Sitting Volleyball – Different in a good way!

By Matt Rogers

One of the most common words used by people when trying Sitting Volleyball for the first time is ‘different’, and to be honest it is.  Some people like things that are different, and some don’t.  But is there any other sport where you slide and roll around on your bum, on the floor?

When you look at the characteristics of sports, you would probably define Sitting Volleyball is a team, net game similar to [standing] Volleyball.  However, with the court being considerably smaller and the net quite a bit lower, the speed of the game is far quicker than it’s Olympic equivalent (…and there are not many Paralympic Sports that can boast that).

Quick reactions and a strong team synergy are key to achieving any kind of success, even just a single rally success.  Then you just need to win another 74 (before the opposition does) and you’ve probably won the game.  Note the word probably. Sitting Volleyball and Volleyball are unique as it is possible to win more points that the opposition and still lose the match!  The ‘set by set’ concept (first four to 25 points and a fifth 15) is great for keeping the game interesting and as a spectator there is nothing better than to see a team battle back from 0-2 down to win 3-2.

With this scoring system obviously every point matters, but when two teams are close in playing level it is the team who wins the important points that usually wins.  So how do your players serve when it is 24-24?  In theory it should be the same as when it is 0-0 but that is never really the case…

As teams develop in the sport they tend to go through the following phases, although clearly all starting at different points and at progressing at different speeds:

Here we look at Abraham Maslow’s Model of learning and see how it can apply to Sitting Volleyball players development and team evolution.

Unconscious Incompetence

Here, players and teams simply don’t know or understand what they need to do in any game related situation.  Players will try to find the quickest way to win a point (like return the ball straight back) and when it brings some success they will not recognise their own ‘incompetence’, and the long term need and value of playing the game with 3 touches.

Performing any given skill in a closed situation off a controlled fed ball into their ‘contact zone’ will be easy, but as soon as they are required to move or there are additional factors the success rate will fall drastically.  At this stage teams will often be unable to compete within rally’s and players will often look confused or even ‘lost’ on court.

Conscious Incompetence

In this phase players will start to buy into the long-term plan of 3 touches but need to recognise that they needed to do things differently to get better.  Each individual may not necessarily understand or know what they need to do, but they should recognize the deficit in their current ability.

Players and teams need to understand that their mistakes are integral to the learning process at this stage.  It is important to develop a culture within your team that enforces, ‘mistakes are ok, but you need to learn from them, not regret them’.

You will also find that when players are in similar situations on the court that they will continue to make the same mistakes.  This is often due to their different interpretations and reading of the same situation.

Results at this time should contain some notable achievements against the lower level teams, although maybe not set of match victories.  You should visually see your team start to compete in rally’s, yet very rarely winning points against better teams.

In these situations, it is important to promote the benefit of an aggressive error, and the weaknesses that are portrayed to the opposition of mental or concentration errors.

Conscious Competence

Eventually the team and players will comprehend and understand what they were attempting to do in most match play situations.  However complete concentration is required when attempting to do it.  Here the rally length when playing the higher level teams should increase yet on the whole the actual results won’t.

In Volleyball there are two very different ways to lose a point.  1 – you can serve the ball into the net, or 2 – you rally with the opposition with both teams attacking and defending well and then eventually the quality tells and they spike to win the point.  However, on the scoreboard and in the results book both these situations look the same, a single point to the opposition.

Unconscious Competence

This is when what the players and teams do in competition, becomes “second nature”.  Great Britain Head Coach, Ian Legrand said he knew they were entering this phase when the

opposition started playing their best 6 players from the start, as no longer could they just go ‘through the motions’ to win.  Players will begin to be able to cope with additional information, such as serving targets or defensive systems specific to different situations.

A substantial amount of time and commitment is required to move a player or team through these phases.

It takes time for the brain to send the right messages to enable movement around the court.  It takes time to judge the ball flight to even get into the right position to play the ball, let along perform the skill effectively.

Much more needs to happen simultaneously than just moving, such as; communication, reading of oppositions movement, understanding between team mates, ball flight judgment, decision making, and skill application.

Final thoughts…

Ironically it is usually coaches that need to be reminded that Sitting Volleyball is so ‘different’.  So often do you see coaches standing to feed balls in to drills/activities from positions around the court from which they will never receive a ball, and obviously from heights that an opposing sitting player will never be able to match.

So as a coach sit down and work with them, at their level if you want to get the best out of them.  If you have never tried to move around the court yourself, how can you coach it?  The problems faced by players in Sitting Volleyball are different to that of any other sport, so face them first and then help them find the solutions.  Don’t just guess at the answers or use those that have worked in other [standing] sports.