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.
Beach Volleyball
Beach volleyball is becoming a very popular sport in the United States. The men's and women's beach volleyball teams took gold in the Olympics and 47.2 million people watched them do it. It was one of the most watched events at the Olympics.
Professional beach volleyball isn't organized in the same way that other sports are set up. There are no teams that draft you and pay you a certain amount of money in a signed contract. There are simply tournaments almost every weekend in the summer throughout California and other states that hold qualifier events. The qualifier event is where anyone that thinks they are good enough to play against the best can step up to the volleyball net and give it a try. You pay to enter you and your partner into the tournament where you will have to beat 3 other teams trying to go pro. Once you win 3 games you are into the main event, which is where you can earn money. Technically if you make it into the main event in the AVP you are considered a professional beach volleyball player. Once you are in the main draw, each game you win greatly increases the amount of money you win. Make sure you know the rules of beach volleyball before you start your journey to become a pro in the AVP.
Professional beach volleyball isn't organized in the same way that other sports are set up. There are no teams that draft you and pay you a certain amount of money in a signed contract. There are simply tournaments almost every weekend in the summer throughout California and other states that hold qualifier events. The qualifier event is where anyone that thinks they are good enough to play against the best can step up to the volleyball net and give it a try. You pay to enter you and your partner into the tournament where you will have to beat 3 other teams trying to go pro. Once you win 3 games you are into the main event, which is where you can earn money. Technically if you make it into the main event in the AVP you are considered a professional beach volleyball player. Once you are in the main draw, each game you win greatly increases the amount of money you win. Make sure you know the rules of beach volleyball before you start your journey to become a pro in the AVP.
Sand Volleyball Plyometrics
Lets review some exercises you can do to prepare you for this summer of beach volleyball. The first thing that you need to improve is your jumping. No matter how high you can jump it is always better if you can jump higher. Beach volleyball is getting harder to play for shorter people or for people who can't jump high. So if you want to be a great beach volleyball player you will need to be able to jump. Not all of us are going to be able to get our armpits over the net to block, but you are the blocker on your team you need to be getting about that high. Touching 10 feet on a hard court means you are touching about 9 feet when jumping out of sand. So when training for beach volleyball it is always best to do your jump training in the sand. But, for people that live where it gets cold in the winter there are still plenty of exercises to do indoors that will increase your vertical leap. One of the best weighted exercises for jumping are squats. Don't think you can just do tons of squats and that you will be blocking balls with your armpits. Squats alone will really only get your legs stronger but not faster. When you jump you want all of your muscles to fire at the exact same time and to fire with more fibers. So to train them to do that you have to jump. Pick a spot on a wall and jump to touch that spot about 6 to 10 times. Get plenty of rest in between sets and then do it again. Then move on to a different jumping exercise. You could jump up on high boxes. You want them so high that you wont be able to get 11 reps because you would get too tired. If you're using a box height where you can do 20 reps without a problem in one set then it's too low. We don't want to train our legs to jump for longer periods of time, we want them to jump higher so we have to train them like that. Another good exercise is to get a box (not very tall) and step off of it and as soon as our feet touch the ground jump up as high as you can. The point is to have your feet in contact with the ground for as little of time as possible. This is training your muscles to react quickly.
What Beach Volleyball Should You Buy?
There are thousands of volleyballs available to buy but only one is approved by the AVP (association of volleyball professionals) and that is the official wilson beach volleyball.
There are some things in life where you get what you pay for. This is exactly the case when it comes to buying the right beach volleyball. Many beginner volleyball players don't like the game because it hurts their arms when the pass "bump" the ball. The truth is that they are using a ball that is made of cheap plastic and is very hard. Any advanced player would pass that ball one time, notice that it hurt and they would get a different ball. It's like playing basketball with a ball that is half inflated, you may be able to still dribble but it will take all your force just to bounce it. Nobody would like basketball if that were the case. So, when picking a beach volleyball you might have to spend a little more money so that you get a ball that is made of real leather and is soft. The best ball that I have ever seen and the only one that I will play with is the Wilson Official Beach Volleyball. This ball is the softest ball and the one that is used in all of the AVP (Association of Beach Volleyball Professionals). So instead of buying multiple balls that hurt your arms, just buy one that is good. You can always find better deals online than in any store when it comes to this ball, so shop around and compare prices.
Beach Volleyball In Utah
Beach volleyball sand socks are ideal for cold or hot sand.
Check out sand volleyball here in Utah at Wasatch Beach Volleyball
Outdoor Volleyball
Ten Things To Avoid When Playing Sand Volleyball
1. Never ask if the scoring is rally or the old style where you have to serve to get a point. Nobody plays the old way anymore. It is always rally!
2. Never touch the net. It doesn't matter if you are blocking or hitting, you can not touch the net. The second people see someone hitting the net with no regards to the rule, they will not want to play with you. This rule keeps people safe. If you jump into the net chances are you will injure someone on the opposing team and/or yourself. Allowing people to touch the net is like allowing everyone to double dribble in basketball. It's a rule and needs to be followed both in indoor and sand volleyball.
