Getting started with VolleyRoster

The builder has four tabs, Squad, Lineups, Rotations and Game plan, and you can open any of them at any time. A new team gets a short checklist that shows what to do next. Your changes save as you make them: the line under your team's name says where they are saved, and Undo beside it takes back your last change.

Start by creating a team and giving it a name and, if you like, a season. Then, on the Squad tab, add your players, up to 24: type a jersey number and a name in the row at the end of the squad and press Enter, and the row is ready for the next player. If your roster is already in a spreadsheet, an email or your notes, choose Paste a whole list instead. 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 with the pencil beside their name: they stay in the squad but aren't in any lineup and can't be subbed on in a game.

On the Lineups tab, 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 Rotations tab, 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 Game plan tab, every lineup is shown with its serving order and where everyone starts on the court. Tap the lineup that starts the match, then Start match. Print for the bench is there too.

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 Rotations tab and choose Start the set here: make this Rotation 1. The serving order on Game plan 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 match on the Game plan tab, or from Game tracker in the menu.

Under Start a match you see your lineup on the court. After the coin toss choose We serve or They serve, add the opponent and how they compare if you like, and choose Start match. To start in a different rotation, turn the court with the arrows above it. If a match is still in progress, you're asked first whether to go back to it or start a new one.

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 gets out of step, tap it to correct it. The We serve / They serve switch corrects who is serving, and the arrows beside the rotation fix the rotation. Before the first point, the switch and the arrows change how the set starts.

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 Go back to it.

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 Game plan tab, and download your stats from Your season. Everything prints from your browser, so you can save any of it as a PDF instead.

Under Print for the bench, Rotation sheet prints all six rotations and Player 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 Squad tab 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.