Our friend Leo Keegan over at Beach Volleyball Update sent us his latest writeup of the beach volleyball Olympic updates and qualification standings for men. We are pleased to share this with you below.

With 6 months of Olympic qualifying remaining on the calendar, let's examine the Top 4 international men's teams. For reference the current Olympic ranking is as follows:

Anders Mol and Christian Sorum

The current Olympic ranking is led by superstars -- Norway's Anders Mol and Christian Sorum. These youngsters (Mol is 22 years old and Sorum is 24) are the team to beat. Mols/Sorum won 50% (7 of the 14 FIVB) events they played together in 2019.

In the highest pressure, biggest events, Mols/Sorum finished first twice (Gstaad and Vienna) and third twice (World Championships and World Tour Finals).

Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy

Russians Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy are second on the list. This team is also young; Oleg 23 is years old and...

Our friend Leo Keegan over at Beach Volleyball Update sent us his latest writeup of the FIVB and beach volleyball Olympic updates and qualification standings for women, which we are pleased to share with you below.

The USA women are doing very well on the FIVB. In the Olympic qualification standings (shown below) there are 4 USA teams in the Top 10 of which 2 will qualify. Alix Klineman and April Ross hold the top slot by a large margin. However, the second slot is a tight race among three teams: Sarah Sponcil / Kelly Claes, Kerri Walsh-Jennings / Brooke Sweat and Kelley Larsen / Emily Stockman. The race has never been so competitive!

One of the reasons is the addition of Beach Volleyball as an NCAA sport. Check out this article, with an AVP focus, by Wayne Holly with a lot of statistics supporting this argument: (passed on from Ricky Pszenny): NCAA to PRO.

Now let's take a look at the top competition that the USA teams face in the beach volleyball Olympics. The top four...

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 on...

We recently welcomed native Floridian Kelly Goncalves to the 7-day training camp at VolleyCamp Hermosa. Based on her review, Kelly had a blast. She blogged about her experience and was kind enough to share her thoughts with us, published below with her permission.

By Kelly Goncalves

Traveling to California is an adventure regardless of where you go. The rumors are true, the weather really is perfect all the time and the traffic is terrible all the time. I didn't rent a car and lived by the beach for eight days during my stay and I recommend you do the same. Hermosa Beach is an hour bike ride south of Venice beach. It's a smoke-free beach with miles on end of beautiful deep sand, high waves, and plenty of volleyball courts to share. Bring your own ball and make some new friends there is always someone playing.

In late August I flew out to the West Coast to watch the AVP games and attend a 7-day training camp.

Since writing this post, the training camp has added a...

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 most underrated difficult elements of improving as a beach volleyball player is pinning down a practice plan. Beach volleyball isn't like basketball, where all you really need to get better is a hoop and a ball. On the beach, you need at least one other person, ideally three, and rare is the time that everyone has the same goals in mind. One team wants to play games while the other wants to rep out passing. One guy wants transition work while the next wants blocking reps. 

We know: We've been there. A lot. 

Which is why we took the time to write out and film and full practice plan dedicated...

Are you trying to learn how to play volleyball?  Tired of having the same finishes in sand volleyball tournaments?  Trust me, we've been there too!  The following beach volleyball drills are perfect for people trying to answer these types of questions.  Whether you are trying to learn or trying to get better finishes these volleyball passing drills are perfect to help you gain the confidence to step out on the court!

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!

There’s a certain rite of passage that many beach volleyball players goes through. Often enough, it starts with that player holding a volleyball -- Wilson, preferably -- while...

Hey guys: the AVP just published a trending article from beach volleyball pro Mark Burik, CEO and co-founder of VolleyCamp Hermosa. Mark shares his perspective on the sport he loves and the path he took around the world — from Queens, NY to Hermosa Beach, CA — so he could play pro. Learn some great insights from a pro player and coach whose life mission is to help players get better at volleyball.

“If you’re like me, you didn’t find volleyball early on in life,” Mark says. “I grew up playing every sport I could and while I still enjoy them all, beach volleyball has completely hooked me for the last 10 years.”

At VolleyCamp Hermosa, we’re in Los Angeles living the dream. In this sporting life, passion is still in fashion. Be sure to come see us at VolleyCamp Hermosa.

It's a mental game, beach volleyball defense. Doesn't matter if you're playing in Hermosa Beach or Austin, Manhattan Beach or New York City, San Jose or the South Bay. It is, as a popular saying goes, "chess, not checkers."

Which is why we wanted to show you this video. Austrian Olympian Alex Huber is playing BetteratBeach founder and CEO Mark Burik at the p1440 event in San Jose, California. 

One play, in particular, stood out to us. 

Huber, a ninja of a beach volleyball defender, runs a four. If you're new to beach...

Hey beachvolley fans and players!  If you've come to this page, it means you are ready for a deep dive into how to win beach volleyball matches. Beach volleyball players from around the world send us their videos and we give them private lessons. Most private lessons for volleyball take place on the court but after a decade one tour, I know 100% that there are times when video lessons and film study can win you more points than actually continuing your physical practices.

In Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan beach, you can wake up any morning and see tons of pro practices, volleyball classes and lessons happening but what you don't see is the hours every top level player spends on their phones and computers watching their video. Every FIVB and AVP player tent is just a coffee shop full of tall people watching their previous match to check for strengths and weaknesses. We also study our opponents to find their tendencies.

If you are trying to become a...

You guys asked, and we're going to deliver: You wanted to hear more about defense in beach volleyball, so that's what we're going to cover today. 

The video below is our match -- Mark Burik and Ian Satterfield -- vs. Sean Rosenthal and Chase Budinger at AVP San Francisco. One of the reasons that this video will be valuable to you is that it's an AVP professional beach volleyball match, and you can learn just about anything you'd want by watching AVP volleyball. The second, and most important, reason, is because is features Sean...