Leadership is often seen as a solitary role to be assumed by one individual. He is to lead and the others are to follow. The captain is responsible for ensuring that the team is organized and motivated. He must ensure that the players know where they belong on defense and to where they will transition for offense. Traditionally, the setter fills the leadership position; in large part because of his natural role in orchestrating offense on serve receive.
However, with that being said, volleyball requires a much more dynamic leadership. Every position in volleyball has some sort of specialization (e.g. setters focus on setting, liberos on passing). Utilizing these specializations you can have one or two players coordinate a specific task. This creates multiple leaders on the court focusing on and directing others in their area of expertise.
For example, on serve receive, players need to communicate about who will pass which seam. If the ball is served in between two players who have not coordinated their passing, then it is very possible that the players could collide with one another. The most efficient way to achieve a coordinated serve receive is to have one player (the libero or one of the outsides) assume leadership and guide the other two passers.
Other Illustrations
- middle blockers and opposites coordinate blocking
- setters coordinate offense on serve receive
- liberos or outsides coordinate serve receive and back court defense
Doing this requires every player to think actively not only of their own responsibilities but also of those of each player on the court. This leads to an increased awareness of the entire court, including the opposing side. For example, if you are a middle blocker on defense, your primary responsibility is to block the opposing team's middle, opposite, or outside hitter, depending on who receives the set. In order to do your job most effectively you need to ensure that your team's opposite will help on blocking the opposing outside. Likewise, your team's opposite needs to ensure that you, as a middle, do not get "tunnel vision" on the opposing middle. The result is a coordinated defense that will have two (preferably three) blockers up on every set.
If everyone specializes in their leadership positions the result will be a dynamic and cohesive unit that adapts to situations as they arise. It ensures that no one is confused about their role at any given time and that no one individual is trying to give too many directions. This is not to say that the team should not have a captain. Simply make sure that every player on the team is a leader in some regard and not just a self-focused sheep awaiting orders.