Coding - basics

Basic coding

Today, we’ll show you how to begin coding your first volleyball match. Before diving in, ensure you have the basic tools ready: a computer, a camera or video file, and a valid VolleyStation PRO license.

In the following steps, we’ll guide you through creating a season, adding teams, setting up a game, and starting your coding journey. Stay tuned for detailed instructions in upcoming emails!

Let’s get started!

How do you create a game in VS PRO?

1. Create a new season

The first step is to create a new season in VolleyStation PRO. You will need a season name, code, starting and ending date, and season settings.

Name – short and legible description of the season or event.
Code – short and unique description of the season.
Game format - you can choose the season type - indoor (6v6), beach (2v2), snow (3v3), or 4v4.
Start date and end date – specifying these dates allows for the correct chronology of displaying the seasons.
Default video directory – allows choosing the default directory where we will store video files.
Create my new season with default settings – an option for people just starting their adventure with VolleyStation.

Using the Save button will take you to the next stage. Default setter calls and attack combinations are the most common marks in worldwide volleyball analysis.

2. Create/Import teams

In your season, you need to put the teams you want to analyze.. You can either create them yourself or import them. To create a new team, press the "New team" button and enter all the required information. Very important to remember is an issue that is sometimes forgotten - every time we create a new season, new team, or new player, we need to give them a UNIQUE code, which cannot be repeated not only within, f.eg. one team (which is prohibited by software) but also between the teams. Otherwise, there might be some issues with analyzing the performance of a particular player or team because VS Pro won't know which player or team we are referring to.

To create a new team, use the New team button. It will open a form where fields such as name, code, season, and coach (first and last name) are necessary to fill out. After saving the data, an empty list of players will appear in the next step. To add them, use Edit roster and add. The necessary data are:

No – the number of the player.
Code – The player code must be unique for each player. VolleyStation recognizes players by these codes. We suggest using the first three letters of the last name and first name separated by a hyphen to minimize the risk of code repetition.
Name.
Surname.
Position – specifying the player’s role is essential to automating the program's spreadsheet actions.

After entering the necessary data, you can use Add to enter another player's data. If you have filled in the whole team, press the Save button.

3. Create a game

You must select the home and away teams and set their starting lineups by choosing players who will start the game: You press the blue button that says "Set team" and put the numbers of players in the squares below the court.

4. Check rosters

You need to check the rosters of your teams to ensure that you are not missing any players and that the numbers are correct.

5. Get starting line-ups

You must check the starting sixes and put them in the team lineup. You need to put the numbers in the cells below the court, indicating a particular zone. To change libero, you have to drag the player into the field under the court and drop him there. Choosing the setter zone is also very important because from here, the program gets information about the starting rotation and assigns the setter, which is crucial when you are coding a game with setter calls (because the number of the setter is automatically assigned based on the choice that you make here).

Settings in VS Pro

In VolleyStation Pro, you have many settings that help you adjust the software to your needs. If you are a new coder, make sure that you have coding mode set as “Predictive.”

You can also add keyboard shortcuts that will help you to navigate during coding:

In settings, you can also find the default codes that you can adjust as needed. This means that you can change the default type and effect for each ball and choose which skill will be your default one.

Match screen - menu

Explanation of the layout of the scout screen:

1. Video - there you can choose to "Add file" if you are scouting the game from the video or "Add live stream" if you are scouting the game live (then you need to have an address from VolleyStation Streamer).

2. Codes - in this part of the screen, you can see the codes for each rally you typed before. You can edit them by double-clicking on the line you want to change or by clicking the dots at the end of the line. You can also delete the line or add play before or after this one.

3. Coding line - here you type the code during the game. The blue button gives a point to the home team and red - to the away team (you can do it also by using shortcuts.)

4. Rosters - above the coding line, next to the game codes, you can see the rosters of both teams - the home team on the left and the away team on the right. You can sort them by shirt numbers or by positions.

5. Score, timeout, substitution - above the rosters, you can see the current score and the set score. You can also see how many timeouts and substitutions each team used. Also, by clicking on the letter "T", you can give the timeout to one of the teams and make a substitution by clicking the letter "S". By clicking "+" and "-", you can manipulate the score and add or subtract the point of each team.

