How to Play Beach Volley

Born on the Californian beaches of Santa Monica and becoming an Olympic Game in 1996, the beach volley is a mixture between a good dose of strength, stamina and intuition. This is by excellence the summer sport, linked to the sand and sun. Moreover, many beaches have a net for playing this sport.

It is played in pairs, with offensive and defensive strategies and generally, the player decides how to mark the score (when it is played just for fun).

Offensive strategies are service (tennis-like, scooped or floating), finger passes and serve. Defensive strategies are forearm passes and blockages.

Practicing this sport brings some benefits such as:

It increases the biceps' tonus, strengthens the wrist and helps improving the mobility of the fingers.

￭ It tones up the muscles of the thighs and ankles (due to constant flexions and jumps)

￭ It develops the precision (the blows must be not very long but neither short) and the speed of the movements (the plays take place in a few seconds)

￭ It favors the mental agility and the reaction capacity (in the first moments, you have to assess the play of the adversary, the frequency of his/her blows, their direction and his/her manner of blockage).

This game is contraindicated in case of tendency to sun allergies, recent wrist or finger lesions, problems with the cervical (neck) vertebrae and in case of arthritis or arthrosis.

This game always requires:

￭ Making a previous warm-up, preparing the fingers and the wrists

￭ Use of sun protection creams, cap and sunglasses

￭ Playing with persons at the same level and physical condition

￭ Running with short and rapid strides

￭ Making the launches with the fingers or the wrists and the receptions with the forearms

You will never:

￭ Run with large strides, as you can sink into the sand and get tired quickly

￭ Waste your own forces: the match can be very long and you can get exhausted very soon

￭ Blow the ball violently

￭ Eat before playing

￭ Relax during the game

￭ Underestimate the adversary