Most of the tips I post will be AA or Open but there will also be some A level tips. For those of you not familiar with the ratings for level of play of beach volleyball this is basically what they mean from bottom to top.
B - Recreational (Little to no experience)
BB - Basic skills (Some experience)
A - Beginner (More experience but raw)
AA - Intermediate (Consistent player with some polished skills)
Open - Advanced (Top level player)
Also, a video that is tagged AA means that the tip being discussed in the video is most appropriate for those looking to move up to the AA level or those who already compete in the AA level and need help with a few parts of their game.
To view/play all of the tips, follow this link for the entire playlist, or press play below. To choose a specific tip, simple click on the link under the categories below.
Defense
Covering the line with a cross court block [Level of play: AA]
Impatient defense [Level of play: AA]
Defensive positioning [Level of play: AA/Open]
(In this video I say that Casey sets up close the "sideline", where as I meant to say "backline", sorry :P )
Covering Multiple Shots Pt. 1 [Level of play: Open]
Covering Multiple Shots Pt. 2 [Level of play: Open]
High Line Pick Up [Level of play: AA]
Fundamentals
Footwork - Serve/Receive [Level of play: A]
Footwork - Approach [Level of play: A]
Footwork - Pulling off the net [Level of play: A/AA]
Blocking
Switch Blocking [Level of play: AA/Open]
What are your thoughts on looking at the defense when attacking the ball?
ReplyDeleteI am a shorter beach player myself and I realized I must be able to look at the defender in order to become a stronger player. When I do this though, I lose my ability to jump as high and often times don't sideout as well. When I decide to focus on my jump and forget about the defender and just swing tough and in good spots I side out better.
Should I ditch trying too look at the defense all together?
Also when should you make that look?
Thanks man,
Good stuff you got here
I would say that you don't have to develop that skill necessarily but it is a good skill to have in your arsenal. Like almost anything in the beach game a lot depends on who is standing on the other side of the net, so having a robust set of skills will allow you to set up game plans and strategize effectively and use whatever skills/shots/schemes you think would best give you a chance at winning.
DeleteFor me I experience similar results, and since I know that as a shorter player you are basically max jumping every hit you will have to depend on your partner's call a lot more.
So my 2 main pieces of advice will be this:
1) Establish good communication habits with your partner, or if you are just playing pick up with random partners, then simplify the game into an either A or B call.
2) Adjust your approach to optimize your court vision.
- I'm still working on this and tweaking this myself, but I've found that waiting a little bit longer off of the pass and set and making my last 2 steps quicker as I close allows me to see the court better as I go up, but of course you may not be able to do this every time based on how you pass the ball and who your setter is and if they are giving you consistent sets.
For the most part against AA or less competition you can get away with having 2 or 3 main options in your offense and having your partner prepared to give the A, B, or C call, but as you get into tougher competition, every shot has to be available, and for that both of you need to be seeing the court to have the most effective side-out game. But when in doubt, just rip it high and hard, and if you get blocked then so be it, and come right back the next point ready to ball.
Hope this helps. I want to do more playing tips for offense but it is tough to convey certain principles in video and need more of a personal touch so if you have any other specific questions, feel free to email me at daoofchi@gmail.com and I may turn it into a personalized playing tip or blog post :)
awesome man. thanks for the detailed response. this definitely brought some clarity to my game. If any other question pops up in the future ill be sure to let you know :)
DeleteHi David.
ReplyDeleteWhen might you be posting additional playing tips? They are tremendously helpful.
Thank you.
I was going to publish one this week, but I've been having trouble with the Coach's Eye app and having the video render. I may have to redo it, but it should be up soon. Have any suggestions on what you would want to see?
DeleteHi David,
DeleteThanks for your reply. Perhaps when you get around to it, could you cover the topic of blocking as well as the timing of pulling off the net?
Thanks so much.
Hi David,
DeleteWhat are your views on the approach of a right-handed hitter attacking on the the far right (and likewise, a left-handed hitter attacking on the far left) and why? In general I have understood that such attacks should be approached straight on and not at an angle from the outside.
Your insights are valued.
Thanks
I would say there isn't necessarily a general rule for this for and here's why...
DeleteIn beach volleyball everything is situational. With that said, although common logic would say that taking a sharply angled approach takes away your options as a hitter on how much court you make available to yourself you can still use that to your advantage.
If you do take an angled approach, it forces the alignment of the block and defender to shift accordingly and play much more aggressive and shallow angles that they would otherwise not be in. Unless you get a trap set, you should still be able to turn over (swing inside-out, aka thumb down, pinky up) your swing for a roll shot to the high line.
That also means that taking a perfectly straight on approach may limit your ability to swing across your body, which is why in general as hitters we always are ever so slightly angled toward the cross court, yet we are still able to hit every shot whether if we are to alter our swing going across our body, or turning the shot inside-out.
In the playing tip video "Covering Multiple Shots Pt. 1" you see Sean Scott have to take a sharply angled approach because the set led him toward the middle but he still cuts the shot back against his body. Although you still leave yourself with multiple shots that you can hit even in an unconventional manner, this still means that the blocker can be more aggressive in their set up. There is only so far you can turn your shot inside out, so if the block is set up down the line they can probably move in more and maybe even block "ball", or if they are in the cross they won't have to take away as much court and line up just inside your hitting shoulder since any swing taken inside of them probably won't be in since you are taking a very sharp approach and hence a sharper angle to the cross court.
So bringing it back full circle, I wouldn't say don't ever take an angled approach no matter what side you are playing on, but it all depends on what you want to do as a team and how you match up with the other team. First and foremost you should always play to your strengths. Play your game first and executing will always be easier opposed to reacting solely on what the defense is doing. If you find siding out is a little bit more difficult then you may have to switch things up from time to time, whether if it is sets out of the middle, off the net, at a faster tempo, back sets, pushing to the pin, or changing your approach. This is why you need to constantly be storing memory of each play so you can make these in game adjustments, but obviously not tinkering so much as to get you out of your game. But as you move up to Open play, you'll find that the game becomes very cerebral so you have to have the ability to hit any shot from any part on the court so the defense respects these shots and can't just game plan for 2 or 3 options.
I can expand on this a little bit more with a setting video and the importance of having a consistent straight up and down set every time, but thanks for your question, I hope I answered what you were looking for.
David,
DeleteThank you so much for taking the time to reply. You completely nailed it down for me. I look forward to your further inputs and playing tips.
Thanks again
Hey David,
ReplyDeleteIf you get around to posting additional tips, could you put something together about how to read the nuances of the attacker's hitting arm prior to making ball contact?
Thank you
Yes I would love a tip on reading the attackers arm. I'm very poor at this
Delete