Best advice I can give for tournaments is to start preparing early. I find that I do my best when I physically and mentally prepare the days leading up to competition. I like to get a couple practice days in before the tournament, and then make sure I have at least one day of rest the day before. The day before I try my best to drink plenty of water, stretch, and get a massage. I also try to play out my game plans in my head all throughout the week. I find that mentally picturing positive outcomes has helped my performance the day of. As for the tournament day itself, it’s critical for me that I stay mentally engaged throughout the entire tournament. Sometimes this can be challenging due to long periods of time between sets where you are waiting and not playing. It can be really easy to lose focus and forget the ultimate goal of the day. For me doing frequent warm ups, and paying attention to the other games has helped me stay focused. It’s also a great chance to talk strategy with your partner! Hope this helped answer your question. Good luck at your next tournament!

It is awesome that you are looking to get out and play! No need to be nervous we all have to start somewhere. What I would suggest is joining a local beach league for 6on6. This is where I started playing and it was great because nobody else knew what they were doing either so we all learned together. Luckily most beach leagues have division for complete beginners. The Belmar Beach Volleyball League is a great example. I would also recommend joining a clinic for adults at a beach near you. This way you are getting proper instruction about the fundamentals which you can apply and focus on at your next league night. Even better if you can get some of your teammates to sign up too. Biggest thing for complete beginners is just going out and playing. Get used to the sand, and the wind and just have fun. If I could go back to when I first started, I would focus on one skill each time I played instead of trying to get everything down all at once. Definitely get out there and play, it is such a great sport to get into. It is a perfect time to start because so many people are just starting out just like you and there are always ways to play no matter what your skill level is!

Good question! Beach volleyball is a game that rewards quick bursts of power. So, if I haven't played in a while I focus on primarily building that endurance and strength in my fast twitch muscle fibers. The drills below can all be done anywhere but obviously if you can get out on the sand and do them there it will be even better. It is also a good idea to stretch, and foam roll before these workouts. Drill 1 (Sprint progression)- Place two cones about 20 yards away from each other. If you don't have cones, you can eyeball it. Start behind one cone. 1. Do a 50 percent jog from one cone to the other, then walk back (3 reps) 2. Same thing now 75 percent (3 reps) 3. Move your cone closer so now it is 10 yards away. Now go 100 percent sprint and run through the other cone. (30 second rest between each set. Go for 5 sets) Drill 2 (Shuffling): Set your cones about 15 yards apart and shuffle back and forth between them. Start slow and eventually progress until you are going as hard as you can. Focus on driving hard off you opposite foot. So if you are shuffling left your focus should be explosively pushing off that right foot. Drill 3 (plyometrics): 1. Pogo jumps- Start by standing with your arms at your side. You will do a total of three jumps. The first two are small hops, and the last is a powerful max jump. Your emphasis should be minimizing the amount of time your feet are on the ground and swinging your arms as far back as possible as you go into your third jump. Go for 3 sets of 8 reps. Each 3 jumps count as one rep. 2. Squat jumps: For this you have the option of doing it with or without added weight. Slowly lower yourself into a squatting position. Once you reach the bottom of the motion quickly explode out of it with a jump. Do 3 sets of 8.

3 main skills to master as a beginner: 1. Agility on the sand 2. Forearm passing 3. Serving Agility in the sand: Volleyball is a game of movement. You have to be able to get from point A to B as efficiently as possible. Beach volleyball can be especially difficult at first with the sand slowing you down so it’s very important to get comfortable moving. Forearm passing: The pass is commonly regarded as the fundamental skill of volleyball. A good pass sets you up for success while a bad bass puts you in a hole. Serve: The serve initiates every point and sets the tone for each point making it a absolute must to learn To improve agility start by standing in the center of the court and simply practice shuffling in all directions. Left, right, in front, and behind. It’s amazing how effective that alone can be. Then practice a 3 step hitting approach to the net and jump. Do this as many times as you want, you don’t even need a ball or anyone to set you! Finally practice sprinting back and forth from the net to the end line. For forearm passing a great beginner drill is to get a partner and have them toss to you from over the net. Focus on a steady platform and reducing any unnecessary movement as you pass. Good passing should be boring to watch! To start have your partner toss right to you then have them toss to your left, right, short, and deep. Now you are working on both your passing and agility. For serving try your best to learn an overhand serve. It’s can be very temping and comfortable to do an underhand serve as a beginner but you’re missing out on the rewards of an overhand. A simple progression to learn is to get a partner and stand on opposite side of the net. You should each start about 10 feet from the net. Give yourself a toss and serve over the net to your partner. For best results try striking the ball with the heel of your hand and avoid contacting the ball with your fingers. Each time you make your serve over the net take a big step back then serve again. Do this until you get all the way back to the end-line and do a full court serve. If you struggle with power try to focus on utilizing your hips, chest, and make sure you are drawing your hitting elbow as far back as possible before you hit.

Great question! I think the mental aspect of beach volleyball is something that doesn’t get talked about enough. Unlike most team sports, your team in beach is just you and your partner. When 50 percent of your team is made up of yourself your mental framework is going to have a huge impact on how your team does. One framework that I adopted the past couple years as the level of competition increased is that of expecting, and welcoming adversity. No matter who you are, or how good you are you will always face adversity at some point. So it’s better for you to just accept that fact, and it’s even better if you welcome it. I try to remind myself that if the sport wasn’t hard I wouldn’t be playing it. It’s the challenge and adversity that makes me, and you a better player. If it was always easy what would be the point? Another framework is confidence. I think everyone needs to have confidence to push through when the going gets tough. With confidence there are both good forms, and bad forms of it. Good confidence can be compared to eating healthy foods. It leaves you feeling good, and satisfied. While junk food confidence may give you a cheap, short lived benefit. I think cockiness is a great example of junk food confidence because while true confidence is earned, cockiness can be utilized by anyone. The confidence you and I have should be built around both your preparation/ quality reps in your training, and sticking to your values you have as an athlete. I love winning, but I can be content knowing that I was a good partner, that I went all out on every point, and was grateful for the opportunity to play. The thing all three of those things have in common is that I have full control over them no matter if we are up 10 points or down 10 points. Because of that I can be confident in myself no matter what.