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Coding More Efficiently | Revisiting DataVolley Compound Codes
Introduction
Upon my revelation that rebounded attacks (attacks are blocked but play continues) should be coded with a !, I thought should revisit compound codes to see if I could find ways to code more efficiently.
Word of warning, you do need a good understanding of the terminology used in DataVolley as the talk is very DataVolley specific. A brief description of compound codes and the effect symbol can be found at the end of the post (click on ). Any codes will be highlighted in red writing.
Coding Block Outs
The way I code block outs (B!) is code the attack kill and block outs as two separate codes rather than a compound code. I could only code the attack as a kill only if I coded the block as an error, which it wasn’t. That is, if I tried to compound code a block out as 8V66.9/, it would result in *8V66+ a9B2/ i.e. not a kill.
Upon playing around in DataVolley, I soon realised that if I added a / (block out) alongside the = (block error) in the “Compound Code” table, a block out would also correspond to a A# (attack kill). So I could now code block outs as 8V66.9/ resulting in *8V66# a9B2/. However, I would like know the type of block out [side (S), floor (F), out (O)] because it adds a deflection in the attack directions. I could go back and modify that code in the codes list but I would like to do everything correctly in the scout window. With more playing around, I found out I could code it like this 8V66#S.9/ to get *8V66#S a9B2/.
With some more playing around, I found that if the order of the =/=/ was actually /= in the Compound Code Table (see below) I don’t need to code the //. I could code block outs as 8V66#S.9 and still get *8V66#S a9B2/ (I still have to press Ctrl+Space to code the S). The block error resulting in an attack kill still works the same as 8V66.9= to get *8V66# a9B2=.
Coding Continuation Attacks and Block Touches With Positive or Negative Outcome
I now realised I can use the compound code to stat block touches and not only that, I can stat whether the block touch had a positive effect or a negative effect. With the nature of compound codes, this means I can also code whether the attack itself was positive or negative. For a positive block touch/ negative attack, the code is 8V66.9 resulting in *8V66- a9B2+ (V6 is the attack combination code for a high set to the left side). For a negative block touch/ positive attack, you add a – at the end, as follows 8V66.9- resulting in *8V66+ a9B2-.
I noticed that positive and negative attacks look slightly different on an attack directions chart. Positive attacks (A+) has a solid line while negative attacks (A-) has a dashed line (see below).
Changing the Default Scouting of the Block to ! Instead of +
If I am used to coding rebounded attacks as 8V66.9, then it may be worth changing the default scouting of the block to ! instead of +. This means the block will be a ! which means the attack will also be a !, i.e. a rebounded attack. However, it does mean I would have to code a positive block touches with a +, which I am not used to coding + since it’s usually the default. I may have to practice and see what’s best.
Coding Digs as a Compound Code
I wanted to code defence stats for a while but now there’s more urgency since I found defence could actually be quite important to success in volleyball. Obviously, if you try and compound code the attack, it would result in an attack and block. With some playing around, I found that you can compound code the attack and dig but only if you type the D code for defence. So I would have to code 8V66.9D to get *8V66- a9D46+.
I would need to play around with the dig quality (#+!-/=) in the Compound Code Table to say what the corresponding attack quality will be (see below). I will probably add netural digs (D!) and overpass digs (D/) to correspond to a positive attack (A+). I may change the Default Scouting so when I type D, the default outcome is a ! (netural dig) rather than + (positive dig. This means the attack remains a standard positive attack (A+) rather than a negative attack (A-).
Corresponding Serve Quality From a Reception
The above picture shows my current serve-reception compound codes that I have been using since 2015 alongside the default compound codes by DataVolley. You can see I changed it so a positive (+) and neutral (!) pass gets a higher grade in quality for the serve (! and +, respectively). I did it this way because since I didn’t code the neutral pass (R!) back in 2015, the neutral serve (S!) was unused and uncoded. This meant the serve could only be rated on a three point scale (0-3) instead of the usual four point scale (0-4). So by shifting the positive pass down (R+) to correspond to a neutral serve (S!), it meant I could rate the serve on a four point serve.
Since coding neutral passes (R!) last season, these corresponding serve-reception values don’t make sense any more. This is because a negative pass (R-) and a neutral pass (R!) shouldn’t equal a positive serve (S+) because siding out under both conditions is not the same (see table below). If there were two conditions where siding out is similar, it would be the perfect pass (R#) and positive pass (R+), especially in the men’s game (click on link to read more on the subject). This would mean I should really go back to the default values set by DataVolley.
While I will probably use the default values, it will have a knock out effect that the service rating will now automatically be lower since a positive pass (R+) will now result in a negative serve (S-) instead of a neutral serve (S!). It also means I cannot make direct serve rating comparisons with previous seasons (2015 to 2020) because of this.
Final Thoughts
This was actually a very useful exercise. I now found an efficient way to code block outs, block touches and digs. I also happen to see how the serve-reception compounds codes are a bit wonky. It also allowed me to delve into the Default Scouting so I could think about changing some of the default values. However, despite knowing what to do, I know that I need a ton of practice to be able to code block touches and digs efficienctly.
Brief Description of Compound Codes
Compound codes in DataVolley is a way to code more efficiency. It does this by allowing two corresponding skills to be coded together. For example, Home player #1 just jump served from zone 1 to 6 to Away player #5 and it resulted in an ace for Home #1 and reception error for Away #5. So instead of writing two separates codes of 1SQ16# a5RQ16=, we can compound the two codes with a dot (.) so we only need to write 1SQ16.5=1SQ16.5= to produce the same two codes. Beacuse the two corresponding codes are link, i.e. reception comes after a serve, if there’s a reception error then the serve must be an ace, you cuts down what you need to type in the scouting window, enabling you to code more efficiently.
Another thing you’ll need to know is the effect symbol. It’s a symbol to indicate the quality of the skill performed. So if you ever see an # symbol, it means a point was scored or it was a perfect pass. See the decriptions below:
# | Double positive effect (point won or perfect pass) + | Positive effect ! | Neutral effect / | Attack block killed (A/), block out (B/) or overpass (R/, S/, D/, E/) – | Negative effect = | Double negative effect (point lost or error)
Click to go back to introduction.
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