“One vs Three…”
Shared by Breanne Smedley
One of the hardest lessons to teach when coaching youth volleyball is the concept that three contacts are better than one.
Pass, set, hit. It’s the name of the game.
But in the 12u game, this is sometimes hard to justify for players.
Mostly because sending the ball back over the net to the opponent after only one contact works.
At the lowest levels, more often than not, sending the ball directly back over will score a point at best. It makes parents clap and smile, and we get the ball to serve.
And at worst, sending the ball over on one will at least keep the ball in play.
Why add two more contacts when it just increases the chances that we will mess it up on our side and give the other team a point?
The reason, I tell them, is because this won’t develop them as great volleyball players.
As they grow in the game, sending the ball over on one contact will almost always result in your team losing the point.
It sets the other team up to crush that overpass right back at you or gives them time to set up a stronger attack.
Learning to pass, set, and hit on your side of the net is what will lead to long term success.
Late in my 12u season this year, we played a team that did what I had spent the season telling my girls not to do.
Almost every ball was sent back to our side immediately after one contact.
It was working for them, and my girls were getting frustrated.
Pretty soon, it was a game of tennis with both teams just passing quickly back and forth to each other.
We called a timeout. I told them I’d rather lose short term and play good volleyball than win this match playing sloppy and undisciplined.
You see, one contact is passive winning.
It doesn’t take a lot of effort to send the ball back over.
And, it’s bad because at the 12s level, the player usually gets immediate gratification in the form of a point.
Three contacts require effort. It’s active winning.
It means that players have to be disciplined with their first contact to put the ball in a place where the setter to get to it.
Then, the setter has to be able to locate the ball and put up a hittable set.
Then, the hitter has to be in a position to do her full approach and arm swing to attack the ball over the net.
There’s a lot that could go wrong.
“But how do we develop those skills if we never give ourselves the opportunity to practice them by sending the ball straight back over?” I ask my players.
Active winning is what we’re after.
Because passive winning only works for so long.
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#MindfullyEvolving
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