Ego Like an Iceberg

All those setter’s out there who feel unappreciated in their role, let’s talk. Moms and Dads feel free to sit in so that you can see what is going on inside your setter’s head.

It sucks to go out and make incredible plays only to have the hitter get all the glory. Liberos even get more glory then setters do because they pick up some incredibly difficult balls. I’m not about to say that they aren’t important, it’s just really hard to only hear everything your doing wrong. You are expected to make these incredible sets and you don’t get praise when you do that. I read an article the other week that said that if you had to put a bad player somewhere, make them the setter. I might have complained rather loudly to my boyfriend for a good hour about how wrong that writer was.

So here’s a bit of advice; you have to have intrinsic motivation. You aren’t going to get the stats that everyone else loves to see. You aren’t going to get thirty kills a match. However, you are responsible for those thirty kills and you have to know that without being a complete brat about it.

When I was a Freshman in high school, I had a coach who had been a setter for a long time. He explained the mentality of a setter like this. When you walk on the court you have to know you are the best thing that has ever walked on that hardwood, you need to exude confidence. However, you can’t tell anyone that you know you’re better than the rest of them. You need to have an ego like an iceberg. You only show the tip of it to the rest of the world but you know just how deep it actually goes.

The other thing about icebergs is that the deeper you go, the greater the pressure. You can’t show that you’re under pressure though, the tip is the only thing that shows and that part has the least pressure on it. Hitters have a good range of error they can play with as do passers, 900 square feet if we’re getting technical. Setters need to put the ball within a space that’s at most 3 cubic feet, and that’s if we’re being generous. The speed also needs to vary depending on your hitter and you need to watch how the other team’s blockers are lined up in your peripheral vision. If a passer doesn’t make a perfect pass, the setter is still expected to make a good play out of it. You also have to remember how your hitters have been doing during the game and who the hot hitter is. Then remember to smile and praise your hitters, take the blame yourself to give them confidence. Add that to the typical pressure of the cheering fans and your coach’s expectations and everyone can understand how a setter can become an emotional wreck.

It takes time but once you get the mentality down and you focus on what you can control and knowing you are amazing at what you do, then you can start focusing on improving your technique and talking your hitters up. Setters are the glue in a team and if they are positive and relaxed then the rest of the team starts to pick up that attitude. You have to play smart above all else and let everything slide off of you.

So before each game, take some time to yourself and mentally prepare. Remind yourself that you are already an incredible player and the match you are about to play is going to be your best game to date regardless of the outcome. And above all, it’s just a game.