Getting an Extra Step (Important)

Reading plays supplies 'advantage'. 

CARE -> Concentration → Anticipation → Reaction → Execution 

Equivalent to: “See sooner → decide sooner → arrive sooner.” The reading progression is: Ball → passer → setter → hitter → contact → ball

The 'extra step' comes from the "Gretzky" approach, skating to where the puck is going to be. Read the server earlier, the pass, the setter, and the hitter. 

The goal for the video is to help you "get information early enough to act on."

Table created by ChatGPT Plus

Probability not Certainty

Imagine the opponent’s pass pulls the setter eight feet off the net. Immediately, several offensive options become less likely: the quick attack may disappear, combination tempo becomes difficult, and the outside or high-ball attack becomes more probable.

A bad serve-receive puts the setter in unfavorable position. Something wide makes both quick sets and setting across both less likely. More likely out of system and into free ball territory. 

Pass → setter → set → hitter.

The blocker shouldn't simply chase the ball. The pass predicts setter options; the setter narrows them via 'body lean' and tendencies; the hitter supplies the final information.

Reading creates apparent athleticism

This explains why some players seem “quicker” than their testing numbers suggest. In my opinion, Danni's early reading helped her defend short attacks at a "higher than expected" rate. 

A volleyball READ acronym

R - Recognize cues.
What information matters: pass, setter, hitter, block?

E - Eliminate possibilities.
What can no longer happen?

A - Anticipate probabilities.
Given the situation and tendencies, what is most likely?

D - Decide and move early.
Convert information into positional advantage.

As a player, you want to reduce the "what am I missing?" question to a more manageable number of possibilities.

Lagniappe. What happened last season is done. Move forward. 

Major cheat code for life: Stop dragging yesterday into today. The argument. The mistake. The missed chance. It’s already gone. Stop reliving it. Life happens in the direction you face.

— Blake Burge (@blakeaburge) July 19, 2026