Mental Work and Communication Responsibilities During Team Defense

By: Professor Iradge Ahrabi-Fard

Originally Published in: Coaching Volleyball Magazine

Most athletic performances are the result of interaction of physical action based on mental directive and influence. Some sports require greater emphasis on physical aspects of performance, whereas others rely more on mental aspects for optimal outcome. Volleyball is a sport requiring equivalent contribution from both the physical and mental performance. In fact without proper mental feat technical performance is wasted.

The skill performance is the product of technical execution enhanced by physical conditioning. Mental processing is also composed of knowledge-based (e.g., reading and response) and emotion-based (e.g., anxiety, excitability, mood swing etc.) factors. Actual game performance is the result of technical expertise performed within the conditioning capability, activated by mental stimulation from the knowledge about the game influenced by emotional response. Emotional responses either facilitate or debilitate all other aspects of game performance. Optimal mental performance can be achieved with the internal knowledge-based mental capability controlling the emotional response. Optimal reaction-based technical performances in volleyball require a training program consist of developmental drills that contain mental work training content.

Team defense is a reactive effort of volleyball players to offensive attempts of the opponent. Every successful defensive effort requires three necessary elements:

1. Method of recognizing the intricacies of the opponent's offensive effort.
2. Implementing a designed and practiced defensive plan for every offensive option.
3. Technically correct and conditionally efficient team coordinated effort.

Much of the coaching efforts in planning and implementing team defense are spent on items number 2 and 3. The most important element of defense to mesmerize a trained observation of opponent's offensive intention is often ignored or at best not strongly emphasized. Trained observation of opponent's offensive intention and the method of sharing relevant information is a strategy necessary to proper and accurate defensive reaction of team members for collective efforts. Every team member observes every planned offensive move. Their interpretation of coming to the same conclusion for coordinated team defensive efforts is horrendous task with often imprecise result. Identifying the most suitable position for the most effective observation and a method of sharing information with others requires responsibility design, training content and practice opportunity to develop experienced defensive conscious team.

Even though all team members are observing the offense, best defensive effort is to assign specific player observing specific intricacies and reporting it to the rest for coordinated defensive effort. Front row are closest players to action and can be given specific responsibilities for the recognition of opponent's intention and exposing them to the entire team. Assigned responsibilities to front row players is recognition of certain intention with prompt report of their acquired information to the team. Since a sophisticated offense uses the entire length of the net with all front row and several back row players as attackers, it is necessary for the defensive team to use all front row players who are close to action with specific assigned individual responsibilities to observe certain behavior and report them clearly. The following recommendations are the author's suggestion as a model that can be attuned to suit teams' differences.

• The middle player who should be involved in defending the crossing of the ball from the entire length the net, should verbally identify all three front row players who can attack including the setter.
• The left front defender, whose base position is closer to, the area that all the opponent's passes are intended to be directed to (the setting box), is responsible to observe the quality of first passes and communicate "in" for good pass resulting in an in system attack, "off" for passes resulting in out of system attack, and "over" for passes that cross the net. This player also stays alert for the close to the net ball attending the setter's second ball dump. Some coaches including the author do not require the good pass be reported. This is for the sake of not cluttering the verbalization process with too many unnecessary calls for an obvious fact that can be observed by everyone.Coaches have an emphasis for reading the behavior of the setter who receives a good pass. The uninterrupted attention should only be reverted from observation of setter when an unplanned performance happens on the other side of the net such as overpass or passes resulting in out of system attack.
• During the pass process the middle player alerts the two side blockers about the intention of the opponent's middle attacker by observing his/her approach. Middle attackers usually move during the flight of the pass. If the middle is coming to the setter middle defender calls "quick" to alert the left side for possible assist block and back row alertness of possible quick attack. If the opposition's middle goes for 31 the call is 31 to alert the right side blocker for possible block assist. If the middle is going for slide he/she repeat calling "D" "D" for zone behind the setter and defensive alertness of block and defense for this type of attack. The calls can be replaced by coaches according to their own court language.
• When setter is in back, opposition's middle is attempting a slide and their right side attacker adjusting to the middle area left front who is given this responsibility calls "X" alerting the middle and other defenders about their involvement in possible deceptive X offense.
• Right side blocker who encounters many high sets reports the quality of the set, mostly to the back row defensive players. If set is close to the net the call is "tight" to encourage the back row to come closer and attend dinks, wipe offs or garbage from the block. If the set is outside the court, the call is "outside" for back row to vacate the dead area of the court and move more inside within the adjustment team plan for their defensive effort. If the set is deep from the net or for back row player the call is "deep" for blockers to time later jump and back row players assume a deeper defending positions.
• Side players should not feel obliged to call all the sets also. Players could observe and defend on their own when front row players remain silent. It is not necessary to attract attention to a call when performance on the other side of the net is normal and nothing out of the ordinary is happening. Developing alert front row players for anticipated defense is helpful if they only attend the specific offensive plans or forced offense and effectively communicate them to the team.
• The verbalization sequence of this process are:
• The middle front reporting the front row order,
• The left front reporting pass quality,
• The middle front reporting middle offense intention,
• The left and right front calling for X attacks,
• The and left and right from reporting the quality of set.

Mental alertness of front row players during team defense and team reaction to their communicated information is an advance skill that has to be developed with plenty of opportunities to practice in order to acquire team coordination and efficiency. Coaches should find this phase of team defense important, develop content and plan of action that matches their level of competition and cultivate team cleverness for coordinated defensive efforts. There are players who are quiet throughout the rallies. This type of responsibilities encourages and empowers them to be more visible during the rallies and become more of an extravert player.

About the Author...

Iradge Ahrabi-Fard coached 19 years at the University of Northern Iowa and helped the Panthers make a successful transition from NCAA Division II competition to Division I. During his tenure at UNI, he compiled a 503-142 (.780) record and recorded at least 20 victories in 17 of 19 years. After guiding the Panthers to a 31-1 record in 1999 and a berth in the NCAA Division I Tournament Sweet 16, he was named the AVCA National Coach of the Year and received the inaugural AVCA Excellence in Education Award. Ahrabi-Fard was voted the AVCA District Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1999 and was the conference coach of the year six times, twice for the Gateway Conference and four-times in the Missouri Valley Conference. In 1997, he took a leave of absence to serve as a consultant for USA Volleyball and the development of its teams.