Okay, so I’ve realized, in the midst of writing up the Manù Benelli sessions, that I need this resource to point to.
So here are a few diagrams of what I’m talking about when I talk about zones.
Zones on the Court
The first is zones on the court. To be able to talk about where we want players positioned or the ball to be hit in relation to the court, we break it into 6 zones, starting at right back, where the server usually stands (this was even more obvious when servers were restricted to the right back corner to serve, back in the good old days). And then we go around the court opposite to the way we rotate. So position 2 is right front, then position 3 is middle front, 4 left front, 5 left back, and 6 middle back.
I have a short video showing off these zones and how it looks when we rotate here:
Zones Along the Net
Now, when we’re attacking, we typically talk about the net broken up into 9 zones, from left to right. Like so:
If you want to look at this in action, and how we name sets in the US, typically, you can check out this video I recorded here:
General Positioning
For positions, if you’re curious about what people mean by ‘setter’, ‘opposite’, ‘middle (blocker or hitter)’, I have a little explainer video here:
But here’s a quick glossary. These terms are how I typically use these players, but of course you might have to change what people do depending on the athletes in your gym.
Setter: They run the offense and are usually a leader on the court. They play defense often in right back and block in right front when they’re in the front row.
Outside hitter: They usually receive serve (along with the libero) and hit from the left side. In the back row they play defense in 6 (middle back).
Opposite: Plays opposite the setter, often hits from the right side, often plays defense in right back and hits from the back row.
Middles: You’ll hear them called middle blockers or middle hitters, they typically play in the middle front and will play defense in left back. But they’re often subbed out for the libero in the back row (after they serve, in Europe).
Libero: These players can sub in and out of the back row for any player, but more often than not it’s for one of the two middles. They typically play left back defense and are the leader on the court when it comes to receiving serve and playing defense.
Defensive Positioning
For a look at how your defense might position itself (this video is for a U16 girls’ team), have a look at this video:
This is a great post!