Learn from Studying Game Tape

Volleyball is a thinking person's game. Players learn in different ways - attending lectures, reading, video, physical practice.

Dissecting game tape shows us strengths and weaknesses to apply to our 'human experience'. Watching our mistakes can threaten our ego. Watching others has "low stakes."

Here are a handful of teaching clips from the Winchester at Newton North playoff game. Both teams are exceptional and critiques are observation not criticism. 

Winchester draws first blood on a pipe attack (their star attacker has the red shoes). 

I watched this six times. Newton North creates uncertainty on the second attack. The first block slows the attack and the second catches the block unsure as they may have expected an outside attack instead of the quick attack. 

Watch the North outside hitter. She drifts back into attack initiation. She uses slightly smaller attack steps as the set is off the net, but she gets a high contact point which allows her to attack over the block. If you have less height, apply technique and plyometrics to improve contact point. 

North has an exceptional setter. Sometimes she sets on the floor and sometimes she jump sets. Will the jump set 'telegraph' a back set or a dump? 

A regular volleyball "theme" is finding answers. Early, Winchester attacks a lot from the middle. North pinches the pin hitters and attempts to triple block the middle. 

Read the hitters. Watch in normal playback and in slow-motion (e.g. setting playback to 0.5). The hitter does pull back her arms to launch "the archer" attack. That gives defenders a split second to read the tip...which isn't easy.