That is a very good question and one we get a lot. For the following scenarios consider this setup.
Team A: Awesome Attacker / Big Blocker
Team B: Super Setter / Dark Digger
First Ball Side Out means you’re the receiving team and you’re killing the ball with your first attack. Let’s have a look at the following history.
| No. | Code | Player | Skill | Type | Evaluation | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | a2SM+ | Dark Digger | Service | Jump Float | Positive | 0:0 |
| 2 | *1RM+ | Awesome Attacker | Reception | On Jump Float | Positive | |
| 3 | *2EH+ | Big Blocker | Setting | High Ball | Positive | |
| 4 | *1AH# | Awesome Attacker | Attack | High Ball | Winning | 1:0 |
In the table above Team B serves and Team A receives. Team A has exactly one Side Out and is able to kill the ball on their first attack.
Their First Ball Side Out (FBSO) is 100%.
$$ \text{FBSO} = \frac{1\,\text{First Ball Kill}}{1\,\text{Service}} * 100 = 100\% $$
Their Side Out (SO) is also 100%.
$$ \text{SO} = \frac{1\,\text{Point}}{1\,\text{Service}} * 100 = 100\% $$
Obviously it is a very simple example and the calculations are easy. So let’s create a bit more complex scenario. The first four moves are the same. Team B serves and Team A is able to kill the ball on their first attack.
| No. | Code | Player | Skill | Type | Evaluation | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | a2SM+ | Dark Digger | Service | Jump Float | Positive | 0:0 |
| 2 | *1RM+ | Awesome Attacker | Reception | On Jump Float | Positive | |
| 3 | *2EH+ | Big Blocker | Setting | High Ball | Positive | |
| 4 | *1AH# | Awesome Attacker | Attack | High Ball | Winning | 1:0 |
| 5 | *1SQ= | Awesome Attacker | Service | Jump | Error | 1:1 |
| 6 | a1SQ+ | Super Setter | Service | Jump | Positive | |
| 7 | *2RQ/ | Big Blocker | Reception | On Jump | Poor | |
| 8 | *1EH- | Awesome Attacker | Setting | High Ball | Poor | |
| 9 | *2AM+ | Big Blocker | Attack | Half Ball | Positive | |
| 10 | a1DM# | Super Setter | Dig | On Half Ball | Attack possible | |
| 11 | a2EH# | Dark Digger | Setting | High Ball | Perfect | |
| 12 | a1AH= | Super Setter | Attack | High Ball | Error | 2:1 |
This time the First Ball Side Out (FBSO) percentage is 50%. The yellow line shows an attack that wasn’t a direct kill. Team B was able to dig the ball and start an attack.
$$ \text{FBSO} = \frac{1\,\text{First Ball Kill}}{2\,\text{Serves}} * 100 = 50\% $$
The Side Out (SO) percentage is still 100%. Team B made an error on their attack after they were able to dig the ball. Thus Team B did not get the break and Team A was still able to hold the Side Out. Although it wasn’t in their own hands after their attack that wasn’t a kill. They dependent on Team B.
$$ \text{SO} = \frac{2\,\text{Points}}{2\,\text{Serves}} * 100 = 100\% $$
First of all we generate the phase for every move. We have three different phases: Service, Reception and Transition. Next is adding the currently serving team to each move. The table from above would look like this.
| No. | Code | Player | Skill | Type | Evaluation | Phase | Serving Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | a2SM+ | Dark Digger | Service | Jump Float | Positive | Service | B | 0:0 |
| 2 | *1RM+ | Awesome Attacker | Reception | On Jump Float | Positive | Reception | B | |
| 3 | *2EH+ | Big Blocker | Setting | High Ball | Positive | Reception | B | |
| 4 | *1AH# | Awesome Attacker | Attack | High Ball | Winning | Reception | B | 1:0 |
| 5 | *1SQ= | Awesome Attacker | Service | Jump | Error | Service | A | 1:1 |
| 6 | a1SQ+ | Super Setter | Service | Jump | Positive | Service | B | |
| 7 | *2RQ/ | Big Blocker | Reception | On Jump | Poor | Reception | B | |
| 8 | *1EH- | Awesome Attacker | Setting | High Ball | Poor | Reception | B | |
| 9 | *2AM+ | Big Blocker | Attack | Half Ball | Positive | Reception | B | |
| 10 | a1DM# | Super Setter | Dig | On Half Ball | Attack possible | Transition | B | |
| 11 | a2EH# | Dark Digger | Setting | High Ball | Perfect | Transition | B | |
| 12 | a1AH= | Super Setter | Attack | High Ball | Error | Transition | B | 2:1 |
From this combination of statically recorded and dynamically enhanced data we count the overall receptions from Team A and the kills during the Reception phase while Team B was serving. We devide the further by the latter and get the overall First Ball Side Out (FBSO) percentage.
As you might notice service errors from the opponent team are not included in the calculation. Since you didn’t do anything to get the point it does not count towards your First Ball Side Out (FBSO) percentage. However they are included in your Side Out (SO) percentage. As the formula said you won the point when the opponent team served. In the end it does not matter if you include service errors or not. You just have to do it consistently so you’re able to compare different FBSO from different matches and different teams.
You should always strive for a high FBSO. The higher the harder it is to win against you. A high SO is great too but it shows some weaknesses on your first attack. It also demonstrates the inability of your opponent to score during transition. Not being able to get your Side Out makes your match play much harder. Your opponent will be able to get some chances to break which in return means that you must get some breaks as well to win the match.
If your First Ball Side Out (FBSO) is higher than your Side Out (SO) you’re doing something wrong. There might be an error in your data.