Posted by A few days ago I gratefully received in my Instagram feed one of those extremely helpful technical tips that proliferate on the platform. This one was on the topic of setting, with clips of two desirable actions. I won’t encourage you to provide clicks by linking it here (I also can’t find it 😜) but I can explain it. The first clip had the setter facing position 4 to set to position 4. In the second clip, the setter ‘faced’ position 2 to set to position 2. The first head scratcher is that we all (presumably?) learnt that the setter should ‘square’ to a consistent position regardless of the direction of the set. But then one has a quick glance at the caption. ‘Efficiency of movement is the goal’. Of course, now it makes perfect sense.
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IF your goal is efficiency of movement, then this technique is perfect. If however you have a different goal, for example create to uncertainty in the mind of the opposing middle blocker, this particular technique is a disaster, telegraphing as it does the setter’s intention long before ball contact. Defining the goal leads one in the direction of the required method and the clearer and more precise the goal, the more ‘obvious’ the method. Just like our goalkeeper who never stays in the middle of the goal (scoring target) because their goal (objective) is to not look stupid.
It turns out that this is a key point in technical and tactical understanding and development. What exactly is the goal? If your reception goal is ‘keep the ball alive’, the technique is different from ‘pass to a specific point’. If the defensive goal is ‘touch the most number of balls’, the position 6 defender stands in a completely different place than if the goal is ‘create excellent transition attacking opportunities’. If the goal is ‘to spike’, then the entire process of preparation, approach and attack is entirely different than if the goal is ‘to attack’. Here are examples of attacking situations in which ‘spiking’ is not the primary goal.
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The lesson is that if a coach is searching for the appropriate technique or tactic (or training method) to fit their situation, then spend time thinking about the goal. Really thinking about, in detail. Once the goal has been precisely defined it is remarkable how often there turns out to be be a single solution.
The goal defines the method.
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Read about the great Vyacheslav Platonov coaching book here.
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