Beach Volleyball Tips

Beach volleyball is becoming very popular in America. It will take the name of sand volleyball when it becomes a collegiate sport. Sand volleyball is played with 2 people per team.

When watching beach volleyball you might wonder why the teams switch sides mid game. The games are played to 21 and the switches occur every seven points so that the sun isn't in one teams eyes more than the others.

You might be able to jump high and hit ball straight down playing indoor volleyball, but can you do it in the sand? Probably not, this is because the approach you take in beach volleyball is much different than that of indoor. In sand volleyball you can't use you forward momentum as much.

Beach volleyballs are different than indoor volleyballs. And all beach volleyballs are not created equally. A beach volleyball is going to be a bit lighter and slightly less pumped up than an indoor volleyball.

Setting in beach volleyball is very different than indoor. You are allowed to have the ball in your hands a little bit longer. This is because the ball must leave your hands with no spin on it.

Don't even think about tipping the ball over the net with an open hand when playing beach volleyball. This is not allowed in beach volleyball and who wants to do it anyways?

Setting over the net is never recommended if you want to win games in beach volleyball. But not only is it not recommended it is illegal if you aren't facing the way you set. You must be parallel to where you set the ball.

A block counts as a hit in beach volleyball. This might take some getting used to, but why would the block not count as one of your 3 hits?

Hopefully these few tips on beach volleyball will help you improve your beach volleyball game.

Conditioning For Sand Volleyball

Sand Volleyball is all about jumping. There's not a position that isn't allowed to jump like in indoor volleyball. If you play you have to be able to jump no matter how tall you are. But how do you learn how to jump higher? Very easy, you jump. Anything you want to get better at requires you to practice. But there are more efficient ways to train for jumping than others. In Sand volleyball you need an explosive maximum height jump, not a bunch of repetitive sub-maximal jumps. For this reason, the way you should train for jumping in beach volleyball is different than jump training for other sports. When doing plyometrics (jumping exercises) you shouldn't be doing high reps but rather low reps and giving each rep all your strength. Also, you should let yourself get well rested in between sets.
Most of your jump training should be in the sand because that is how you will be jumping in the game. The approach is much different than on a hard court. Also, because plyometrics are of a very high intensity, training in the sand will be much softer on your joints which will prevent injuries.

Sand Volleyball Blog

This page will teach you the rules of sand volleyball and follow this new sport as it transitions into a collegiate sport for women as early as 2010.