Fostering Player Creativity

Irina Parkhomchuk was an All-World setter who led Russia to an Olympic Gold medal. Along with being a great setter, she was also a great defender. Her coach, Nikolay Karpol, created a defensive system to maximize her setting and defensive abilities. Instead of the traditional defensive system, with the setter defending in the right-back position, Karpol had Parkhomchuk play defense in center back. She was tasked with reading the block and adjusting her court position accordingly. She would release up behind the block if the block closed to defend the off-speed shot. If a seam (hole) were in the block, she would stay deep on the court to defend in the center back area, then release to set as needed. Karpol creatively designed a defense that took advantage of Parkhomchuk’s abilities and resulted in a gold medal.

In the 2012 Olympics, head coach Vladimir Alekno found his Russian men’s team down 0-2 to Brazil in the Gold Medal match. In need of point-scoring, he switched his middle blocker, Dmitriy Muserskiy, to the right side to provide additional offense. Muserskiy responded with 31 kills and led his Russian team to a gold medal in one of the greatest comebacks in Olympic history. Had Alekno not made this positional switch, the odds of a comeback were slim.

Back home, USA coach Doug Beal developed an offensive system incorporating a two-person serve-receive pattern in all six rotations. This system took advantage of the unique reception abilities of Karch Kiraly and Aldis Berzins while opening the court for Steve Timmons to attack from the backrow.

These coaches exemplify how to creatively take advantage of the available talent and develop a system (Karpol, Beal) or respond to a match situation (Alenko) that allows for success. As I look at the collegiate and club playing styles on the women’s side, most teams, regardless of age or abilities, run the same offense and defense. The hitters run the same routes; teams receive serve with three passers, lineups are the same with middles coming out in the backrow, non-passing opposite, and the defensive systems are, more or less, identical. What is fostering the lack of offensive, defensive, or tactical creativity? Does this lack of system creativity lead to a lack of player creativity?

Here are a few possible considerations for the lack of creativity at the various levels of play.

• Fear of Failure: At every level, from 14’s club teams through college, the emphasis on winning over skill development is enormous. Coaches become risk-averse to new concepts. The risk of criticism from fans or temporary negative results outweighs experimenting or implementing new concepts.
• Coaching Routine and Habit: Do we, as coaches, inhibit our creativity by mindlessly doing the same thing annually? We run the same drills, operate in the same manner, etc.
• Locked into One Approach: Coaches will focus on defending their philosophy of practice or play, and their biases keep them from considering new ideas.
• Lack of Training Time: When practice time is limited, we don’t want to spend time in practice pursuing items that may not work.
• Groupthink: Coaches will open themselves to criticism when they depart from accepted manners of practice and match administration.
• Reliance on Statistics: I love statistics, but they can often stifle creativity. We depend on what is working without considering alternatives.
• Desire for Immediate Results: If a new tactic or technique does not immediately benefit players and coaches, they will revert to tried and true methods.
• Lack of All-Around Skill Development: We put players into positional boxes early in their careers and restrict their all-around skill development. It is challenging to be creative when all-around skills are lacking. How did Muserskiy make the in-game transition from middle hitter to outside hitter? Obviously, he put in the time to develop hitting skills from both positions during his training. 

Creative Players in Action

One can look at the above video and be skeptical if these are just exceptional plays by exceptional players. That’s partly true. However, the common factor with all the players is that they possess the skill to make these plays. Before a player can receive a serve and run a quick set like Ngapeth, there is the ability to have good reception and spiking mechanics. Before Carlini could make a great set while going to the floor, she had developed the floor skills that would expand her range on defense or, in this case, setting. Before the Italian libero executes a bump set to their quick hitter, forearm ball control has been developed.

Things Worth Considering

• Put your athletes into situations that are challenging for them to manage and allow them to figure out how to succeed. For example, when working with your setter, toss low balls or balls tight to the net or out of the system and have them create a way to facilitate an attack. One of my great setters at Ohio State was All-American Marisa Main Versen. Not only was she a great setter, we depended on her to supply offense. A drill we used frequently was to team her with one attacker and a libero. A ball was entered to the libero, and the goal was for the setter and the one-hitter to find a way to score against a team defense. Marisa became adept at attacking various court areas with velocity.
• Encourage the athletes to take risks. I love it when setters try a crazy setting choice. It usually won’t work, and sometimes, the reins need to be pulled in, but don’t we all want setters who are creative with their choices and the offense they run? This creativity will lead to a less predictable offense that may be more challenging to defend. Somewhat attached to this thought is I was very reluctant to tell my setter who to set in a given situation. I wanted the setter to have control of the offense and, by default, the responsibility for the offense.
• Coaches should set a mini-goal of trying one new tactic, practice format, or competition strategy a year: Coaches should make a concerted effort to try something new each season. It could be a new communication strategy with your players, a new defensive strategy, a new technique, etc. We might surprise ourselves with positive results.
• Get outside your gym to see other coaches in action: When I retired from Ohio State, I started a coaching instruction website based on recording videos of many coaches from all levels. Without fail, I would see a concept or drill that I would immediately put into one of my practices.
• Creativity is limited by skill set: Players attempting to be creative when lacking foundational skills will be a disaster. The most creative players have a solid foundation of skills.
• Embrace trial and error: Some of the best innovations in sport started with a coach or player experimenting with a new concept or technique without guaranteeing success. 

If we are to rekindle the creative fires, coaches must take the initiative to get their creative juices flowing and establish an environment for players to do the same. To a large degree, the athletes are at the mercy of their coach regarding creativity in their approach to the game. Stretching the bounds of the current skill level will be accompanied by mistakes. A practice atmosphere where players are unafraid of mistakes will go a long way toward developing creativity in all our players. Without question, it’s a balancing act for players and coaches to try new things while simultaneously understanding that mistakes come with a cost on the scoreboard.

I encourage all coaches not to adopt a closed mindset about how the game can be played for themselves or their players. Experimenting with new systems, practice routines, or skill techniques will excite us about daily activities.