Tag: Setting

Pre-Match Warm-up For Setters
Here’s baby me 🙂

Now I haven’t played volleyball in a long time, so don’t judge, but from my experience, I know a thing or two about warming a setter up before a volleyball game. I set the entire time I played volleyball so I hope I know a thing or two about warming a setter up! Here’s what I’ve got:
- Before warm-ups, get your setter or setters on the wall. When I say this, I mean: have them warm up their hands with quick sets and a variety of other exercises on a wall to get warm and loose. Stretching beforehand is good too. I remember that my coaches never let me get on the court unless my wall warm-ups were done. I also know that this definitely helped me feel relaxed and set much better when I actually played. My post on workouts and warm-ups for setters may be helpful.
- Once your setter or setters are off the wall, have them work with each other for a little. Have them set back and forth for a couple of minutes. If you only have one setter, have them work with one of the coaches. Work on footwork and getting a rhythm.
- After this, their individual warm-up is done and it’s time to join the team. You can warm up your setters with the team as you like. I preferred warming up with someone passing to me and then I set to my outside, middle, or right side. We would work on various hits during this time and this situation felt the most like a game would.
And that’s really it for how to warm up a setter, at least from my experience. I tended to start so it was important that I was warmed up and I know that even for our backup setters, getting loose and warm was important in case we needed to change something. During a match, there are a couple of important things to keep in mind for your setters too.
- Keep their hands warm. I actually wore gloves in colder facilities so that if I rotated out during a 6-2, my hands wouldn’t get stiff.
- Keep your setters hydrated. We do a lot of work out there so it’s important to make sure that your setter is feeling good so they can keep up the good work.
- During timeouts, pull your setter aside and talk with them individually. The setter is the playmaker and if there’s something you see as a coach, that needs to be addressed with them one on one. I always found this the most beneficial because I felt more focused.
So here’s what I’ve got to say about warming a setter up! Good luck to all you setters and volleyball coaches out. Have fun out there!
September 30, 2018
All About Setters…

Some of you that have followed my website for a while will probably notice that this used to be its own page. I decided to take that down and turn it into a blog post. For you volleyball geeks out there, here’s some information on setters. When I played volleyball, I was a setter, and I had the honor of working with some really high-level coaches. Here’s a little wisdom on setting…

A setter has many characteristics. They have to be leaders, accurate, positive, deceptive, creative, vocal, and so on. One way to gain an appreciation for the many characteristics setters have is to evaluate pictures that illustrate these traits.

My sister, Allyson, and I evaluated pictures that my father had taken at PAC 12 games and various volleyball coaching clinics. Based on our knowledge from Trisha Kroll and Jenn Pritchard, we added captions that describe what volleyball setters should do.

Setting Lessons in Pictures Tricky

This first presentation is about how tricky setters need to be. It features Nicole Edelman from Colorado University and Lauren Plum from Oregon University.

Setting Lessons in Pictures Consistent

This presentation is about setters and their consistency of sets and technique. Once again, Nicole Edelman and Lauren Plum are featured.

Setting Lessons is Pictures Hits and Misses

This is a mix of shots and points both good and bad. Nicole Edelman from CU and Lauren Plum from Oregon are the stars.

Setting Lessons in Pictures Out of System Passes

Setters have to be able to set the pass no matter where it is. Nicole Edelman and Lauren Plum show us how it’s done.

March 4, 2018
A Setter’s Warm-Up/Workout

Volleyball setters usually touch the volleyball every time it’s on their side of the net. So this means that a setter has to work especially hard and they should look and feel ready to go, right? Here are a few ways your setters can feel warmed up before they play and get in some good reps while they do it. These exercises don’t require a court; all you need is a wall, some space, and maybe even a partner.

– 300+ mini sets on the wall. Make sure your setter’s arms are slightly bent and all of the work is in the wrists as the ball comes on and off the wall. Their right leg should be slightly in front of their left leg and their knees should be bent about a 165 degree angle. When doing this, setters should discipline good hands and stop after every ten to check on their hands. My sister and I try to get over 900 mini sets on the wall so do challenge yourself but don’t overdo it.

-100+ one-handed sets on the wall. These are similar to the mini sets above but you do them one-handed. If your setter’s arms are stronger, they can extend their arm fully but still bend their elbow slightly. If they are working on strength and wrist control a little more, then they should bend the setting arm at about an 80 degree angle and hold on to it with the other arm while focusing on using their wrist.

Working on right-hand one-handed sets.

– 6 circles to the right and left (12 total). Circles are similar to the first exercise but for this the setters are turning in a circle while still setting the ball on the wall. Have the setters turn to the right six times and then to the left six times. This one might be kind of tough when your setters start doing it but just watch and make sure they are adjusting to the different angles as they turn.

Getting to the back set part of a circle.

The first and last exercises can also be used with jump setting if your setters are working on jump setting. They go through the same steps if they were on the ground they just time it a little differently and jump to set instead.

– 50 rockers. For these sets, setters should move off of the wall but still set at the wall. These sets work mostly on their weight transfer from their left foot to their right foot so it’s okay of the set isn’t high or at a certain height for this exercise. The setter will toss the ball to themselves and then set at the wall exaggerating the weight transfer. The ball should come back and then the setter will continue this until they get 50.

Finishing rocker set, weight transfer, and bringing arms back up quickly.

-25 bouncers. Bouncers are an exercise is which the setter tosses the ball to themselves, sets at the wall with some power, lets it bounce in front of them, and then gets under the ball to set it back at the wall and repeat the process. This is a good exercise to work on footwork and getting low to set with the hands instead of bump-setting it.

-10 hot dog rolls. Hot dog rolls are a lot of fun. Your setter will lie down on the ground about a ball’s length away from the wall and start setting on the wall while on their stomach. They can then roll onto their side (right or left) and then eventually onto their back and the other side while still setting the ball to the wall.

So these are a few exercises that you can have your setters do to get some more reps in and come ready to work at a practice or game. Make sure to encourage your setters and challenge them. And also, practice makes perfect but it also makes permanent, so check on them to make sure proper technique is being used. Have fun and go setters! 🙂

October 19, 2014