The switch isn’t automatic. Even an experienced indoor player needs practice finding her ‘sand legs’ in beach volleyball. Sinking and stumbling as she learns to jump and run barefoot on (possibly hot) sand is a humbling new beginning. Eventually, her muscles stabilize and she gets used to landing on both feet. Movement forwards, backwards and sideways on the sandy court becomes second nature. By the time her focus is on entirely on strategy, her light footwork barely disrupts the level sand. The court surface isn’t the only difference. Indoor volleyball has six players per side; beach volleyball has two. The pair must pass, set up, spike, block and serve to their opponents.
“Peeling” – Fast Footwork on Defence
Mid-rally decisions are frequent. If a beach volleyball player can track an incoming attacking ball, she steps forward and blocks it back. If she decides a block isn’t possible, she quickly ‘peels’ into a back court position.
In a ‘Cross, Step, Hop’ combination movement, the player starts from a ‘loaded position’ with knees bent, one foot in front of the other. On the right side of the court, her right foot is in front and on the left side her left foot is in front. She
- Pushes off front foot with open body to the court,
- Crosses outer leg with inner leg,
- Takes an aggressive step away from the net, and
- Swings into a large hop to face attacker. (1)
Go to – http://www.toronto2015.org/schedule
Resources:
http://www.toronto2015.org/beach-volleyball
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3772587/
www.avca.org/…/Fundamentals-of-Sand-Volleyball-Part-3-Blocking.pdf (1)
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Corinthians 9:25 (NIV)
TRAINING – COMPETITION – PODIUM
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