If you're interested in this blog on serving in beach volleyball, you may be interested in our serving course, which will have you serving more accurately, with more power, in just a few weeks! We'd also love to have you drop by one -- or more -- of our beach volleyball classes in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, or anywhere in the South Bay!

The serve in beach volleyball is akin to a pitch in baseball or putting in golf: It's used more often than any other skill. It begins every point. Sometimes it can even end every point, too. We'll get to how to ace your opponents in other blogs, videos, and write-ups. For now, we want to discuss a critical, but oddly not often discussed, element of serving in beach volleyball: Where to serve and why/

There are a few basic points that most beach volleyball players understand. Most will serve at the weaker of the two players -- or the one getting set by the lesser setter of the two -- because, simply, it's easier...

On this episode of the CROSSNET Volleyball Podcast show, USA Indoor Volleyball Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Millar, talked with me about my path through the game. It's always fun to talk shop with someone you haven't met but then you realize that all of your experiences are so tightly aligned.

"AVP beach volleyball professional and the owner of the Better At Beach YouTube Channel, Mark Burik. Mark and I discuss our experiences playing professional volleyball in Europe, different ways to compete at CROSSNET , Mark’s #1 underdeveloped beach volleyball skill, and his deep desire to help as many people as possible become better players at beach volleyball. 

Enjoy this fun interview with a great ambassador of the game."

You can also subscribe to the podcast and listen here.

Apple podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crossnet-volleyball-podcast/id1513197489?i=1000484591974

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/...

Watch Mark Burik and Ian Satterfield of the United States battle it out with Argentina in the Men's Beach Volleyball at the 2019 Pan American Games.

Come to one of our 7 Day Training Camps! 

Every 7 Day Training Camp Booking Includes:

• 7 Nights accommodations according to camp dates. Sunday to Sunday.
• 30+ Hours of Instruction and Training.
• Professional coaches and players lead your training.
• Introductions to current professional beach volleyball players.
• Practice matches.
• Sit court-side at AVP and FIVB World Tour practices!
• One Full video analysis session.
• Chance to enter local tournaments when available.
• Discounts at partner restaurants.
• Camp t-shirt, lanyard, water bottle, backpack, giveaways and prizes!
• Local knowledge, outings and more!!!

https://www.volleycamphermosa.com/7-day-training-camps/

Learn What All of the Blocking Calls Mean

If you haven't already checked out the McKibbin brothers video tutorials, do it. They have some really great video tutorials on pretty much every aspect of the sport on their Youtube channel.  A while back, they came out with this fantastic video on blocking, which includes beach volleyball blocking signals and what to do as a blocker!  However, keep in mind that practicing with great coaches is the quickest way to get better.  We have some great coaches, so head to our classes page to start improving today!

If you're interested in this blog on beach volleyball serve receive and passing, you may want to take a look at our passing and serve receive course! And, now that the beaches are open again, we'd love to have you drop by one -- or more -- of our beach volleyball classes in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, or anywhere in the South Bay!

Ball control, we admit, can be on the boring side when it comes to beach volleyball drills. It isn't going to draw the attention of a big swing or bounce, doesn't lead to any direct kills, and won't be found anywhere on social media. But it's the foundation upon which a beach volleyball player's success, and skill set, is built. 

And, yes, there are fun ways to practice ball control. It's why we invent little challenges like the one below. Enjoy, get better this week, and Make Ball Control Fun Again! 

4 Quadrant Drill for ball control in beach volleyball 

How to do the drill: The first element of...

If you're interested in this blog on beach volleyball serve receive and passing, you may want to take a look at our passing and serve receive course! And, now that the beaches are open again, we'd love to have you drop by one -- or more -- of our beach volleyball classes in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, or anywhere in the South Bay!

One of the trickier elements of serve receive is the timing of your platform: When do you put your hands together to form your platform? Every player has his or her own technique. Watch a video of John Mayer, an AVP champion and former MVP and now the head coach at LMU, and he puts his hands together before the serve. Watch Kim Hildreth and Sarah Schermerhorn, AVP finalists at Austin in 2019, and their arms are wide as can be, like birds of prey, until virtually the last possible moment. 

Point is: Everyone is different. It's mostly a comfort thing. However, we do have our recommendations here at Better at...

20 Practice Plans: The Ultimate Beach Volleyball Training Companion!

This is our latest and greatest product in the Better at Beach, beach volleyball training series!

Have you ever planned to do drills with your friends or team, then show up to the beach and wonder what you should be working on? This practice plan will give you a minute-by-minute printable guide and video examples of each drill. We take the guesswork out of it for you!! All you have to do is show up and focus on improving your game!

The program was created by current professional beach volleyball players Brandon Joyner and Mark Burik, who have years of combined coaching and playing experience on the AVP and FIVB and NORCECA world tours.

There are five areas of concentration: Passing, Setting, Attacking, Defense, and Gameplay. The drills progress from basic to advanced, and is great for coaches and players of ALL LEVELS!

We know you will absolutely LOVE this comprehensive training guide to help you get...

If you're interested in this blog on beach volleyball setting, you may also want to check out our comprehensive setting course! You may also want to take a look at our beach volleyball classes in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach or the South Bay!

This is a long blog. But it's long because it's comprehensive: If you want to learn how to set a volleyball, this is the blog for you. You don't have to read it all in one sitting -- or two or three. It'll be here for as long as we have the internet, so take your time. 

In this blog, you'll find any drill you could possibly need to become a better setter on the beach. You'll find drills to do on your own, drills with a partner, drills with other teams, drills with lots of other teams. You'll find drills for bump setting and drills for hand setting. You'll see videos that will help you to determine when it is more advisable to bump set and when it may be better to let the nectar flow. 

If you're looking...

Beach volleyball partners can argue a lot, but I'd like to save you a fight and teach you how to set and where the best players in the world prefer to get set. This video does look at some great players with big verticals and quick arms which means they can hit sets hard and down from far away. 

Most volleyball players try to overcome their lack of accuracy in their spikes by hitting hard. If you're a shorter player or you don't have a massive vertical jump, it can be frustrating to hit balls that aren't on top of the net because you never get the feeling of hitting down. 

In the video below, we show you examples where there is a big physical blocker at the net, which means tight sets will be gobbled up....

If you're looking to learn how to be one of the best setters in beach volleyball, you've come to the right place! At Better at Beach, headquartered in Hermosa Beach, CA we run beach volleyball setting drills every day! And if you'd like to enroll in our online setting course, you can do that year-round, day in and day out, partner or no partner. 

However, you don't have to wait for one of our beach volleyball classes to start learning the fundamentals. We mainly teach sand volleyball but if you play indoor volleyball, fear not! The principles and drills are almost exactly the same for bump setting and hand setting in the two sports. 

Yes, the first thing nearly every coach preaches is pass first, pass first, pass first. There’s a reason for that: Every single offensive action you could possibly take, whether in serve receive or defense or waiting for the beloved free ball, begins with the pass.

Yet it’s the second – and likely most...