We also run beach volleyball classes, private lessons and training camps for adults and juniors at VolleyCamp in Hermosa Beach, CA. We are in the Beach Cities between Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach. We run volleyball vacations right here in Los Angeles but we also take our players on awesome volleyball trips to exotic locations. We can even run beach volleyball clinics for your group, club or team in your hometown! Send an email to [email protected]

Agility is the ability to change body positions quickly and efficiently. In beach volleyball, specifically it requires a smooth integration of movements using a combination of balance, coordination, speed, power, reflexes, strength and endurance. Agility for beach volleyball (or sand volleyball) means changing directions of the body in an efficient and effective manner. On the sand, your balance and ability to change directions gets hindered in a lot of ways. The movement patterns are slightly...

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!

You don’t play volleyball by just standing in place. In serve receive, that means you have to be ready to move in every direction. 

If the ball is heading towards your left side, what’s the best way to get to it? Which leg do you move first? What if it falls near the net? 

In the previous chapter, you learned about the forearm pass, how to bump a volleyball correctly and the different things you need to consider when becoming a great passer. 

In this chapter, you'll learn the basic volleyball footwork techniques: 

1. Athletic Position
2. Lateral Steps
3. Lateral Lunges
4. Move 1 Move Both
5. ...

If you're interested in this blog on beach volleyball, and how to play defense in beach volleyball, you may be interested in our serving course, which, of course, is the first line of defense in beach volleyball. It 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!

There are any number of different aspects that could make a beach volleyball defender great. You could watch a dozen different teams play, and pick out a dozen different attributes from each defender that you'd like to implement in your own game -- and that's great. Think about it:

What makes a great defender?

• The ability to read.
• Positioning
• Picking up tendencies.
• Speed.
• Reaction time.
• Perfectly timed fakes.

All of these things contribute. They're wonderful, and, honestly, you should try to implement all...

If you're interested in this blog on beach volleyball, and how to play defense in beach volleyball, you may be interested in our serving course, which, of course, is the first line of defense in beach volleyball. It 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!

If you are to peruse the best beach volleyball teams of all time -- Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos, Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor, Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos, Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, to name a few -- you'll find a number of common traits. 

While all of them could side out at a world-class level, that is not necessarily the differentiator between them and the rest of the world. Most teams at the top of the AVP and FIVB...

We now have 7...

If you're interested in this blog on peel digging and how to play defense in beach volleyball, you may be interested in our serving course, which, of course, is the first line of defense in, ahem, defense. It'll 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!

Blockers block in beach volleyball, right? They're the big goons at the net who are supposed to stay at the net. Correct? 

Yes and no. 

In an ideal world, a blocker would never have to leave the net -- or peel, in volleyball vernacular. In the ideal world, a blocker stays at the net, and the defender covers whatever the blocker doesn't in the back court. Simple. 

But if you've played beach volleyball -- and if you're reading this blog dedicated exclusively to beach volleyball -- you know that ideal worlds...

If you're interested in this blog on serving and how to play defense in beach volleyball, you may be interested in our serving course, which, of course, is the first line of defense in, ahem, defense. It'll 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!

Arguably two of the most important skills and elements of defense in beach volleyball are ball control, and speed or agility. At Better at Beach, we garner our practices to improve both at the same time. 

Yes, getting in the gym is essential -- which is also why we designed this 60-day strength and conditioning program to get you running faster, jumping higher, and hitting harder -- but strength on what we'll call stable land will only take you so far. The best way to train defense is to get stronger and faster while...

If you're interested in this blog on serving and how to play defense in beach volleyball, you may be interested in our serving course, which, of course, is the first line of defense in, ahem, defense. It'll 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!

Defense is desire. You've heard that phrase, right? If not, do yourself a favor and watch this clip from Remember the Titans, because if you weren't ready to play defense before, well, you will be now. 

Defense in beach volleyball is similar to defense in many other sports: It's all about desire. How bad do you want it? Lebron James wouldn't have his infamous full-court chasedown block in game seven of the NBA finals without desire. 

In beach volleyball, we don't need to do a full-court chasedown block -- but you...

If you're interested in this blog on serving and how to play defense in beach volleyball, you may be interested in our serving course, which, of course, is the first line of defense in, ahem, defense. It'll 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 high line shot is the most common offensive shot in beach volleyball. It's the equivalent to a fast ball in baseball, or an elbow jumper in basketball: If you're going to play beach volleyball, you need to have a high line shot. 

Even Phil Dalhausser -- gigantic, physical, bouncing Phil Dalhausser -- hits high line shots. 

So guess what is also a critical skill in beach volleyball? Knowing how to dig the high line shot. It's imperative to chase down a few high lines every match. It throws off the offensive player...

 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...