What is DS in volleyball? (Their Role, Responsibilities, Skills, Drills & Tips to Master this Role)

Defensive Specialists (DS) are the most inclusive roles in volleyball, as they are the only players who are capable of playing at different spots. If you are a DS or want to become one, and want to equip yourself with everything which needs to be mastered as a DS, this guide is for you.

What is DS in volleyball? DS stands for Defensive Specialist and is primarily responsible for defending the volleyball when your rivals serve it. DS also do spiking from the back row, not to mention that they can also play in the front row, can also serve the ball, and be used as the blockers while in the front row.

Unlike liberos, DS is an optional role in a volleyball team, so this position can easily be ignored in any volleyball guide.

What are the Responsibilities of DS in a Volleyball Team?

Defensive Specialists usually do the one, or more, of the following things in a volleyball team.

• Receive the serve
• Defend the attack of the opposite team
• Spike from the back row
• Block the attacks (when playing in the front row)
• Deny aces to the opposite team

Defensive Specialists need to have a good role player with the capability of receiving the service and passing it to other players. Similarly, they need to be brilliant and consistent in digging to do good defensive coverage.

Defensive specialists go after every ball to stop it from hitting the ground by saving even impossible throws.

So, they need to have great reflexes as they have a quick turnaround time whenever the ball comes. Apart from that, they need to consistently monitor the offensive strategy of the opposite team to guess where they will shoot the ball in the next turn. Only then can they respond quickly to any throw.

What is the Difference Between DS and Libero?

You might have heard about another important position in a volleyball game, i.e., liberos. While the job roles of both DS and liberos can overlap at times, they must not be confused with each other. Following are the differences between DS and liberos.

Defensive Specialists	Liberos
DS can play in any row of the court	Libero only plays in the back row
DS wears the same colored jersey like other players.	Liberos wear different colored jerseys compared to other team members, which helps referees to track their movement and enforce laws specifically made for liberos.
DS can also serve the ball. In fact, if a DS is a good server, your team will have a significant amount of advantage.	Liberos are not allowed to serve the ball in international volleyball game
DS can spike the ball and they often specialize in back-row spikes.	Liberos cannot spike the ball
DS substitutions are counted in the total substitutions of the team.	Liberos replace players when they come in the front row during rotation, but their replacements are not counted in substitution.
Despite its name, DS is an all-inclusive role.	Libero is more limited to defense purposes only.
DS do not play in the whole game, and they might come in depending upon the formation of the opposite team	Libero is always present in the court.

Both libero and DS are in somewhat similar positions. At the end of the day, it is your choice which of these positions you want to play in. The only advantage that DS players enjoy over libero is that they can play on the front row, so if you want to play on the front row, you should choose the DS position over libero.

The position of DS comes up with great responsibility, so you get a chance to hear consistent feedback from your coach. And if you are not doing a good job, there are ample chances that the feedback might not be too great. Both the libero and DS are the positions where coaches have more to criticize than to praise. So, if you are open to criticism, DS is your position to play.

Drills To Master for a Defensive Specialist:

While every player needs to perfect their passing skills, having these skills are one of the primary reasons why DS plays in the game. For receiving the serve and setting the ball for your setter, you must do various kinds of passing drills to uplift your passing games. Some of these passing drills include:

1. Double Feeder Passing

In this drill, you have two servers (known as feeders) who continuously throw balls at you. You, being an inspiring DS and with the passion for bringing your passing skills up, receive these continuous serves and practice setting the balls for your setters. Doing these exercises speedily will also help you to make your muscles flexible.

2. A Balloon And A Ball

During this drill, you have to keep the balloon tossed up in the air while a server is consistently serving you the balls. These drills work in a way that you respond to a server who throws a ball at you, and to the balloon which you have to keep in the air at the same time. You have to ensure that whenever you receive the service, you must toss up the balloon in the air once again and then receive the next service from the server. This cycle repeats until either the volleyball or the balloon drops and touches the ground.

3. Passing to Dive

In this drill, a feeder serves you the ball, and you are the only person present on the opposite court. So, you have to be the receiver, setter, and attacker all by yourself. When you receive the service, you immediately get up to set up the ball and then smash it in the opposition’s court. These skills will make you an all-around player for the volleyball game, and you might also master some diving skills along the way.

