Court positions and their importance during the match – Volleyball Guidelines
Volleyball is a relatively simple team sport that is fun if it’s played either formally or informally. The rules that are involved are easy to understand and there is not a lot of preparation that is required to play the game. All that is needed is a net and a ball along with six players on each side of the court. If the aim of the game is to have a bit of fun, than there is no need to follow the six player condition. However, in regular volleyball, each of the six court positions are essential for an effective attack as well as defence.
One anonymous writer explained volleyball in the following terms: “Give it your all on the sprawl, Drop a pancake and keep it clean, Find the target, put ‘em on the hook then dish it up, flare and catch some air, Check the set, bring some heat and watch them bail!” In this article, we will highlight each of these positions and explain the strategic importance of each one of them.
The first court position is called the Right Back. The Right Back position becomes important if the game being played involves rotation. Rotation is when ever player on the team has to change positions after each serve change. The Right Back is present on the back row and to the right of the court. When the rotation is done, the player coming to the Right Back position on the court is the one responsible for making the next serve for his team. The position of the Right Back is not an offensive position and is integral to the defense of a team. More often than not, the person who is the Setter for a team starts the game positioned at Right Back. The advantage of this strategy is that the front row will be dedicated to all the three hitters.
Next comes the Middle Back position. As explained by the term, the player is positioned at the back row and in the middle of the court. This position is an important defensive position and is taken up by the Libero after the ball is served. However, if a team chooses a more competitive strategy, the Middle Back position is taken up by the Outside Hitter or the Rightside Hitter while the Libero moves on to the Left Back position. These changes are of course made after the ball is served.
This brings us to the Left Back position. The player is situated on the left side of the court. As explained above, this position is ideal for the Libero if a team adopts an offensive strategy. In some cases, the Left Back position is also taken up by the Middle Blocker. This ends the back row positions and now we move on to the front row positions. The Left Front position is an attacking position towards the left of the court. This place is usually taken up by the Outside Hitter. As the Outside Hitter is the main attacker on a team, the Left Front position is the one from where one can expect a lot of offensive activity.
We are now left with the Middle Front and the Right Front positions. In any type of rotation, the Middle Hitter is placed at the Middle Front position whereas the Right side Hitter plays in the Right Front position.
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