Hopewell Junction is very far for me, even when I am up in New Paltz. This was my first time playing at the location and I only knew one person. This came from a group chat I joined half a year ago and never got an opportunity to play with until now. It was awkward at first, but after some brief introductions and some gentle peppering, playing felt fun. Volleyball didn’t feel this exciting since I started playing in high school. New people, great competition, and a professional set up in the sand with the beautiful weather felt great.
I never got an opportunity to play proper beach doubles; it was exhausting initially. As time went on, me and my partner started to trust each other more. She comes from Austria and her family played a lot; the influence was obvious. I was fortunate enough to be the best player in the group, so I could decide the doubles teams. I chose her thinking it would balance the competition, but it turns out me and her had great chemistry.
Beach volleyball is a different animal. I’ll be breaking down what I learned here. Smashing the ball down doesn’t work anymore. Overhead receives are also illegal, so being up front and close isn’t viable either. Indoor volleyball is much faster as well: my speed always hindered me indoors, but I can dive and get to the ball in time when playing beach.
You can’t smash the ball in beach. There is a time and a place for it, but I can’t smash it since the blockers are smarter and defenders are already in position. Tipping is so much stronger since there is only one other person stopping you from getting the ball to the ground.
Hand signals mean more than the set you’re getting. I love this since volleyball is just as much defense as offense, yet indoor doesn’t coordinate defense. The positions are “set in stone” and you typically lose a point because you weren’t in position or the hit was too fast. Beach is great since the coordination emphasizes defense more than offense. I’m sure at the higher level, there are calls for the sets as well, but currently, it is a great relief that I can just focus on getting the ball up. Transitions, also due to my slow speed, are a weak point in indoor for me.
Blocking is much more exciting. I don’t fear falling on another player, which is a huge liability in indoor play. I don’t overthink my positioning, I signal it and I block. The defense is much more engaging since the balls can’t be smashed down. Running and diving for almost every ball played feels so much more engaging. One thing which upsets me is the overhead rule, but I like to think of it as too “nasty” and “against the flow” when you overhead receive an attack.
Surfing is the best analogy for beach volleyball. There’s a certain flow to it and you can’t disrupt because you’ll fall off your board. When you paddle into a wave, it’s the calm of a good serve-receive. Ripping a wave is comparable to a strong spike. Falling off the board only happens when you lose the point. I lost a lot of points due to overhead receives, breaking the flow. Beach volleyball was fun and I hope to find more time and fun people to play with.
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