Most of us coaches do prefer a certain defense, especially with younger kids. I am one of them. Even the majority of college coaches will rely on one particular defense, with certain adjustments from year to year. Sure, some coaches who do not follow this pattern; however, I have never worked with anyone who changed defenses every year.
Regardless of what defense you choose, there are some basic principles that you must follow.
- SCREENING: NEVER have defenders screening each other. You should spread out your Diggers AND let them know in advance, who has the seam. . In other words, at the moment of the opponent’s hit, the only thing between a digger and the ball should/may be the blockers’ hands. This “no screening” goes for serve receive also
- HOW DEEP DO DIGGERS PLAY: If a ball is hit at a digger’s forehead, she should be in a position where it is IN! If she has to reach up, stretch, or jump to make the dig, it should be (a) out or (b) someone else’s. This rule also applies to serve receivers.
- THE SHADOW: If your blockers are tall enough to create a "shadow," then your diggers should never be standing there at the moment of the opponent’s hit. Near the end of a 5-game match that was on TV, a replay showed a setter who was about 6 feet directly behind her 6’ and 6’2” double block. What is she doing there? Is her team that slow that if a ball is tipped/rolled over that huge block, no one could get it? No way. She was in the wrong defensive position. If the opponent tips a ball in the shadow, then the coach should have previously designated who is responsible and it should come up most of the time! The taller the blockers, the more we expect shadow shots to come up.
Again, I am not a person who changes defenses every year. In fact, I think it takes weeks and maybe even months for a team to properly play the coach's defense.............the younger the players or the more inexperienced the players, the longer it takes. Your high school coach probably realizes this and wants the girls to be as competent as possible in one certain defense when they are done with their middle school years.
Furthermore, even learning “the program’s” defense does not guarantee an easy transition to the next coach. For example, I just had six girls on my club team whose school coach played the same "U" that I do...well, kind of! We were in our 3rd tournament last winter before I thought the girls were playing the defense the “Coach Houser way”. Now the six girls are with their school coach again, and she has joked with me about how the players have to make a few adjustments back to HER way! Ha-ha. No problem. After a few days, they will be fine.
As for other defenses:
- I used the "6-up" defense when I first started coaching. However, balls fell; the girls were screening each other, etc. I personally think it is an inferior defense. When I coach against teams that play that defense, we will get a few easy points every game.
- On the other hand, I have seen state & regional champions that do not use the “U,” or the “6-up,” or anything I can even recognize. My teams have even lost to teams where no back row player had predetermined short or deep responsibilities…...three girls just played back row like cats, reacting to whatever they saw & felt! The reason any defense can be successful. Much of what happens on the court depends on the girls who are on court……….and there are some athletes who can just play whatever the coach designs…….and beat other teams with it!
- I've also had to make a few adjustments when my teams played against a brutal attacking setter, when the other team was hitting quicks like demons, when the other team did nothing but tip/throw/roll, when the other team has their best hitter on their right, etc.
- There are some serious adjustments necessary when I am coaching a high school team that has no one taller than 5'6" or maybe one tall girl and the rest are members of the “M” gang. Gosh, the game becomes harder to play when your blockers create no shadow! The court is just too big for four or five diggers to cover it all! (The “M” gang? This gang was created by the campers at the Rockbridge Co. Camp this past summer. Ha-ha. It stands for midgets!)
However, regardless of the defense you play, at the moment the opponents spike that ball, then you must depend on your diggers to do two things:
- DIG what is in their "zone," and;
- REACT to the tips & off-speed shots that are landing in their "zone.”
If you want handouts for the "U" defense, I can mail them to you.
