Players
These are example players. Change them in place, or and add yours.
No players yet. Add them one by one, or paste the list from your group chat.
Tap a player to rate them. Anyone you don't rate counts as the average of the others, as in the app.
Teams
Balance Breakdown
Your players stay on this page: their names and ratings are never sent anywhere, and saved only in this browser, when you press Create this group in Rostara. Missing something? Tell us.
What should the team generator do next?
Ideas, requests, a sport or a skill we're missing, something that didn't work: tell us. We read every message.
Why open gym teams end up lopsided
At most open gyms, teams come from counting off, from friends grouping up, or from the strongest players claiming one court. Counting off ignores who can do what, so one team gets both setters and the other spends the night sending free balls over on the second touch. Friends grouping up gives you one court of club players and one of beginners, and nobody on either court gets a good game.
Volleyball also has a way of finding the weakest player. The serving team aims at the shakiest passer on every serve, so a team with three weak passers gives away points before it ever gets to attack. The tool on this page is our team generator for any sport, set to volleyball and two teams so you can start typing names.
The six volleyball skills
The generator rates six skills for volleyball, each from 1 to 10:
- Serving: float serve, jump serve, placement.
- Passing: reception, platform control, consistency.
- Setting: accuracy, tempo, decision making.
- Attacking: hitting power, shot variety, timing.
- Blocking: timing, read, reach.
- Defense: digging, court coverage, reaction.
With mixed levels, Serving and Passing separate players fastest. A team that can't get the serve in or the first ball up never runs a play, whoever is at the net. So if you only have time for a few skill ratings, rate those two, plus Setting for anyone who can set. Give everyone else one Overall rating. Volleyball has no goalkeeper or position settings; every player goes into one pool.
Setters are scarce: spread them
Most groups have two or three people who can really set. If they land on the same team, the other team has no offense. There are two ways to stop that:
- Rate Setting by skill for every player who sets. Part of the score compares the teams skill by skill, so a team with both setters against a team with none scores badly, and the generator spreads them.
- Pin them when you need to be sure. Under Teams, tap a setter and pin them where they are, then move the other setter across and pin them as well. Pinned setters stay on opposite sides of the net, and the other players are shuffled to even things out.
The same goes for your strongest hitters and your best passers. Once the teams are out, each team still sorts out its own rotation: the generator decides who is on which team and leaves positions and serving order to you.
Mixed levels and coed nights
Rec nights often mix beginners with people who played in college. Use the full 1 to 10 scale so the gap shows. If your best player is a 9 and your newest is a 2, the generator can split them; if everyone sits between 5 and 7, it has little to work with. Add skill ratings for the few who are much better at one thing, like a strong server who can't pass.
If your league or gym requires a set number of women on court, pin them, say two to Team 1 and two to Team 2. The generator fills in everyone else around the pins, so the rule and the balance hold together.
An example: 14 at open gym
Fourteen sign up for Friday open gym. Three of them can set, and two are strong hitters. You paste the names, give everyone an Overall from 2 to 9, and rate the setters and hitters by skill. With two teams, the generator makes two sevens: six on court and one rotating in.
There are 1,716 ways to split 14 players into two sevens, and the generator checks all of them. Your two strongest setters will usually land on different teams; if they don't, pin them apart and the rest rebalances. The third setter goes wherever the balance needs them. Passing is the skill to watch in the breakdown: if that's where the teams are furthest apart, keep pressing Auto Balance until a close split brings the two back rows level.
Tips for volleyball organizers
- 18 or more? Set three teams of six and rotate the team sitting out. With that many players the generator samples the splits and says "Best found".
- Doubles and 4s. Set more teams: eight players make four doubles teams, and 12 make three teams of four.
- A color per team. Pick a shirt color for each team so the copied teams say who wears what.
- Keep the list. Your ratings live only on this page until you Copy my list; paste that text back next week and untick whoever can't make it.
For how the score weighs overall strength against the skill-by-skill comparison, read how Rostara's team balancer works, and for a rating scale your group can agree on, see the guide to player ratings.
Questions
How do I make sure each team gets a setter?
Rate Setting by skill for everyone who sets, and the generator spreads them. To be certain, pin one setter to each team under Teams; pinned players stay where you put them and everyone else is balanced around them.
Does it set the rotation or positions?
No. It decides who plays on which team, balanced on the six skills. Each team picks its own rotation, its setter's spot and its serving order on the court.
Can I use it for beach doubles or 4s?
Yes. Set the number of teams to fit your crowd. Eight players in four teams make four pairs, and 12 players in three teams make three teams of four. Team sizes never differ by more than one.
Can it handle a coed rule?
There is no gender setting, so use pins. Pin the women to the teams you want, for example two on each, and the generator balances everyone else around them.