Installment the third--game play.
As an adjunct to LJs post, adding my own 2 cents. I don't do as many "Chief on 2" as I used to, mainly because the pool has gotten taller. I'm not exactly a stupid player and don't think I can hit into the big fellas. Sets off the net provides a slightly different story, but I concede I'm not going to get a lot of those.
Often I've transitioned into dinks over the net, often because that's all I can do with the ball, or all I "feel" I can do with the ball (more on that later), which means 1 set 2 too tight on the net. Also some learning from Dan, giving credit where credit is do--fake set can freeze a whole team. But that's rare compared to the no option and over. I'm getting pretty good at that tip shot, which means I've had too much practice!
And a lotta times then that happens, I get, "Why didn't you set?" Let's look at the game film and show me where I was supposed to go! I get 1 inch passes, shit that's way off and I'm diving for, etc. Maybe I'm missing the Jim Back ironic humor here.
In comparison, watching a ball fall between two hitters, or where they decide it was a little to close to the net to go up against another big fella makes point guards laugh, don't you think, LJ?
I've had a problem for years with the way plays are called up there in a big ass pool based on the ideal rather than the real. Stared with Fish: "2 to Chief!" Thank you, but not always--for example, if I'm front left/right, and a deep ball serve goes all the way to the back of the pool opposite, there are people who will actually try to field that by passing to me! Allow me to suggest a caveat, "or put the ball on 2 in the air as best you can to the next available passer."
I've asked the question before of what made Argosy good? Adaptation, and teamwork. Some of that is missing these days methinks.
We had a particular series where I was doing what I was supposed to, passing to the hitters, 3 times in a row on some rallies, and LJ is telling me, "just take it over, between front and server, it's open." When I finally did, correctly, the 8 point beating stopped.
Hitters hit. Setters set. But some rules can be bent, others can be broken. And, if the right plays aren't working, try something different. For goodness sake, late in the day on Sunday, Gabber, who rejoined the game after way too long of an absence, got a set, and popped one over--birdbath!
Personally, I don't have a good idea about why Ford can't get a set when he's matched up against me. But I do enjoy that running joke, which I hope continues for my entire career! I have one idea though--it means I have a server on my team who knows something about match ups and where to serve, to make sure mismatches can't be exploited.
But I digress, we're talking about hitters and point guards here. It's supposed to be a big difference in ego, like Maverick and Goose. All about the pilots, man.
And like fighter pilots, or NFL wide receivers, they want the ball on every play. That's understandable, because it goes with the mentality of the job.
Problem is, when Goose tells you you don't have the shot, or shouldn't keep hammering, they are often apt to do it anyway, rather than adapt their tactics.
They always want the ball, and have a sad when another hitter gets it. Where's MY hit? I had a matchup! Not that they always understand that me and LJ ask these questions on occasion--we fly in the back seat.
I've been developing a give and go with Jarrod, that he wasn't able to do until recently. In the last couple of weeks, he's nailing it. Point scored, and what do I get from Taz, "Oh, I see who he likes to play with." Or, "Why don't you pretend I'm Mikey and set me?" We scored a point, right? Does it really matter who did it? More importantly, more hitters from a PG perspective who can hit from more places = more options and better game.
We triple covered Javie in one game. That can't be fun!
LJ spends more time on prima donna butthurt than I do. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYymFWsBxk0
Percentages are part of the game, hitters. I'll leave it to sports statistics guys like the Sheriff to tell me whether a volleyball hitter needs to have a better percentage than a baseball hitter. I would think yes, since, if the point guard does his job right, you're not trying to hit a fastball, but a softball pitch.
Hope the hitters are still reading, because I depart from LJ on this part. I do get sets, and good ones, from Mikey, Dub, Jess. Don't recall getting one from LJ recently, although I do try to set him(!). They do not criticize my hits--I tend to do that myself(!), and they apologize if they don't set me within my strike zone.
I also don't mind criticism. Give and go is not an easy pass to make, and I have had to take instruction in how to do it. Not a problem.
The ultimate difference between a setter and a hitter is this--at the end of the day, I always ask, provided I haven't already been told, "how were my sets?" Hitters don't seem to ask that question. And get mad if it comes up.
So I don't bring it up. But there is this--and it's only something I can do instinctually, vs. with ups and vision--if you can see the court, aim, and hit off the block by intention, can't you also realize when a set is not where you want it to be and therefore transition the hit, or take a bit off of it rather than blast if the last couple good passes you blasted were off?
I cannot answer that question, because I'm not a hitter : ) Never mind, don't ask the question--just blast effectively.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwBbrngafl0