Any tips on how to be the best sand volleyball player?

[sanddrip]

I'm starting playing volleyball in my middle 20s and I feel like i'm late to the game because almost everyone started at a young age or in high school college. Any advice on how to get better? 

[cribbit]

Focus on playing real 2's. Avoid the jungleball games. Network to find better games. Be friendly. Good players want to play with good players, but no one wants to play with an @$$%*!*.

Have lines, antennas, 2-3 good balls and set up your own games. People are lazy and will play down if it means having well organized games. Especially if you can get friends with 1-2 better players so it's you playing up, and not them playing down.

Take lessons a couple times a month, weekly if you can. Better tips there depends on where you're based. Do drills outside of lessons. Two people doing drills together can get in a lot and will see your fastest skill improvement.

At the lower levels (eg CBVA B), good passing wins games. Good setting gets good partners. Hitting doesn't matter, court vision and accurate shots are all you really need. Learn to hit properly before trying for hitting hard.

Go watch higher level games, especially in person, but AVP/FIVB streams are good too. Consciously consider what techniques they are using. They are going to be taller and more athletic than you but the form will be there. Our brains are able to learn by watching others and one of the biggest issues with learning volleyball is the lack of media to consume. 

[katita]

Apr 17, 2024 16:40:33 GMT -5 sanddrip said:

I'm starting playing volleyball in my middle 20s and I feel like i'm late to the game because almost everyone started at a young age or in high school college. Any advice on how to get better? 

I say never underestimate the power of fundamentals and ball control. Get in reps whenever you can. Also learning to read your opponents and their tendencies. This is important no matter the position you play. Learn to see the game as a whole rather than only keeping your eye on the ball the whole time. Aside from that, it kinda depends on what position you want to or like to play.

[staticb]

What's your athletic background? Did you play other sports? Are you a crossover from indoor?  There's a lot of people who started late and became really really good.

That said the tips here are already really good. Basically 1.)Take Lessons 2.)Practice outside of games and lessons.

[beachcoach]

Apr 17, 2024 16:40:33 GMT -5 sanddrip said:

I'm starting playing volleyball in my middle 20s and I feel like i'm late to the game because almost everyone started at a young age or in high school college. Any advice on how to get better? 

save up everything you have don’t spend money on anything other than a new ball or three. Then spend all winter in Brazil and Australia and Hermosa and give work a break and play your heart out. Dawn to dusk. Get a job at hostel in surf city Hermosa. Live and breathe the sport. Life’s too short. Go out there and find pick up games with anyone and eveyone who will have you play. Give it about 2-8 years you might realise how good you will become. Get a restaurant job with good tip so you can train all day and work in the evenings while hopefully being well fed. If all else fails do what others have probably said already.

[beachking]

Do all this, turn pro, and be a top 20 player in the country, making 6k a year.


actually, the first post says it well. That's how you get better.

[acd]

I picked it up later as well, late twenties. I played basketball in college and had continued to a lot until I caught the volleyball bug, so I had an athletic base to start from.

I found a couple of decent guys around my area & played pickup doubles damn near every night for 3 hours the first summer I learned how. I played a lot of coed doubles also, anything to touch a ball. By the end of that first summer, the local “good” players invited me out with them. They taught me to do drills & helped me with strategy, things I would have eventually learned, but they helped speed up the process.

All that said, try to play as much as possible when you have at least 4 people. That initial learning phase is so valuable. When you don’t have the numbers, do drills. Get extra balls & serve when you’re by yourself. It’s completely within your control. Practice hand setting while you’re sitting around at your house, or controlling the ball on your knuckles.

[larry]

Learn to pass. In beach doubles, if you can't pass, you can't play.