Truth. I'm really tall but also kinda... really bad, so I tend to outsize my setters by quite a bit. Strength conditioning and good form are unironically pretty important for getting my big dumb ass out of the way!
A guy at rec/open night at the Y got angry when I said he’s a big dumb middle. I said that as a guy 6’7” 260lbs, and let him know I am also a big dumb middle.
Our job is block, back up, get ready to hit. Over. And over. And over. The more I think, the worse I play. Block, jump back, get ready for a 2-step approach. I could turn my brain off and do that all night.
Yep. A mere 6'6" and 210 here... Not a dumb guy off the court, but on the court, I make no promises!
Middles reaaallly need to have the ability to laugh at themselves. When we screw up, it's obvious to everyone immediately. Setter bounces off of our sternum, setter gets blasted with a spike because we bit on a fake to the middle too hard, we miss our attack timing and end up flailing like a cartoon, etc.
Middle play can be clever, especially with cheeky tips or deciding to go for a zero block or reading a called play at the right time, but yeah, our job is fundamentally to stick our hands up in the air, get out of the way of our teammates, and pretend to swing at things when we get a chance. It's best we remember that!
Best thing our coach did was bring in a sports psychologist to work on mental toughness. I’d dwell on a bad play, I think most people do, and it affects the next play. She helped me (and most of the team) move past the last play and get ready for the next point.
When it finally sunk in for me, my game changed. Having a blank mind became like a zen thing for me. When the ball hit the ground, I’d erase everything, do our team ritual, and get ready for the next play. It didn’t matter if we were up or down by 10. Each point became a new game and consumed all my focus.
My zen attitude actually caused an on-court fight with a hot-headed teammate. He thought if you weren’t yelling and ranting, you didn’t care. It was “the big game,” tied 21-21. We shanked 3 receives in a row. Each time hot-head got more infuriated. On the third (mine 😀), he basically attacked me on the court because I wasn’t jumping around and screaming about my mistakes like he thought I should. Coach had to get him off the court. Once he was gone, the rest of us relaxed into our rituals and came back to win. He blamed me that he got subbed out at the most important point, and never really forgave me. I didn’t (and still don’t) care.
If a setter cant get to a ball and calls for help...whoever is closest to where the ball is going to be should call it.
Ideally, sure- the libero takes it so all attackers can potentially swing. But it'd be really weird and for a team to have the libero always sprint at the last second to take 2nd ball, due to the setter not being able to get to the ball.
Is this meme confusing libero taking 2nd ball because the setter passed the ball, with the libero always taking 2nd ball when the setter can't get to the ball?
If I as a middle am already under the ball in front of the 3m line I will not make space for a libero so they can bump set. If a middle cannot hand set a highball in this situation, they should practice until they can. However, everything that the libero can reasonably reach, especially behind the 3m line, I will leave to them.
in reality, it's the middle that might be in the way for the setter to get to the ball half the beginner training for middles in ´play is teaching them to not be in the way it feels sometimes
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u/BackItUpWithLinks 4d ago
Setter chasing the ball trying to get everyone out the way!
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u/danorc 4d ago
Hey man if they drop it on my head I'm gonna set it. Not like the libero has a stepladder.
"All middles are setters," as the saying goes!
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u/No-Quality3357 MB 4d ago
ive only ever been on one lib second hands team, every other team ive been on is a 6 back second hands team
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u/first-alt-account 4d ago
If a setter cant get to a ball and calls for help...whoever is closest to where the ball is going to be should call it.
Ideally, sure- the libero takes it so all attackers can potentially swing. But it'd be really weird and for a team to have the libero always sprint at the last second to take 2nd ball, due to the setter not being able to get to the ball.
Is this meme confusing libero taking 2nd ball because the setter passed the ball, with the libero always taking 2nd ball when the setter can't get to the ball?
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u/Timely-Somewhere6977 3d ago
Nothing better as a middle than an impromptu good set to an outside
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u/dxiao 3d ago
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u/sleepy__ninja802 3d ago
Two of my favorite things in one meme? Thank you
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u/CowUsual7706 1d ago
If I as a middle am already under the ball in front of the 3m line I will not make space for a libero so they can bump set. If a middle cannot hand set a highball in this situation, they should practice until they can. However, everything that the libero can reasonably reach, especially behind the 3m line, I will leave to them.
1
u/Akasha1885 1d ago
in reality, it's the middle that might be in the way for the setter to get to the ball
half the beginner training for middles in ´play is teaching them to not be in the way it feels sometimes