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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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