Getting started with VolleyRoster

The builder takes you from an empty team to a game plan in four steps: Players, Lineups, Rotation and Review. Your changes save as you make them, so you can leave for a guide and come back to exactly where you were.

On the Players step, start in the My teams card: create a team and give it a name and, if you like, a season. Then use Add player to enter each player's name and jersey number, up to 24. Every lineup you build for the team uses these players, so you enter them once. A player sitting the season out can be marked as a red shirt: they stay in the squad but aren't in any lineup and can't be subbed on in a game.

On the Lineups step, choose Positions to place six players in positions 1 to 6, which suits younger teams, or System (5-1/6-2/4-2) to run a system and give six players a role. Roles start in the standard arrangement, with the setter in position 1.

On the Rotation step, step through all six rotations. For a system lineup, each rotation shows three moments: Base, the rotation order at the serve; Serve receive, a legal formation for passing the other team's serve; and In play, where everyone goes once the ball is in play. If a formation breaks the overlap rule, the players involved are flagged.

On the Review step, Your game plan puts the lineup and the serving order in one place, ready to print or to take into a match with Start game.

A team can have more than one lineup, such as your usual starting six and one for the day a setter is away, and every lineup uses the same players. Use New lineup to start another, Duplicate to copy the one you are editing, and Delete to remove it.

To change where players start, tap two players on the court to swap their spots. Every rotation updates to match, and the serving order follows.

A libero doesn't take one of the six spots. By default they come on for the middle blocker whenever the middle is in the back row. To have them cover someone else in a particular rotation, or stay off, use Libero on for on that rotation.

To open a set in a different rotation, for example to lead with your strongest server, browse to that rotation on the Rotation step and choose Start the set here: make this Rotation 1. The serving order on Review and the game tracker both start from it.

Not sure which system fits your team? The guides to the 5-1, 6-2 and 4-2 under Learn compare them, and the positions guide explains what each role does.

The game tracker keeps the score, follows your rotation and records quick stats from the sideline, starting from the lineup you built. Open it with Start game on the Review step, or from Game tracker in the menu.

Under Start a game, pick the team, give the match a name if you like, choose We serve first or They serve first after the coin toss, and choose Start game. The match begins in your lineup's Rotation 1.

After every rally, tap +1 Us or +1 Them. When you win the serve back, the tracker rotates your team one spot, so the court always shows who is where and who serves. If the score or the serve gets out of step, tap the score or the serve badge to correct it; the arrows beside the rotation fix the rotation.

Stats are optional. To record one, tap a player on the court, then an outcome: Serve (Ace, In play, Error), Pass / set (Good, OK, Error), Attack (Kill, In play, Error), Block (Stuff, Error) or Dig (Dig, Error). A stat doesn't change the score, so tap the point as well. Undo takes back the last thing you entered.

Tap Players to make a substitution with Sub out, to Mark out someone who is hurt, or to add a player who arrives late, to the team or just for this game. The tracker counts substitutions but leaves your league's limits to you.

When a set is over, choose End set, pick the lineup and who serves for the next set, and it starts at 0-0. The tracker doesn't assume a set length, so play to 25, 21 or 15 and end the set when your rules say it's over.

When the match is over, choose Finish game, then Really finish? to confirm. The match is saved to Your season, with a full report. A match in progress is saved on this device as you go, so if the tab closes, open the game tracker again and choose Resume game.

Every part of VolleyRoster works without an account; signing in with Google keeps your teams and matches in your account, on every device you sign in on. Without an account, they are saved in this browser on this device until you clear the browser's data.

To sign in, choose Sign in at the top of any page and continue with Google. When you do, the teams and matches already in this browser are copied into your account, and you'll see how many moved. The demo's sample team never moves. Your name at the top of the page shows you're signed in, and Sign out is beside it.

On the Games tab of Your season, Save a copy saves a file with your teams, your matches and, if you're signed in, your account details. Restore from a copy loads that file on this device or another one. Restoring adds what is missing and never removes anything, so it's also a way to move your work without an account.

To delete everything, open the menu under your name and choose Delete my account. It lists what will be erased, and you type DELETE to confirm. Your account, teams and matches are removed from VolleyRoster's database and can't be recovered, so save a copy first if you might want them. The privacy policy explains what is stored and for how long.

Print your game plan from the Review step, and download your stats from Your season. Everything prints from your browser, so you can save any of it as a PDF instead.

Print rotation sheet prints all six rotations. Print cards makes one card per player, with their name, number and role, their starting spot in each rotation and the rotations where they serve, so a player can keep one in a gym bag instead of memorizing six diagrams.

Each match report in Your season has Download spreadsheet, which saves an Excel file with a tab for the whole match, a tab for each set, and a By set tab that compares the sets. Copy summary text copies a short summary to paste into a message, and Print report prints the report.

Open a player's stats from the Players step to see their season, and use Download CSV to save it as a file for any spreadsheet.

For reference sheets that are the same for every team, such as a cheat sheet for each system and a court diagram, see Printables under Learn.

VolleyRoster checks overlap at the moment of serve, the positional rule teams are called for most, but it isn't a referee. It doesn't judge back-row attacks, net touches, lifts or libero restrictions, which a rotation diagram can't show.

It doesn't enforce your league's substitution rules. Limits and re-entry rules differ between OVA, Volleyball Canada, USAV and NFHS, so the tracker lets you make any substitution and counts them, and what your rulebook allows stays with you. Rotations follow standard six-player indoor rules; where your league's age-group rules differ, its rulebook controls.

It doesn't track the other team's rotation or stop the score at 25. Set lengths vary, so you end each set yourself.