The 4-2: The KISS System to a Complex Offense

with Sidney Feldman, Piedmont College Head Coach;
2010 GSAC Champions; over 400 career wins

Sidney Feldman, the self-proclaimed "dinosaur" of volleyball presents you with ideas from the past for a bright future. Coach Feldman wants you to "forget everything you knew about why a 4-2 is antiquated." Feldman shows you the advantages of the 4-2 system and why it should be used from the high school level down.

Using basic examples and some very compelling arguments, Coach Feldman will have you pondering the merits of your multiple offensive system, and may indeed have you rethinking your offensive philosophy. By utilizing the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) method, Coach Feldman uses young players to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages seen in the 5-1 and 6-2 offenses and how they are conquered by returning to the roots of volleyball with the 4-2 offensive system. See how having your setter at the net full-time in a 4-2 offense is the most efficient system, especially for young players.

Feldman points out several reasons why having your setter up is beneficial to your juniors-level team:

• Your setter becomes an available attacker.
• Your setter can run an offense entirely on forward sets.
• The potential for back row holes due to setter leaving early is not an issue.
• As setter and middles advance, they can learn and utilize slide attack.

The beauty of the 4-2 is that you don't need great setters to run it. The simplicity of the offense allows a team with two decent ball distributors to run a simple, but fast offense. Coach Feldman also points out the weaknesses of the 4-2 and how to combat them. He finishes the video with a 5 minute drill series on how to teach the slide approach for any type of player. These drills are easy to execute and effectively teach players the proper approach and swing for the slide attack.

While many coaches may find the 4-2 less sophisticated than other offenses, the 4-2 can solve many problems that young setters experience and can turn your offense into a great attacking system.

Produced at the 2012 AVCA National Convention in Louisville (KY).

36 minutes. 2013.