on.
Most coaches at this level call serves for their
players. Usually, they pick out the weak passer or
a spot that will disrupt the transition of the
setter. While these are excellent strategies,
teams may adjust their receive to eliminate these
options. In addition, these strategies may not be
beneficial if there isn't a weak link or if the
transition of the setter is uninterrupted by the
placement of the serve. Therefore, you may want to
consider some other ways to impact their
transition into the offense they want to run.
One of the strategies that is often overlooked is
trying to serve to eliminate a hitter option on
serve receive. In other words, I will try to serve
in an area that makes it difficult for the passer
to get the ball to the setter in a position to run
their bread and butter plays. Here are some
strategies that may be helpful in keeping the
other team out of rhythm:
1. Middle Heavy Offense: If the opposing team
likes going to their middle hitter(s) more than
anyone else, then I suggest that you inundate them
with a heavy dose of serves to the 4 and 5
positions. Quite often, passers in high school and
club have difficulty in passing the ball from
these positions completely to the setter's target
area. Most often, these passes end up near the
center of the court, often behind or in the area
where the middle hitter sets up for attack. If
that occurs, the middle is usually rendered
unavailable for that attack so the setter has only
the left or right front to choose from for
completing the attack. This gives you an
opportunity to get at least one rally without
having to face their best hitter. If your team is
good at defending and then terminating medium
speed attacks, then this will result in easier
points and a longer serving run.
I would suggest that you start with deep serves to
the 5 position. These are usually more comfortable
for your server. They also will probably give more
fits to the receiver until (if) they adjust to
making a stronger pass. If the 4 spot is not well
covered, then I would alternate that serve in
every 2-3 serves to make that receiver move around
and not get too comfortable with receiving from
the same spot. Now, the receiver is faced with a
mental game of cat and mouse with your serve,
while having to retain muscle memory of how much
force they need to pass the ball to their setter's
target area.
2. Outside Heavy Offense: This one is a bit
tougher because the setter is usually going to
have an angle to this hitter on just about any
type of pass that is settable. However,
influencing the setter's angle on the ball may be
our best bet to negate the quality of the set that
the hitter will receive.
Quite often, the short serve to the 2 position or
short 1 position will result in a pass that is
behind the setter's target area. These passes are
often shorter than normal passes from other areas.
If that is the case, then the setter's hips will
now be facing away from the outside hitter as she
pursues the pass. If this is the case, it now
becomes more difficult for the setter to get to
the ball and re-square her hips to the outside
hitter. The result is often that the ball location
from the set is lower or off of the net more than
usual, which may cause the outside hitter to have
more difficulty in performing their usual attack.
3. Strong Right Side Hitter: If the team likes to
go to their right side hitter frequently out of
serve receive, then the area between 2-3 is a
great spot to serve. Often, that player will have
difficulty knowing whether they should pass the
serve, so their may be some confusion and
hesitation in that hitter. In addition, if the
pass is made, quite often it is too short to allow
the setter to position their bodies appropriately
to perform the desired set. Most setters at this
level have difficulty setting a ball behind them
if they are rushed or having to move rapidly to
get in position.
4. Other Considerations: Here are some general
tips that may be useful to you if you have servers
who can place the ball, even if it's not
blistering:
a. The deep 5 ball gives most passers fits at this
level. Most of the time, you can slow down the
other teams offense with this serve, especially if
your servers can keep the ball towards the
sideline.
b. If the opponent plays a two or three
person receive, then the short serve is a great
tool to keep them off balance. I would recommend
serving to the 2 position, behind the setter
target area, so that the difficulty level for the
setter is increased. Quite often, this serve
results in confusion among passers, setters, and
hitters as well.
c. Serving between passers is also an effective
strategy with some teams. When you put a ball with
some pace on it in the gaps, it presents problems
with communication, action, and body positioning
for a number of players.
In general, the decisions that you make regarding
serve placement depend as much on your serving
personnel as much as the opponent's reception
abilities. However, if your servers have some
ability to serve to zones, then they can have
quite an effect on the tempo of their opponents
attack out of serve receive. Therefore, I would
recommend that you include zone serving in every
practice. It will pay huge dividends at the
intermediate level.
-Mark Ragland
Albemarle H.S.
Virginia