6. Rotation/ Draw directions - on the court that you can see on the right, you see the current rotation of each team. You can choose it by rotating it forward with the arrows below and above the court. You can also change the court orientation by clicking the arrows next to the "Draw play direction" above the court. You can also draw the direction of each play to use the heat maps for analysis. To do this, you need to choose the line with the analyzed code and then mark the arrow in the direction of this play.

7. Distribution/ Kills - on the right side of the screen, you can see the distribution after the positive reception of each team in percentage. Above these numbers, you can see the number of kills from these balls.

8. Match screen menu

Save & close match,

Comment – opens a window with a text field,

Edit roster – opens a window where you can change player data or add new players to the match list

Substitution – opens a selection window. To make a change, select the team in which it occurs, select a player leaving the field, and in the last column, a player entering,

Synchronisation – opens a window, where you can add timestamps to the codes.

Error list – opens a list with listed errors or deviations from the match flow functions,

Search – opens the code search window.

There are two additional options at the bottom of the menu:

Screen Layout (Scout / Show / Synchronize) – changes the screen layout to suit the user’s preference.

Scouting mode (Codes / Cards) – changes how to input data.

Basic coding

Basic code structure:

The main code for each action consists of the following:

An indication of whether it applies to the home team (*) or the away team (a)

You don't need to use the prefix "*" while coding the game - the program will automatically know that it is the home team if you don't put "a" before the code.

It means that e.g. *13S is the same as 13S.

The number of the player on the team performing the described play.
The element of play (S, R, E, A, B, D, F).
The type of ball performed (Q,H,M,T).
The effect of a play.

Serve - "S"

Reception - "R"

While coding service and reception are related. You don't need to put each code separately, just put a dot after the serve code and then type the passing code.

5S.12#

This means that player #5 serves, and player #12 passes the ball perfectly

This way, the information goes between codes. The passing effect is the opposite of the serve effect.

Attack - "A"

While coding attack and block are related. You don't need to put each code separately, just put a dot after the attack code and then type the blocking code.

Block- "B"

effect
- # - Block Stuff/ Winning block
- + - The ball is touched, and the team can play a transition
- ! - When the opponent team can cover and attack again
- / -Net Violation
- = - Block - out

Dig - "D"

effect
- # - The team can play the transition
- + - The team can play the transition
- / -The ball comes back to the attacking team
- = - Unsuccessful try (Team loses the point)

5A.12#

This means that player #5 attacks and player #12 blocks his attempt

5A.12D#

This means that player #5 attacks and player #12 defends the ball

This way, the information goes between codes. The default element related to the attack is block, so if we want to dig there, we need to add D in coding. The attack end zone is the dig start zone, and the attack effect is the opposite of the block/defense effect.

How to add a point?

How to do substitution?

How to add timeout?

How can I find and correct mistakes?

You’re ready to start coding your first match! Before you begin, we recommend reviewing the Poland-Italy game in the Demo Season to familiarize yourself with the codes. Once you’ve done that, a great practice exercise would be to create another Poland-Italy match, coding it play by play. Then compare your lines with professional statisticians' lines.

For more:

Attack combinations - Outside hitters and Opposites:
- X5 - Tense ball (in-system) zone 4
- V5 - High ball zone 4
- X6 - Tense ball (in-system) zone 2
- V6 - High ball zone 2
- X8 - Tense ball (in-system) zone 1
- V8 - High ball zone 1
- XP - In-system pipe (bic)
- VP - High pipe

attack combination - Middle Blockers
- X1 - Front Quick
- X7 - Gap (Shoot)
- CF/X2 - Back Quick
- CD/XD - Fast (Slide)

other attack combinations:
- PP - setter dump
- P2 - attack from the second ball
- PR - attack from first ball (e.g. after overpass)
- V3 - high ball attack from zone 3

Setter calls are connected to specific attack combinations. For example, when the setter calls K1, a set to the middle blocker corresponds to the X1 attack combination.