Setters Training
Every setter is different and everyone teaches setting different. But the skills are the same. There are many attributes of a setter that overlap with different coaching styles. For example Head Coach of the 1984 USA Volleyball Women’s Olympic Team, Aire Selinger, believes the setter is the most important player on the court.
I feel there are three essential mental qualities that should prevail over all aspects of a setters life: Confidence, Leadership, and Intelligence.
Confidence
Confidence is a mental stabilizer. A setter needs to be sure of themselves, carry themselves with the highest esteem, and believe they are the best on the court. Confidence enables a setter to handle the ball mindlessly at critical portions of a match, distribute it to the best hitter on the floor, and their confidence will be infectious to the other players on the court. Confidence allows a setter to take constructive criticism from the coach, deflect negativity from players, and build positive, consistent team chemistry. The setter understands they will not always be a perfect player, understands their weaknesses, but their teammates always believe they are a great setter and have confidence in their sets and as their court leader.
Leadership
Leadership provides focus. The setter has to personally accept the team goal and make it a mission. Through this mission the setter needs to regulate the team standards, manage the team environment, and motivate teammates by being the example everyday of striving towards this goal. The team agreed on the goal and it is the setter’s job to make the goal the first priority. The setter must not be swayed by negative emotion or opinions of the group when they are not relative to their goal. The setter confronts conflict and resolves issues to keep emotional stability throughout the team. The setter is optimistic, but realistic in their teammate’s abilities and sets the correct hitter (not their favorite hitter) in all situations in order to win a point, set, or match. It is the end result that the team is trying to achieve and it is the setter’s responsibility to make sure the team stays on course.
Intelligence
The setter asserts the coach’s game-plan, thoughts, and ideas on to the court. The setter sets the team offense based on research and percentages, but trusts their emotion and knows when to take a calculated risk. The setter reads the opponents block, defense, match characteristics, and adjusts to the flow of the game and sets the tempo. The setter knows when to push the team, how to direct the team, and how to pick-up the team. The setter will set the emotion and tone on the court that the players will follow. The setter will understand they are the example. The setter must always keep the goal in mind and express it to the team.