By Staff
Coaching Management, 9.9, December 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0909/bbrally.htm
After years of debate and experimentation, all college volleyball games were played under rally scoring rules this past season. In February 2001, the NAGWS, under whose rules the NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA play--as do high schools in New York and Massachusetts--adopted the new scoring format.
Just as they did in the discussions leading up to the rules change, coaches are expressing a wide spectrum of opinions on what the new scoring system is doing for the game. Overall, many coaches think the change has affected the spectators' perceptions of the game more than those of coaches or players. But there's little agreement on whether the effect has been positive or negative.
"I think it's terrific," says University of Arizona Head Coach David Rubio. "I feel that a point per rally has really made a difference in our game in respect to it being more fan friendly. I think it speeds up the game tremendously and ushers in a new era for volleyball."
"It's been good for the game and a positive for the fans," agrees Jerritt Elliott, the University of Texas' new Head Coach, who moved from the top job at USC. "It makes the game a little bit more exciting and keeps people who are supporting the game on their toes."
Long Beach State Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro is in the opposite camp. "I think we've hurt the game," he says. "It takes away the most attractive element to the game, the change of momentum. People want to go to things that excite them, and when you eliminate a crucial element to the game, I don't think it's going to inspire new fans coming into the sport."
Others haven't reached a verdict yet. "My personal opinion on rally scoring so far is that I don't have enough information," says John Dunning, who took over the Head Coach position at Stanford University this year after 16 successful seasons at the University of the Pacific. "I have lots of experience with side-out scoring in terms of understanding the game, and almost none in 30-point rally scoring."
But some changes are becoming apparent. "The players have to be more intense from the very first serve," Rubio says. "Every touch counts now, and you better take care of the ball every possession and be able to execute. There's a lot more pressure because there's so much more meaning for every contact."
"Teams at this level now have to play a game of possessions," Elliott says. "It comes down to how well players can concentrate and how long they can stay in the game and take care of possessions every time the ball's in play."
Elliott adds that this has carried over to the way he trains his athletes. "In the gym, there's a high degree of training players to play smart, to make good decisions," he says. "In the past maybe you could take your chances to score points--when you were serving there were some things you could try to do--but now I'm using some different training methods to put a premium on the passing and serving game.
"I'm also noticing that our most physical teams are now serving a little tougher," Elliott continues. "It's not just about keeping the ball in play."
These nuances of the rally-scored game point out a potential difference in the way coaches come to the game, even before the season starts. "It changes the way you recruit," Rubio says. "Your team has to be so much better from a skills standpoint, so you'd better recruit some skills players--players who can really handle the ball well."
Gimmillaro, however, hasn't seen much change in play and preparation. "As coaches, we do the same things we've always done," he says. "And players, they just play the game."
Dunning is undecided. "Until I get a feel for how it's going to change the game, it's hard to change the way I coach it," he says. "It's going to be a process to find out what those subtle differences are, and how the pressure has affected the psychological game or the importance of one skill over another. And we may find that, in fact, it's going to end up being the same game. We just don't know yet."