When it comes to volleyball strategy, how you build your offense system is incredibly important. The rotation rule is a huge factor that shapes these systems.
- Rotation: In 6-on-6 volleyball, a team with the serve rotates their positions one step clockwise.
This rule is a defining feature of volleyball and is what creates its unique strategies and tactics. This article will explore offense systems, with a special focus on the perspective of youth development.
Understanding Offense Systems
The optimal offense system depends on the characteristics and abilities of the players. Let’s look at how we categorize these systems.
An offense system is often expressed as: “[Attacker Count] – [Setter Count]”
- Attacker Count (●): A number from 1 to 6, representing the number of players who can attack.
- Setter Count (◯): A number from 1 to 6, representing the number of players who act as setters.
Now, let’s look at some specific offense systems.
Offense Systems with Various Concepts
6-6 System: Fostering Long-Term Development
Everyone is an attacker. Everyone is a setter. This system, where every player has the opportunity to set, is almost never seen at the top professional level where positions are specialized. It’s also rare in youth categories where the pressure to win games in a short time is high.
However, from a development perspective, it’s a fantastic system, especially for the Golden Age (pre-golden age) of elementary school players who need a wide range of motor experiences.
Unfortunately, this system is rarely used in elementary school volleyball in Japan because of a special rule called the “free position system,” where rotation is not required. Since it’s more efficient to fix positions for short-term wins, few teams adopt this approach. However, there is an example of teams that did.
One good way to implement this system is to use a smaller court, like a badminton court, and play a 4-on-4 “4-4 system” mini-volleyball game. Even before that, playing 2-on-2 “2-2 system” mini-volleyball can help players naturally learn every skill within the game.
4-2 System: Developing Multiple Setters
Two players are setters, and they set from the three front-row positions. The other four players are attackers.
This system is not very common in any category, but it is often used in U16 national tournaments in the UK.
“In the UK, the U16 national level uses a ‘4-2’ system. A one-setter system is only introduced at U17. I’ve heard other countries use a similar system. The idea in the UK is that by using a two-setter system, more players get experience as a setter, which helps develop excellent setters. It’s worth considering for high school juniors as well.” – Why the 4-2 System Isn’t Used at the Top Level
Coaching & Playing Volleyball No. 101
From a development perspective, this system is similar to the 6-6 system. However, it is more focused on setter development. Since the setter is always in the front row, this system has the following characteristics:
- Court movement is simple during transitions because the setter is always in the front row.
- The setter can always perform a two-attack.
- There are always two attackers in the front row.
This system is viewed as a developmental system, particularly in other countries.
6-2 System: Developing Attacking Setters
Two players are setters, and they set from the three back-row positions. All players on the team can attack.
This system is effective when a team has multiple setters who are also strong attackers.
The main advantage is that you can always have three front-row attackers. The disadvantage is that the other players have to build chemistry with two different setters, which can take time (though from the opponent’s perspective, having to deal with two different setters’ tempo and style is a disadvantage for them).
From a setter development perspective, this system is very useful. In many countries and teams, the setter tends to be a shorter player. Using a 6-2 system could help develop tall setters who can also attack, which would be a huge weapon at the top level.
5-1 System: The Most Common Approach
This is a one-setter system where a single setter is responsible for setting in every rotation.
The 5-1 system is the most widely adopted in all categories. Its biggest advantage is that it makes it relatively easy to improve team cohesion and play accuracy compared to other systems. This can lead to a predictable offense, but many coaches may feel the risk is too high to use another system when they need to build a winning team quickly.
Choosing an Offense System Based on Developmental Stage
I’ve summarized each offense system. Thinking about their unique characteristics, it’s clear that the optimal system depends on the team’s developmental stage and the players’ characteristics.
And even if a system is “optimal” at one point in time, it’s a living thing that can become “suboptimal” over time. We must remember that a system is merely a framework for a team to function effectively.
We coaches might be choosing the conventional 5-1 system without fully considering our players’ characteristics and future potential. We must always maintain a long-term perspective on player development. We need to continuously ask ourselves where our coaching fits in the players’ developmental journey and what experiences are best for them at this stage.
Player Growth or Winning?
In my experience, when I was in sixth grade in primary school, our team started practicing rotations to prepare for junior high school. And in ninth grade, my team switched from a 5-1 to a 6-2 system to develop a second setter, which clearly lowered our team’s strength at the time.
I didn’t think much about offense systems back then, but now I realize my coach made a brave decision. They prioritized player growth and the players’ future over a short-term victory. Coaches are always faced with difficult decisions, and I often look back and wonder if a choice I made was the best one.
When it comes to choosing an offense system, I hope coaches can make a decision by considering all the possibilities for their players.
