Coach Your Brains Out TRAINING SETTERS with Jeff Grove (1 of 2)
Mar 19, 2026
Jeff Grove, Associate Head Coach at Emporia State with decades coaching setters and offense, breaks down why setting is uniquely demanding. He discusses choosing setters for leadership, structuring offense from smart to deceptive, building setter leadership and motor learning phases, and practical ways to evaluate and train setter–hitter timing.
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Why Setting Is The Hardest In-Play Role
- Setting is uniquely hard because the setter never controls the first action and must decide in ~1.5–2 seconds while jumping and delivering tempo into a small target area.
- Jeff Grove emphasizes rebound dynamics, multiple rally demands, and the need for creativity against studied blocks at high levels.
Pick Personality Over Perfect Mechanics
- Prioritize personality and leadership when choosing a setter because technical traits can be developed but leadership is harder to teach.
- Jeff Grove cites Courtney Thompson and Gabby Blossoming as examples of setters whose leadership carried teams.
Build Offense From Good To Deceptive
- Run offense progressively: first make a good set, then make a smart set, then be deceptive; increase complexity with level.
- For younger levels focus on volume and getting your best hitter more balls; advanced setters analyze blocks and rotations.
