He could also communicate with the team via hand signals. Remember that the objective is to remain somewhat discrete to prevent the opposing team from reading your plays.Īlso, let’s not also forget your coach. Players will from time to time communicate themselves their preferred set for an upcoming point via hand signals or vocally. I believe I’ve made it clear already that the setter is the player to communicate via hand signals, but he is not the only one who can. The beauty of using hand signals is that you can create and use any signals you want with your team as long as you understand each other. Because of that, making hand signals is a sneakier and preferred way of communicating a play with teammates. The obvious drawback is that, eventually, your opponents could catch on. This could be another way to signal your teammates for the next play. Then the setter could call out these words, like “Orange” or “Banana”, words that the team associated with a specific play. For example, a team could have pre-established that certain phrases would reference a specific offensive play. Sometimes, setters can communicate with teammates directly by using keywords. There are other ways to communicate a play, but using hand signals remains a mainstay. To do so, the setter will often hide the motions behind his jersey or along his leg (see image below). Other than communicating effectively with teammates, the objective of using hand signals is to hide the intended play from your opponent and the other side of the court. Hand signals have become among the preferred ways of communicating a play to the hitters. To do so, he will often use hand signals. As the default playmaker, the setter will try to communicate with his teammates. When your team is receiving a serve, it is expected that you run an offensive play that will allow your team to make the point.

In a game of volleyball, each point is important. Why Use Hand Signalsīefore we dive into the hand signals, let’s quickly review why setters use hand signals. Nonetheless, let’s explore further what the popular hand signals are and what they mean. Digging around for this article, I found many regional differences between hand signals, so fair warning, you might not be using the same ones with your team. These hand signals can take many forms and their meaning can also vary greatly depending on your area. Communicating this way allows the hitters to be aware of their role on the next point. A setter will share with his teammates what he has in mind for the next play via hand signals. The different offensive plays are often communicated via hand signals. In volleyball, the setter is the primary shot caller. Don’t worry, I’ll explore all these plays further in a moment. We are talking, quick, shoot, high ball, tempo, pipe, X, and more. These plays are then orchestrated and communicated by the setter to his available hitters. When that time comes, coaches will often introduce some offensive strategies in the playbook of their players. There comes a time in a volleyball player’s career when they need to step up their gameplay strategies.

Setter hand signals in volleyball