Components of a successful offense. (Volleyball).

ALTHOUGH YOU CAN no longer achieve championship status with a one-dimensional style of game, various factors may force you to focus on either offense or defense.

If forced to go in one direction, I would choose offense -- the kind of system that will produce the highest efficiency for my team.

Obviously, this would require considerable thought, starting with an inventory of the players' talents and the setter's ability.

Other considerations would include your training time, length of the season, statistical information on each player's performance on offense, your choice of training drills and their role in your team's improvement process.

Concepts and Definitions

Following are some of the things to consider when evaluating your team's offense.

Know the sequence of sets made by your setter. Study your setter's decision-making process. In what situations is the sequence predictable, and in what situations is it unpredictable? I want my setter's decisions to be aggressive, smart, and, whenever possible, unpredictable.

Repeatability occurs when your setter sets either the same hitter or the same type of set twice in a row.

In what situations does your setter repeat in an unpredictable way?

In what situations does your setter not repeat in a predictable way?

Both you and your setter should know these habits. Most setters have unconscious habits that they should become aware of. For example, your setter may never repeat a hitter after that hitter has made a mistake.

Streaking occurs when a setter delivers the ball to the same hitter or sets the same type of set five or more times in a row. An example of this occurs when the setter streaks sets to the quick attackers.

Many teams want to play quickly on offense. A fast-tempo offense doesn't give the opponent enough time to set up its defense, creating a good opportunity for an attacker to score. How fast can the offense be? It depends on several things:

First is your team's level of serve-receive. The more frequently they make a good reception, the more often they can use the fast offense.

Second is the ability of your setter. Does he or she have the skill and knowledge to run a fast offense?

Third are the physical abilities of your hitters. When determining speed, look for hitting control and hitting range. Hitting control is the ability to hit without making too many unforced errors.

Fourth, is the speed of the set too fast causing your hitter to make too many unforced errors? The speed of the set should not limit the hitter's range of shots -- his or her ability to spike the ball to many different places on the court.

A gap is the space between two blockers or the space between an outside blocker and the sideline. Attacking into a gap is an excellent offensive tactic.

Either the setter or the hitter can generate motion. One popular tactic is for the setter to move in one direction and set the ball in the opposite direction. Hitter motion has to do with the direction of the approach angle relative to the point of attack along the net.

A hitter's movement to the left (right of the defenders) is more effective than movement that occurs straight in front of the defenders. The tendency is for blockers and defenders to lean (shift their weight) in the direction of the motion.

For example, hitting motion to the right causes the blockers and defenders to lean in that direction. Because the defenders are leaning to the right, they will move much more slowly when they have to move to the left. The two most common types of motion are flooding and isolating. Flooding is the tactic of having two hitters run routes into the zone of one blocker. When the attacker moves quickly he or she will make it extremely difficult for one blocker to cover both hitters.

The setter should keep this blocker guessing by mixing the distribution of sets to these hitters. Isolating is a tactic that matches one hitter against one blocker. The most common way to create isolation is to run a pattern that has two hitters flood the zone of one outside blocker leaving the third hitter isolated against the other outside blocker. The ideal match-up is to place your best hitter against the opponent's worst blocker.

To isolate your hitter with one blocker have your setter ice the opponent's middle blocker by periodically mixing the distribution of his or her sets.

The slide behind the setter is popular in the women's game. A hitter running an approach parallel to the net creates a difficult blocking situation. The blocker has to guess where to position his or her block as the hitter can apparently attack from more than one place along the net.

The hitter can make the floating action along the net with either a one-footed jump or a two-footed jump. Offenses with attackers who use both vertical and horizontal (floating) actions create a difficult situation for the defense.

The setter dump is used much more in the women's game than it is in the men's game because few women's teams use the back-row attack in the same way as men. Typical men's teams use the back-row attack approximately 25% or 30% of the time. Typical women's teams use it less than 10% of the time.

