SoutheasternOhioPreps.com

We had a great email come into the website at SVCsportszone.com asking what is the most important position in high school sports? Is it the QB? PG in basketball? Pitcher in baseball/softball? Setter in volleyball? Goalie in soccer? Or some other position?

Great debate - what are some thoughts?

Easy one to start the season out on.

Softball Pitcher is the most important single position in team high school sports.
An elite Softball pitcher can keep control over the opposing offense the entire game.
And with no limit on innings pitched
(and for the bleeding harts, there is no need for a limit)
One pitcher can throw every pitch against every opponent on the schedule.
As long as the rules stay the way they are I really don't see any other position in any other sport coming close to being as important as a top notch softball pitcher.

The work it takes to get to level of an elite softball pitcher is amazing.
And we are very fortunate to have several, what the X considers elite pitchers, in the SVC.

Even with this being the volleyball forum I'm sure you will hear from others that agree with the
All-Knowing
X

Setter in volleyball is the obvious as the position is comparable to a point guard in bb or qb in football. An argument could be raised for a middle hitter but that would be based on an very talented athlete. I have coached and coached against some very good middle hitters. They can dominate net play with a variety of attacks ( quick, slide, x, etc ) and block three positions, with help on both outsides. When they rotate to back row a great serve and passing perfect would have to rotate with them. The setter must control flow and distribution of attacks along with playing a leadership role, a defensive position, great hands and an effective serve. My vote is the setter.

Since this question is posed in the volleyball forum I will answer this based on the volleyball perspective. And my answer is the TEAM. You can have an amazing setter but if your team can’t even pass gas she will be rendered ineffective. Or if her hitters can’t put her sets away how important is she for her team to win? (She can only take the ball over in two so many times - haha). You can have a stud middle or outside that can bang, but if your setter sucks they aren’t going to look good. You can have a DS/Lib that can pass nails to target but if she has a setter that has hands of stone or hitters that can’t bring heat that pass means nothing, In volleyball every position depends on every other position to be successful. The only action on the court that a player controls is the serve, everything else the TEAM is needed to be successful.



Here’s my list in order of what I think are the most DIFFICULT positions to play but not necessarily the most IMPORTANT….

1, Setter: On the mental side she needs to be thinking on before every whistle. Who are my best hitters in this rotation? Which hitter is on? Which is the weakest blocker on the other side of the net? She has to be able to play defense, be quick, and be smart.

2. Middle Blocker: The most physical player on the court, she will be jumping multiple times on every play. Whether hitting or closing out on the block the middle needs to be able to have good footwork, good reactions, and be a beast. As boo daddy mentions the middle can dominate the game and if you can control the net your chances of winning go way up.

3. Outside Hitter: Usually one of the best athletes on the court and must be able to terminate sets, pass, play d, and block. Not as much thinking as the setter….it’s see the ball - play the ball.

4. Libero/DS: The quicker the better...must be able to read opposing hitters, pass dimes, and if she has a killer serve its a bonus. It’s rare but I have seen a Libero take over a game and its a thing of beauty!



Ok, I’ve bored you enough…. but just remember this kids: in volleyball there’s no “most important position” in TEAM.

Always,
RVH

This topic is included in this week's show - http://www.dbkmediaservices.com/wordpre ... talk090114

I agree with RonVonHagen and Xtoxxviii.

Volleyball ... The whole is so much more valuable than the sum of their parts. This is more true than any other sports. I can give you many examples in other sports where one player can dominate a game. It's hard to do that with volleyball.

Softball Pitcher is THE most important position in all of high school sports.

To emphasize both points look at Bloom Carroll. They have one of the elite players for the volleyball team. Yet the team didn't play well and they never made it out of districts. The softball team has one of the elite players ... 1 state championship ... 2 runner up finishes.

I agree that softball pitcher is most important.

Coach---In every sport!! If you don't have a XXOO's coach who knows the game, can motivate and make changes in the sport he/she is coaching you will see a lackluster team that won't win on a regular basis.

ClevelandBrowns#1 wrote:Coach---In every sport!! If you don't have a XXOO's coach who knows the game, can motivate and make changes in the sport he/she is coaching you will see a lackluster team that won't win on a regular basis.

Well maybe in the other sports the Coach is most important, but in volleyball if you have 6-7 highly skilled and volleyball savvy players they could win if the boys from "Dumb and Dumber" are on the bench. However if you want to build a program and sustain a program at a high level then yes the Coach becomes key!

RonVonHagen wrote:

ClevelandBrowns#1 wrote:Coach---In every sport!! If you don't have a XXOO's coach who knows the game, can motivate and make changes in the sport he/she is coaching you will see a lackluster team that won't win on a regular basis.

Well maybe in the other sports the Coach is most important, but in volleyball if you have 6-7 highly skilled and volleyball savvy players they could win if the boys from "Dumb and Dumber" are on the bench. However if you want to build a program and sustain a program at a high level then yes the Coach becomes key!

It's not about who is on the bench come game day, it's more about who is in the gym 5 days a week creating those highly skilled and savvy players.

... and making sure doors are open and nets set up in the off season.