The Volleyball Libero

You may have heard the term “libero” around the volleyball courts and wondered what everyone was talking about. Libero is a term that is actually not exclusive to volleyball and can refer to soccer as well.

The volleyball libero is a specific position and role on the team. The libero is a purely defensive position, where this player has very specific rules but also advantages. You can always easily spot the libero by their jersey which must have contrasting colors from the rest of the team.

If you are being chosen to play libero for your team, know that this is a very important and challenging role, but one you should embrace! Being the libero is very hard work but it’s a crucial role on nearly every team. If you are good at your position, you’ll play nearly every point of every game, because you will always be a player your coach wants on the court.

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Volleyball Libero Pronunciation

There are a couple of different ways that the word is pronounced and it probably depends pretty heavily on where you are in the world as far as how you will hear it pronounced.

In the southern USA where I live, it’s said Lih-BEAR-oh. In areas where soccer is a more popular sport, you’ll often hear it pronounced LEE-bear-oh.

In soccer (or non-American football), there is a position called the libero. The soccer libero is an extra defensive player that is also sometimes called a sweeper, that cleans up any ball that makes it past the regular defense before it can make it to the keeper.

What’s Up With Volleyball Libero Shirts?

Because the libero is such a different role with its own set of rules, the libero wears a jersey that really stands out. This makes it very easy for everyone to understand and keep track of the libero during play or during substitutions and replacements.

The libero must wear a jersey that has strikingly different colors than the rest of the team. In most cases, the libero will actually wear the exact opposite colors.

If you’re exploring the different positions in volleyball, you may really find it helpful to visit our post called: What Volleyball Position Should I Play?

What Is a Volleyball Libero Tracking Sheet?

The libero tracking sheet is sometimes also called the libero control sheet. One of the officials sitting at the scorer’s table will be doing what we refer to as “keeping the book” which involves tracking the substitutions and libero replacements.

Each player in the starting rotation is filling a position. When they rotate that position moves with them. When they substitute out, the officials keep track of who replaces who, at which position. When the libero runs in and replaces someone on the back row, ONLY that same player may resume that position as the libero approaches the front row. In some cases you will even see the libero be replaced, then the player turns around and gets substituted back out (this is rare).

This job can’t be just left up to the referees because it gets too confusing and happens too often. If the refs had to keep track they would need to write things down and refer to them throughout the match and it would slow down the game. It is part of the down ref (the referee standing on the floor) to oversee the rotation and substitution tracking and they verify that the substitutions happen in an orderly way at a pace that the scorer’s table can keep up with.

One of the other most common questions is whether a libero is allowed to serve or not, find out here!

Volleyball Libero Rotation

There are 2 things that people could be referring to when they say libero rotation:

1. The first is IF the libero is serving, which rotation position is the libero serving in? Once the libero replaces a player and serves in that rotation spot, that becomes the only spot in the rotation they may serve in for the rest of the game. This is sometimes called the libero’s rotation.
2. The second thing that libero rotation refers to is the way you can adjust your rotation around your libero to keep the libero in the middle back position throughout the game.

If you have more questions about Liberos, you really should take the time to review our Master Guide To Liberos in Volleyball, it’s our most complete resource for liberos.