In the women's game, the setter becomes an important part of the attack when she is in the front row. By jumping hard to set the ball in the same way that she jumps to attack, the setter creates a big distraction to the opponent's blockers and defenders. The setter who can create this double-threat effect (to make a strong attack or set one of the hitters) adds an invaluable dimension to the team's offense.

Styles of Offense

There are two general ways of choosing the right system for your team. The first is to focus on core sets and core patterns. Each hitter learns how to hit two or three different types of sets and the setter learns how to set the hitters.

This offense typically has only a few patterns in each rotation. The goal is to execute the offense at a high level of efficiency, as measured by hitting efficiency and side out percentage.

By focusing your work on offense to a small number of tasks, you can rapidly improve efficiency. In other words, your team can become a master of core tasks instead of a jack of all tasks. This is a good system of play for inexperienced, modestly skilled players because it allows you to minimize your setting and hitting errors. Your error percentage will often decrease over time as the setter and hitters improve their skills and become more familiar with each other during the season.

This style of offense is also good for teams with limited training time. You should begin by identifying and developing the core sets and patterns.

Later in the season, you can add new sets and new patterns as wrinkles while continuing to execute your offense proficiently and efficiently.

The second choice of system is the wide-open style of offense. Unlike the offense with core sets and core patterns, this offense presents the defense with different looks. It includes many types of sets leading to many kinds of patterns (offensive looks). It is a good system for teams composed of highly skilled and experienced players.

It is also a great offense for:

1. Teams with an experienced setter and versatile hitters.

2. As a weapon with which to confuse the defense.

3. Prevent the defense from getting into a groove.

4. Matching up one of your hitters with any of the opposing blockers.

The wide-open offense has several downsides:

1. It requires more training time and players who have had experience playing together.

2. Players will need more time and repetition work to learn more tasks.

3. It has a higher risk for error.

In the beginning stage, miscommunication between your setter and hitters may cause errors. In addition, your setter and hitters will need time to find the right rhythm for each of the attack options and to learn to execute the attacks efficiently.

In time, the frequency for errors will decrease as your setter and hitters learn how to communicate and develop the right rhythm.

Early in the season, have the players experiment with many offensive options. This should be a time of discovery and creativity for the players and a time for you to take inventory. After a while, you will be able to identify the elements of team play that you wish to continue and those that you want to discontinue.

Your Setter

A team with a great setter and good hitters has a better possibility for achieving greatness than a team with a good setter and great hitters. Your setter can affect the level of play more than any other player on the court. You should thus do everything possible to hasten the development of the setter.

Each setter has a unique blend of talents and skills. Take inventory and identify those physical, mental, and emotional gifts, then customize the role of the setter to maximize those strengths.

The setter's two most important jobs are to set a hittable ball and a smart ball. Setters need years and many repetitions to acquire the skill and confidence to make sets with good location and rhythm.

"Smartness" comes only with countless hours of experience on the court and a lot of study off the court.

The setter is the center of the team's offense. You have to mentor and tutor him/her. You can make no better investment in your team's offense than the time you spend with your setter.

Traininq Time

Learn the total volume of training time you will have during the season, specifically, the number of hours per practice session, the number of hours per week, and the number of weeks in your season. As a rule, the less training time you have, the fewer things your team will be able to develop and master.

Practice is the best time in which to build your skills and improve your team offense. Careful planning will enable you to make the best use of your precious training time.

How Much Do You Want to Know

Several methods can be used to study your team's offensive performance. During the competitive phase of our season, I use statistical information from our matches to measure our performance. From this information I learn what our strengths and weaknesses are. After identifying our problem areas, I begin the process of finding solutions.

Four matches provide the minimum amount of statistical information you will need to identify your team's norms. If you wish, you can separate this information into groups according to the quality of your opponents other characteristics.

One set of data might cover matches against teams whose record is below .500, another set could include matches against teams ranked in the top 25, and a third set might include matches against conference opponents.

