Beach volleyball fundamentals: a guide to getting started on sand

Beach volleyball has five fundamentals: serve, pass, attack, defense and block. Same names as indoor, but they work differently, because there are two of you on the court instead of six and because sand changes everything: the run, the takeoff, the landing. Below you'll find how to execute them, what's different from indoor volleyball and where to start if you've never played.

The basic rules, in three lines

Two players per team, a court of 16 metres by 8 — smaller than indoor's 18x9, but with half the players to cover it. Net at 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for women. Sets are played to 21 points with a two-point margin; win two and you take the match, and if it goes to 1-1 the third set ends at 15, again with a two-point margin.

There are no fixed positions and no libero: both players do everything. Beach volleyball has been an Olympic sport since the Atlanta 1996 Games.

The five fundamentals, one by one

Serve

In beach, the serve is already a tactical weapon. Raw power on its own does little: what counts is where you put the ball. The three classic options are the float serve (no spin, it "dances" in the air and turns unpredictable in the wind), the powerful jump serve and the short serve on the first metre, to force your opponent to run in.

Wind is a real variable. Serving into it and serving with it take two different ways of managing the trajectory, and whoever works that out first scores free points.

Passing

With two players covering everything, every bad pass costs far more than it does indoors. You almost always pass with a forearm pass, arms steady, and the goal isn't just to get the ball up but to put it where your partner can build something.

Moving on sand is slow and tiring. Reading the play is what makes the difference: starting half a second earlier is worth more than being fast.

Attack

It's not just about the spike. In two versus two, touch shots work extremely well: the deep roll shot to the baseline, the poke shot, the ball placed in the first metre. A hard attack against a well-positioned defender is worth less than a soft ball put where he isn't.

The approach on sand is shorter and the takeoff slower, because the ground absorbs the elastic energy that a hardwood floor would give back to you. Players coming from indoor almost always lose centimetres in their first weeks on sand: that's normal, and you get them back with the right preparation.

Defense

The defender works as a pair with whoever goes up to block: one covers the line the other leaves open. You need a low position, loaded legs and ready hands. On sand you can dive without paying for it, and that's one of the few advantages over indoor.

Block

Only one player goes up to block, and his job is as much about closing off a diagonal as it is about telling his partner which zone he's covering. There's an important rule difference from indoor: in beach volleyball the block counts as one of the team's three touches. If you block and the ball stays on your side, you have two touches left, not three.

The blocker can also choose not to block and drop back into defense: it's called a "fake" and it's a completely normal tactical choice at a high level.

What really changes compared to indoor

• The court is smaller but there are two of you covering it. The area per player is more than double.
• There are no specialists. You pass, set, attack, block and defend in the same rally.
• Sand takes the elasticity out of your takeoff and stretches muscle recovery times.
• The block counts as a touch, indoor it doesn't.
• Wind and sun are opponents: sides are switched at regular intervals precisely to even them out.
• Hand setting on the attack is judged very strictly: the ball has to leave perpendicular to your shoulder line, which is why you see players turn their whole body before putting it over the net.

Where to start, in practice

1. Find a court and a group. Most clubs run open evenings: it's the fastest way to play a lot and learn to read the game.
2. Start with the control fundamentals, not with power. A steady forearm pass and a steady set are worth more than a hard spike in two versus two.
3. Get your legs ready first. Sand is hard on calves, Achilles tendons and ankles. Showing up without a strength base means spending your first weeks with heavy legs instead of playing.
4. Minimum kit: a beach volleyball, comfortable clothes and sunscreen. You don't need shoes, but for scorching sand days there are sand socks.
5. Play a lot. In beach volleyball the number of balls you touch per match is very high: you learn much faster than indoor.

Jumping on sand: measure first, then train, then measure again

Anyone moving from indoor to sand notices straight away that they're jumping lower. The feeling is right, but to know how much you're losing — and how much you're getting back after a few weeks of work — you need a number.

On the site there's a free jump test: you upload a two-second video of yourself jumping, and the system works out the height in centimetres from your flight time. The video never leaves your device. You can do it once on a hard floor and once on sand: the gap between the two numbers tells you exactly how much sand-specific work you're missing.

JHP programs for beach volleyball

• Beach Volley Pre-Season — 4 weeks, 12 sessions built for sand, €45. This is the block to do before the summer season starts.
• Jump Higher Program — 10 weeks on the vertical jump, bodyweight only, €60.
• Volley Powershot — arm power on the attack, bodyweight only, €40.
• Knee Power — knees and jumper's knee, €40. Useful if sand is already bothering your joints.
• The full list is on the JHP courses page.

With the JHP subscription at €99/year you get all 13 programs in a single access, with WhatsApp support and cancel anytime.

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