Eve Rackham Watt: Out of System Defense

with Eve Rackham Watt,
University of Tennessee Head Coach;
North Carolina Assistant Head Coach from 2013 to 2018;
AVCA Division I Assistant Coach of the Year in 2014;
2x ACC Champions (2014, 2016);
North Carolina Assistant Coach from 2009 to 2018;
Florida International Assistant Coach in 2008;
East Carolina Assistant Coach from 2005 to 2008;
Colgate Assistant Coach in 2004;
played for North Carolina from 1999 to 2002;
2002 All-ACC & 1st team AVCA All-Region

Teams often spend a lot of time training how to get their opponent out of system on a serve or attack, but then miss out on closing out the point because they are not able to defend successfully. This video walks you through how to prepare your team to more effectively block and defend against out of system attacks.

Tennessee’s Eve Rackham Watt focuses on understanding how to take advantage of your opponent’s disadvantage when they are attacking out of system by highlighting some key differences in blocking strategy for in system vs. out of system attacks.  

Coach Rackham Watt then shows how to train your blockers and floor defenders using a 5-drill progression that is increasingly game-like, along with emphasizing early blocker recognition and adjustment to out of system attacks. Rackham Watt’s drill progression starts with only an outside hitter, followed by out of system sets to both pin hitters from a coach initiated ball, and then progresses to a continuous out of system defending sequence and finally to a combination of defending against a mix of both out of system and in system hitting.  

While coaches train in system defense quite extensively, Rackham Watt demonstrates through the drills how often out of system is seen during rally play. She reminds coaches to teach their athletes that sometimes the defense has a strong advantage, but we must train our players to recognize and react to keys for when the advantage has switched to the defense.

Coach Rackham Watt discusses the importance of blocking technique, recognizing setting patterns, and coordinating with your floor defenders to dig out of system attacks better as well. While the clear focus of the drills is on improving blocking, an added bonus is providing opportunities to train primary and secondary setters along with their attackers on out of system hitting.  

This video provides a practical guide to help you increase your team’s ability to effectively block and defend against out-of-system attacks that will translate into greater success and more wins!

42 minutes. 2023.