I keep an ongoing summary of matches throughout the season. In addition, I keep a continuous summary for each group. The information gleaned from these statistics has a significant influence on my coaching decisions on how to play. Much of what we work on in practice comes from what I have learned from our statistical analysis.

The two most important offense statistics are side-out percentage and hitting efficiency. I like to know three kinds of information about my team's offense: information from the scoresheet, information from a side out chart, and the Coleman statistic.

From the match scoresheet, you can learn about your team's side-out percentages. They can be calculated by dividing the total number of side-outs by the total number of serves. For example, when your team scores 6 side-outs in 10 serves, the side-out percentage is 60.

I want to know the side-out percentage breakdown for each of the six rotations as well as the sum of all rotations. In addition, I want this information for each match and a continuous summary of all matches.

This statistic clearly identifies the strongest and weakest side-out rotations. During the season, the goal is to improve our weak rotations and, if possible, our strong rotations.

Another excellent statistical tool is the side-out chart. This chart provides valuable information about your team's performance in each of its six rotations. I want the chart to include (1) information about passing and hitting, offensive patterns, and set distributions, (2) the hitting efficiency for the rotation as well as for each individual hitter, and (3) what types of sets each player was given to attack.

From this information, I can learn many things: first, the smartest and most efficient way to play each rotation; and second, the best use of the time we spend in practice on rotation work.

My college coach at UCLA, Al Scates, is a master of maximizing team performance during practice and matches through study of the side-out chart. Like the score-sheet statistic, I like the side-out chart information for each match as well as an ongoing summary of all matches during the season.

The late Jim Coleman, the nation's foremost authority on volleyball statistics, invented the Coleman statistic. One of its sections has information organized by skill. It has two readouts--one for each player and the other for the team as a group. This statistic contains good offensive information about passing and hitting.

The hitting-efficiency information falls into three categories - serve-receive-attack (first attack only following serve receive) all other attacks for side outs, and attacking for points. The information from the statistic is an excellent tool for measuring the performance of your team.

All of these statistics and charts can be kept during matches (that is, if you are lucky enough to have people who can take these charts). Another option is to develop the information from videotape after the match.

A crucial factor in the success of your team during the season is its rate and amount of improvement. The study of your team's performance through statistical analysis will help you identify the ways in which to maximize your team's offensive performance.

How Do You Play on Offense?

Time and good statistical information will allow you to identify the best way for your team to execute its offense. Efficiency is everything. For each of your rotations you should know the side out percentage, the hitting efficiency, and the passing level. Next, look at individual player statistics. What is the hitting efficiency for each player? What percentage of total sets does each receive?

Generally, the players with the highest hitting efficiencies receive the most sets. What is the passing level of each player? What are the offensive patterns and corresponding set distributions? What are the hitting efficiencies by offensive pattern and by the individual players in the pattern?

This information will help you discern the best way for your team to execute its offense. Examine each of your rotations. Begin with the ones with the lowest side-out percentages. Examine your team's serve receive. If there is a problem, what is your idea for a solution? Look at your team's hitting efficiencies:

Is your setter running the best patterns?

Are your attackers hitting their best kinds of sets?

Are the sets being distributed to your hitters in the smartest and most efficient way?

RELATED ARTICLE: Author Profile: Fred Sturm

A star on the UCLA national championship men's volley-ball teams of 1972-75-76, Fred Sturm went on to coach the outstanding men's and women's teams at Stanford for 12 years, winning more than 300 games and being voted Coach of the Year in 1989. He then went on to coach the U.S. Men's volleyball teams from 1991 to 1996 before taking over women's volleyball program at Boise State. He resigned in June after guiding the Broncos to a three-year mark of 19-64. Sturm's career record as a women's collegiate coach is 212-147-3.

"Components of a Successful Offense," is a lightly edited excerpt of one of the 24 articles--written by our top coaches-in the superlative new coaching text, "The Volleyball Coaching Bible." Copyright [C] 2002 by Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. Excerpted by permission of Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. Available in bookstores or, by calling 1-800-747-4457, or ordering online at www.HumanKinetics.com.