4. Back Row Hitting Drills

Back row players are most lethal when they are well-equipped to launch an offensive strategy at the time of need. So, Defensive Specialists who do back row hitting drills can easily become capable of launching an offensive strategy either when they play in the back row or the front row.

Why Do Teams Need Both A Defensive Specialist And A Libero?

The DS is not present in the court all the time, but liberos are. And when both of them are present in the court, they make the defense unbreakable. In those rotations, when both the DS and liberos are present in the back row, the rest of the four players have not to worry about anything about the defense. And when the DS comes in the front row, the back row still has the libero for defensive purposes.

So, most of the teams feel secure when both the DS and liberos are on the court. And if DS is equipped with all the other skills, it is just the cherry at the top of the cake.

What are the Skills a DS Needs to Develop in a Volleyball Game?

• Leadership Skills

DS is such a great position to play in that these guys (or obviously gals) develop leadership skills among them. When you dissect the role of the DS, you will see that these players can defend the ball, dive, pass them, and attack them.

Can you imagine another player doing so many things at the same time? Obviously no. So, these players are tough characters who are not afraid of challenges as a whole, which makes them great leaders in volleyball.

No wonder why many DS are either the captains or vice captains of their team and why they end up being great coaches later in their careers.

• Teamwork

As DS plays in a variety of roles, they have strong team working skills, which stands them out from other players. When they are defending the ball, they are setting it up for the setter. When they want to attack the ball right from the back row, they are also waiting for the input of the setter.

When they play in the front row, they are the direct part of the offensive strategy, and when they serve the ball, they are setting up the entire rally. All of these different roles make DS perfect team players.

How can I be a Better Defensive Specialist?

If you want to be a good or rather great DS, you must do these things regularly:

1. Master the Back Row Spikes

Back row spikes are such an effective attack in volleyball that they can easily win you big tournaments. Your setter has to set the ball near the 3 m line, and then your main hitters will fake the attack while you, the DS, jump from the back row and hit the bill on the opposition’s ground.

During this, your opposition will remain confused about whether the main attacker or the DS would attack the ball, so their blockers are highly expected to miss their jumps, which helps you to score.

So, when you want to master the back row spikes, always do drills for:

• Jumping
• Spiking
• Swinging arms faster
• Landing Safely without foot injury
• Getting in shape right after the landing to continue participating in the game.

2. Increasing your Stamina

DS are very busy players on the court, so they need to increase their stamina to make a real difference. While professional players always work on their stamina, this stands true specifically for newbies who are aspiring to be DS.

3. Work on your Forearm

When you are a DS, you have to consistently work on your forearm strength. This is true for the fact that you will often need to block the attack of the opposition, for which you need strong forearms. Here are some great tips to make your forearms strong

4. Beware of Foot Injury (Ankle Sprains)

When you land after spiking the ball from the back row, you are vulnerable to ankle sprain injury. While attackers who are specifically placed in the team for spiking will always be extra cautious while landing as they do regular exercises, DS can ignore this exercise as they have too much on their plate.

You can do these exercises preventively to avoid ankle sprains

5. Take Good Care of your Shoulders

When you spike the ball from the back row or even receive it from your forearms, you can damage your shoulders. Here are some of the ways to prevent these mishaps

How Can I See if I am Doing Good as a DS?

Getting in touch with your coach is the easiest way to get feedback. In professional volleyball, your coach (alongside other team administrators) will give you Passer Quality Rating (PQR), which will measure the perfection of your passes.

Commonly the PQR system will have three ratings, from 0-3 which means the following:

0: You failed to pass or you set up an unplayable pass

1: A misplaced pass including an overpass, a pass given to a hitter instead of a setter or a passer sets a broken play.

2: is a good pass which is easy to play for the setter

3: is a perfect pass and it enables the setter to set up the ball in any point of the court.

Whatever rating you get, there is always room for improvement, as this is the only way that can help you grow as a DS.

Final Thoughts

Defensive Specialists are the perfect role for those who are always ready to lead their teams upfront and have nothing to lose. These volleyball stalwarts take on the opposition head to head and play in a situation where other team members might not be able to play easily. A team without a great DS is bound to bite the dust. So, if you are becoming a DS, this position has a great potential for those who want to excel in the game.

Credits:

Feature Image Credit to Andy Roth on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/