Volleyball Team Communication: What Backrow Players Should Tell Front Row Hitters

Volleyball team communication is important because it eliminates court confusion and reduces the amount of easy points the opposing team can score against you.

Volleyball Team Communication: What Backrow Players Tell Their Hitters (Matt Van Winkle)

I can't emphasize enough the importance of using your time in the back row effectively by providing your offensive players (hitters and blockers) valuable front row info that will help them to help you which helps your team in the long run.

In high school volleyball, do you know how many points teams lose because half of the squad doesn’t know what the other half is thinking or seeing?

Volleyball Team Communication: While you are in the back row, it’s your responsibility to give your blockers the information they need to stop her.

Whether you know it or not when your team doesn’t communicate with each other, you guys are in a situation where not only do you need to anticipate what the opposing squad is going to do, but now you need to guess what member’s of your team are going to do, as well.

Just how much more pressure do you want to put on yourselves?

I see so many teams play entire games where teammates never tell each other either

a) what they see the other team is doing or

b) what each other plans to do, so they lose easy points playing a guessing game since they don’t communicate with each other.

Volleyball team communication is important because it eliminates court confusion. (West Point Volleyball Team)

If you really want to be that "on court leader" that can consistently add points to your team’s stat sheet without even touching the volleyball, try this next suggestion.

Let’s say there’s a particularly effective front row hitter on the other team that your blockers can’t stop.

While you are in the back row, it’s your responsibility to give your blockers the information they need to stop her. You need to figure out how that spiker is being successful then communicate that information to your front row.

Are your blockers jumping too soon against a hitter with a slow armswing?

Then between plays you can tell them to "wait longer" and to time their block so they go up later.

After all, you are playing behind the block, and if your blockers go up, come down and then the spiker spikes, that means the block is too early.

You don’t always have to wait for your coach to call a timeout to communicate this information.

Volleyball Team Communication: Between plays if you're sure the problem is that your blockers are having, you can be the one to tell them. Pac 12 Washington Huskies in a timeout. (Beaver News)

Between plays if you are sure that this is the problem that your blockers are having, you can be the one to tell them (in their ear if need be) to wait on the block.

Here's another example.

Is the hitter beating your block cross court by hitting inside the middle blocker's internal hand?

Volleyball Team Communication: USC Alex Jupiter hits cross court against new Mexico (Neon Tommy)

Then tell the outside blockers (with the your coach's approval) or you can tell your coach that you think you are seeing that your middle blocker needs to take one more step towards the center of the court to take away more of the hitter’s angle.

I hope that you understand what to say on the volleyball court since you now know that simple communication before and during the play can add up to a lot of easy points for your team.

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I share alot of individual, partner and easy-to-do volleyball serving drills we do in class with my followers.

Many of these volleyball practice drills you can do at home by yourself or try at your next practice with your teammates.

If you're a B team or JV player trying to make varsity next year...your goal should be to complete 1000 reps a day of at least three of the basic skills on your own...volleyball passing, serving and setting should be at the top of the list. 

Volleyball Team Communication:
Where Do You Go From Here?

What do you need to do now? You have three options: 

1. Learn more about Volleyball Team Communication 
2. Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page  Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
3. Or visit the pages in the Volleyball Information in the drop down menu at the top of the page to get started. 

1. Improve Your Volleyball Performance with Private Volleyball Coach April Chapple
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2. Volleyball Plays Why A Setters Sets Vary In Speed, Height And Location
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3. Volleyball Team Communication: What Backrow Players Tell Their Hitters
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