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Beach Volleyball’s popularity continues to grow each year. The success of the USA Olympic Team has contributed greatly to the sports rise in prominence. Some players have migrated over from the indoor game while most have never played any form of volleyball. Some beginners may get frustrated with the speed and difficulty of the game. Here are a few easy tips that every beginner should learn to make the game a little easier and more enjoyable. Learn The Rules This tip seems obvious but the rules for beach volleyball are different than the indoor game. The basic differences are as follows: the sand court is smaller than the indoor, beach volleyball is mostly a two-on-two game, the first two sets are played to 21 points while the third set is played to 15, the sand game is best of three rally-scoring sets, and obviously playing on sand is the biggest difference. Get Accustomed to Moving in Sand You will move much slower in the sand, so practice taking smaller steps and conserving energy. Your jump height will also be much lower. Learning to move efficiently in the sand will improve your game. Practice Your Serve As a beginner, the serve will probably be the most difficult skill to learn at first. Start with the basic underhand serve. A good rule of thumb is to serve to the back middle in between two players. Improve Your Fitness Level As a beginner, you may not be able to make the best shots or pass and set very well. You can still help your team by being quick to the ball and covering a lot of ground fast. Just make sure to communicate with your teammates. Beginners usually do not have an arsenal of different shots at their disposal. That’s where good court vision helps. You should be aware of the opponents changing positions and place your hits accordingly. “Its hard to play defense against a player that sees the court well,” says Adam Hyatt. Adam has been playing volleyball since 2003. He started playing for the UNCW club team before moving on to compete in EVP tournaments. Adam also plays locally at Captain Bills where his team got out to a 16 – 0 record this past season. Court vision is a very important aspect for beginners. Another tip for beginners Adam suggests is, “Get under the ball and relax your platform so you don’t shoot the ball out of the court.” Most beginners have trouble returning hard hit balls. Beach volleyball skills can be broken down to five basic categories: spiking, setting, serving, passing, and defense. As a beginner, you should focus your practice on certain skills while adding the others in as you get more advanced. This chart shows the breakdown you should follow. *Infographic created by Jeffrey Boulden using Microsoft Numbers. Data retrieved from http://www.tristatevolunteers.org/sports/guidetovbbasics.pdf Beach volleyball is all about having fun and making new friends. With these tips, you can get more enjoyment from the game right from the start.
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Tag: Adam Hyatt
All Things Volleyball With One of The Area’s Best
Beach volleyball is a big sport in Wilmington North Carolina. With two major outdoor facilities and the local beaches, there is no shortage of places to play. The best competition in the area can be found at Dig n Dive sports bar and Captain Bill’s outdoor volleyball facility. Adam Hyatt has played in numerous leagues and tournaments at both venues and is one of the area’s best players. I recently got the chance to talk with Adam about the local volleyball scene as well as his thoughts on the game in general.
Adam has been playing volleyball since 2003. He also played club volleyball while attending UNCW. He says he started to get a little more serious into doubles beach volleyball around 2008. I asked him what he thinks about beach volleyball versus playing in a gym. Adam said, “It’s really comparing apples to oranges, It’s two different sports. You have to be able to move faster in the sand than the next guy.” At 6’1 Adam has the height you need as well as the foot speed and quickness to be a good beach player. This is evident by the current 16-0 record Adam’s team currently has in a league at Captain Bill’s. His team also recently made it to the semi-finals of an EVP tournament in Hilton Head South Carolina. Katie Marquez plays in leagues at Dig n Dive and Captain Bill’s and said, “Adam is one of the area’s best players. He has a unique style and is a great teammate.”
I asked Adam to give me some insight on what he thought his strengths were in his game. He said, “I feel I’m pretty good at chasing down the cut shots. A lot of the big guys have trouble controlling the ball when they are hitting as hard as they can. I’ve been working on controlling the hard hit balls.” Adam plays some four man as well as doubles and when asked what he thought makes a good teammate he said, “It’s all about ball control.” Adam described playing with his current teammate and how important ball control and placement are to their success.
He has seen a lot of different players and styles and I asked him about some of the harder shots he has seen. He described the “sky ball” serve. This is a serve that is hit as high in the air as possible with spin. The ball gains a tremendous amount of speed as it comes down and it difficult to hit. Adam puts it this way, “The higher it’s hit the harder it is to receive it. It looks like its coming straight down but the spin makes it move in front of you towards the net.” Another favorite shot of Adam’s is the float serve. This is done by hitting the ball with no spin and it causes the ball to move almost like a knuckle ball in baseball. “When you hit the ball it kind of moves with the wind and those can be even harder to hit than a lot of jump serves,” said Adam.
Adam’s next tournament is the Volley America regional tournament coming up October the tenth in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. When asked what he thought his chances would be he said, “It’s a really big tournament with a lot of good players. It should be fun. We will see what happens.” If you want to see Adam in action, he plays in a league at Captain Bill’s and practices with pick up games at Dig n Dive.
Volley America Event in Myrtle Beach
*All photos owned and taken by Jeffrey Boulden