By Shaun Catlin, Club Director, Triple Crown Volleyball
Let me give
a brief back story to bring relevance to my approach to coaching and teaching
sand volleyball. While growing up in the
late 80’s and early 90’s, beach volleyball was a normal way of life for my
friends and I. We watched players like
Sinjin Smith, Karch Kiarly, Scott Ayakatubby, Adam Johnson, Tim Hovland and Mike
Dodd live on TV. When my friends and I
played we would don the apparel of our favorite beach volleyball players and
emulate their style of play. I so badly
wanted to be Karch Kiarly with that unlocked passing form or Sinjin Smith with
the insane defense and incredible vertical but most times I was just an Ack and
wore colorful shorts.
Early on we
learned to set, pass, and spike just by watching and doing. We didn't have a coach to push us or show us
the proper form or best techniques; we just watched it live on TV or recorded
it with our VCR's. I remember playing
some recorded tapes of Hermosa so many times that the tape wore out and was
eventually chewed up by the VCR. I
believe that the coach and the athlete have an equally important role to play
in the success of a beach athlete. Below
are some keys to my coaching philosophy, followed by fundamental drills for
beach volleyball athletes and coaches starting to learn or teach the sport.
ATHLETES
Play the Game Stress to play, play,
and play some more because that is what ultimately yields improvement. Play with a purpose so each game becomes
practice for the next game. Arrive to
practice 30 minutes early to get on the court and leave 30 minutes later to
refine techniques learned during practice.
Play pickup games outside of practice, participate in tournaments and
play at the highest levels in both juniors and adults.
Teach the Game The formula to be a better player is to teach the game. During practice, break down the game with
players and encourage strategy discussion against an opposing team. Looking for strengths and weakness leads an
athlete to a higher level of understanding of the game, and, more importantly,
a realization of how their opponent can be beat. This obviously is a delicate discussion as
it’s not meant to be negative, but rather an insightful or intelligent debate
that creates smarter athletes.
COACHES
Play the Game As a coach, learn the game and if possible, play the game. This game is so new that sometimes it's
easier, faster, and more exciting to show players how to play the game. The coach can lead and teach by example so
players will emulate the coach’s behavior. It is an opportunity for the coach playing
style and set the tone for the sand program.
Teach the
Game The coach is a teacher, an
educator. That title carries a huge
responsibility, to teach the game by learning it from your athletes. Nothing is more rewarding for a coach than
when the player masters the skill you've been teaching. Make sure the player understands what
correction is needed and how to apply it; this is a critical piece of coaching
any sport. Ask the athletes questions
during practice. With the guidance of a good coach, players can find the
answers on their own. It's the most
powerful tool that you can use to help an athlete in their quest to become a
better beach volleyball player.
Learn the Game Drill modifications are a great opportunity to get the athletes in
an active learning role. The more
engaged the athlete is; the better they are able to learn. There may be times
in practice when the drill is not going right, it’s not accomplishing its purpose,
or the speed of the drill may be wrong.
Encourage participation and feedback from your players as you modify
drills during practice. Be ready to adjust and modify as you go.
So exactly
what are the fundamentals of beach volleyball?
It is well beyond the pass, set and hit that we are all used to. In beach, our fundamentals are based on
learning and teaching the game. Since
the game is played without active coaching the athletes must coach themselves
and their partners during a match or tournament. Teaching them this skill is critical in how
they learn to learn.
Here is one drill, which is simply modified, so that you can apply
it to each of the skills below. These
drills can be performed with as little as 3 players per side or as many as
18. Progress the drills and modify them
to fit the level. Each drill allows as
many PSH (Pass Set Hit) scenarios as possible however they will require
adjusting them for the appropriate skill level.
Please note that depth, dryness of sand, humidity, and temperature will
ultimately change the number of reps and quality of reps before
exhaustion. Please be mindful of those
elements prior to applying these drills or any beach drill.
