Beach will improve your indoor game.
The advantage is that on the beach, a player must be able to perform every skill well in order to compete. That means that to be successful, a player must be able to pass, set, hit, serve, and play defense well. The beach game forces players to strengthen their defensive awareness, learning to read cues earlier and make quick decisions to win the point. On the beach, the weaker skills in players are also strengthened because they must touch the ball every other time with each rally, increasing their ball control and court movement ability. Some of the best passers ever to play indoor built their skills playing beach.
Improved Fitness.
The advantage in beach volleyball is that athletes develop improved speed, agility, power, flexibility and endurance simply because of the resistance of the sand. With only two athletes covering the whole sand court, a player needs to move with short quick steps and efficiently. Players have to dodge, duck and dive with strong body control to make successful plays. They need to be able to quickly get to the right position to return or pass the ball. They need to generate strength at high speeds, to jump high enough to block and smash the ball. They need to be able to squat or lunge down low to return a ball. They need to develop the muscular, aerobic and mental endurance to play continuously to the best of 21 points, which can be extended periods when teams are closely matched.
Develop Your Sand Legs.
In developing the ability to move effortlessly and jump with ease and grace in the sand, players build what we call “sand legs”. With sand, the surface constantly changes because it can be soft and loose, or hard packed with divots making movement patterns for a player more challenging. Research shows that indoor players initially lose 2 to 4 inches on their vertical jumps in the sand which forces them to fine tune their 3 step spike approach to maximize power and improve blocking form and touch ability. The stronger a player’s sand legs become, the better their defensive crouching and diving power becomes, along with their footwork speed for forward, back and lateral lunges to the ball.
Teamwork.
One of the most important factors in the success of a volleyball team is the cohesion of the team unit. In beach volleyball with only 2 players making up a team, the communication, teamwork and chemistry (B.R.I.E.F.) they share becomes essential especially because there is usually no coach in beach volleyball. Poor communication results in poor ball control, and frustration for the players and for each other. Players count on each other 100% in beach, so in beach each player must develop their belief to be able to rely on fellow players, their intensity to help bring their teammates up when they are down, control their emotion to not take out their frustrations on each other, and their focus to perform in cohesion as a team.
Beach Recruits.
Beach volleyball is exploding in popularity. In the US beach volleyball is the fastest growing and newest NCAA championship sport. It became a National Collegiate Championship featuring teams from Division I, Division II and Division III in 2016. There are over 93 NCAA women’s collegiate beach volleyball teams. And since 2021 men’s collegiate beach volleyball is growing. With so many colleges and universities sponsoring it, new scholarships are being offered at universities across the US for beach volleyball players.
Finally, beach volleyball is a lot of fun!!!!
And for many, that is the most important reason of all!
Looking forward to seeing you on the beach courts!!
Dr. C. Gus Tsiapalis
MYBC Founder and Head Coach