3. Never bring your red, white and blue expensive indoor volleyball to play with in the sand. This automatically says you have no idea how to play beach volleyball. Also avoid buying the cheap volleyballs that feel like rocks. The only volleyball you should be using should be the wilson avp OFFICIAL game ball. Not the one that says replica on it. The ball is yellow and white and can be found online. Expect to pay anywhere from $35 to $50 bucks on it.
4. Never expect to play 3's or 4's or any other number when a sand court is being played on by people that are already there and playing 2 on 2. The unspoken rule is that whomever has sat the longest plays the next game. This is an important thing to follow when playing on public sand courts. Everyone should be allowed to play and everyone should wait until it's their turn. Always make sure you know the rules of beach volleyball
1. Never ask if the scoring is rally or the old style where you have to serve to get a point. Nobody plays the old way anymore. It is always rally!
2. Never touch the net. It doesn't matter if you are blocking or hitting, you can not touch the net. The second people see someone hitting the net with no regards to the rule, they will not want to play with you. This rule keeps people safe. If you jump into the net chances are you will injure someone on the opposing team and/or yourself. Allowing people to touch the net is like allowing everyone to double dribble in basketball. It's a rule and needs to be followed both in indoor and sand volleyball.
3. Never bring your red, white and blue expensive indoor volleyball to play with in the sand. This automatically says you have no idea how to play beach volleyball. Also avoid buying the cheap volleyballs that feel like rocks. The only volleyball you should be using should be the wilson avp OFFICIAL game ball. Not the one that says replica on it. The ball is yellow and white and can be found online. Expect to pay anywhere from $35 to $50 bucks on it.
4. Never expect to play 3's or 4's or any other number when a sand court is being played on by people that are already there and playing 2 on 2. The unspoken rule is that whomever has sat the longest plays the next game. This is an important thing to follow when playing on public sand courts. Everyone should be allowed to play and everyone should wait until it's their turn. Always make sure you know the rules of beach volleyball
Rules of Beach Volleyball
As stated in a previous post, the rules of beach volleyball and sand volleyball are the same. But they differ greatly from the rules of indoor 6 on 6 volleyball. Some of the rule are because there are only 2 players per team.
Rules that differ from indoor volleyball:
1. You can't set the serve. In indoor volleyball you may be able to set the serve all day but outdoor volleyball is different, you can't double contact the serve. You may pass the ball with your hands above your head but your hands must be touching each other.
2. You can't open hand tip the ball. This ugly practice that you may have developed playing sloppy indoor volleyball is a no no in the sand. You can shoot the ball gracefully but nothing with an open hand.
3. Your set has to be clean. Indoor sets look very ugly to an outdoor player because they spin a lot and just don't look clean. The actual rule doesn't count how many rotations the ball spins after the set but if it is spinning the ref will naturally assume that you doubled the ball on the set and it will not be good. Super clean looking sets are key. I say "looking" because they have to look clean to the ref.
4. You can't set any ball that's not hard driven unless the set is very clean.
5. You can't side set over the net. When setting over the net you must set directly in front or behind you.
6. There are no rotation rules.
7. The block counts as one of your 3 hits.
8. You can double the ball when it's a hard driven ball (spike). If someone spikes at you double it all you want.
9. This isn't really a rule but something good to know if you are making the transition from indoor to outdoor volleyball. The ball is not going to feel like a rock because it's so pumped up like an indoor ball. The ball pressure is supposed to be less in outdoor volleyballs, so don't try to pump up all the balls or complain that they need more air. That's the way they are supposed to be.
Rules that differ from indoor volleyball:
1. You can't set the serve. In indoor volleyball you may be able to set the serve all day but outdoor volleyball is different, you can't double contact the serve. You may pass the ball with your hands above your head but your hands must be touching each other.
2. You can't open hand tip the ball. This ugly practice that you may have developed playing sloppy indoor volleyball is a no no in the sand. You can shoot the ball gracefully but nothing with an open hand.
3. Your set has to be clean. Indoor sets look very ugly to an outdoor player because they spin a lot and just don't look clean. The actual rule doesn't count how many rotations the ball spins after the set but if it is spinning the ref will naturally assume that you doubled the ball on the set and it will not be good. Super clean looking sets are key. I say "looking" because they have to look clean to the ref.
4. You can't set any ball that's not hard driven unless the set is very clean.
5. You can't side set over the net. When setting over the net you must set directly in front or behind you.
6. There are no rotation rules.
7. The block counts as one of your 3 hits.
8. You can double the ball when it's a hard driven ball (spike). If someone spikes at you double it all you want.
9. This isn't really a rule but something good to know if you are making the transition from indoor to outdoor volleyball. The ball is not going to feel like a rock because it's so pumped up like an indoor ball. The ball pressure is supposed to be less in outdoor volleyballs, so don't try to pump up all the balls or complain that they need more air. That's the way they are supposed to be.
Beach Volleyball Vs. Sand Volleyball
The only difference between beach volleyball and sand volleyball is the name. They are the same game, played by the same rules. Beach volleyball started in California and was played on the beach, and that's where it got it's name. Since it has become more popular and is played in many land-locked states it is adopting the name of sand volleyball because of the lack of a beach.
Sand Volleyball
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.
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.
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