Passing:
Basic Key
Words: Platform, Angle, Target
Advanced Key
words: Ball forward, Loaded, Fluid
The skill of passing in beach outdoor has similarities such as
targets, platform and angles however some of the keys we use in beach require
us to compensate for wind, sand depth, and opponent defense. We use key words such as “ball forward” to
indicate to our players to keep the ball passed forward so that all movements
are graduated towards the net. A huge
mistake that our new beach players make is passing the ball to an indoor
setting target or passing the pass with fast tempo. We actually use a target in the sand called
PoH or "Point of Hesitation".
It's the center of the front court allowing you and your partner to see
the entire court and setup for the offensive play.
The diagram
of the drill to the right shows a simple passing drill. This drill is not coach driven as we like
Triangle
Passing
Targets hit to passers, setters approach to set ball but catch
ball and become the next hitter. Hitter
then moves to passing lane while passers move to setting lane. Remember that we are focusing on passing only
here in this drill. A controlled down
ball from the hitter to the passer allowing our passer to performed blocked
style passing. To increase difficulty
the ball may be presented from across the net to the passer. This drill may be performed on both sides of
the court. This may be either a timed drill or a goal based drill.
Our advanced key words describe our action in our simplest
form. “Ball forward” describes where the
ball should go. Athletes should
understand what ball forward means, in such that it describes both the location
and the platform required to make the ball go forward. We define “loaded” in our club many different
ways. “Loaded” can be used to describe
the pass but it also is used to describe a set or an attack. Being loaded is similar to a spring and
compressing of that spring, allowing you to push a passed ball forward with
direction and accuracy. Lastly the
advanced keyword of “fluid” is meant to portray smooth solid movements before,
during or after a ball contact. Jerky or
rapid movements intend to be indicative of improper footwork, arm speed,
incorrect platform rotation, or simply just lack of confidence.
Setting:
Basic Key
Words: Target, Pin, Open
Advanced Key
Words: Loaded, Release, Apex
Setting for
beach requires finesse and technique not common for non-setters to apply. It's is solely based on each players own
hitting preference but learning to adjust and keep the ball on target is the
absolute most important skill. Basic keys
such as “target” is simply where the target should be, which is roughly 3 feet
inside the pin two feet inside the net, and “pin” is referring to the antenna
(or post of the net if no antennas are available), while “open” refers to the
angle in which the setter finishes the set.
Target area for beach should be almost wherever directly the passer
passed the ball allowing the passer, now the hitter, to attack the ball with
little lateral movement and focused attention to the hitting target.
The diagram of the drill to the right shows a simple setting drill
by expanding o the Triangle passing drill
Triangle
Setting
Targets hit to passers, setters perform movements to set ball
successfully and become the next hitter.
Hitter then moves to passing lane while passers move to setting
lane. Remember that we are focusing on
setting only here in this drill. To
increase difficulty the ball may be presented from across the net to the
passer. This drill may be performed on both
sides of the court. This may be either a timed drill or a goal based
drill. This drill must focus on the
setter and the keys of “target”, “pin”, “open” but advanced players may focus
on loaded”, “release”, and “apex”.
The advanced key word “loaded” is similar or even identical to the
loaded position during a pass. The main
differentiator would be the apex. When
discussing release, it involves releasing the set, and we have a couple of ways
to do it. A back set requires a high
release essentially setting over our heads and with a very tight apex. A low release would be for someone who is far
away and setting ball back into the court from a position outside of it. “Apex” is the ball’s path up in the top most
arc. With a loose apex the ball travels
further away from the setter while a tight apex almost sets the hitter in an up
and down motion. A zero apex set would
essentially land back in the setter's platform.
Notice that I'm making the assumption that all sets are pass sets and
not hand sets. However all keywords here
can describe a hand set.
In an ideal situation we want to use a nice tight apex. As a coach you must instruct your athletes to
face the pin when setting as it keeps the ball moving forward. Quite a few of our indoor players learn to
set parallel to the net but this does not allow the setter to take advantage of
the court to view and provide an attack call to the hitter and it does not
always guarantee that the ball will be between you and the net. Keep those eyes on the pin and your
opponents.
In the Part 2 of Sand Fundamentals we will take triangle passing
and setting and morph them into a hitting drill and discuss fundamentals of blocking.
