Beach Volleyball Passing Tips
Learn How The Wind Affects The Sand Game

The wind can play a big part in where your pass ends up regardless of your intentions. To counteract its effects as much as possible you want to pass the volleyball using a low body position.

Beach Volleyball Passing Tips: Wind plays a big part where your pass ends up so to counteract its effects you want to pass the ball using a low body position. (Aversen)

On the beach you want to pass the volleyball using a low body position, which is usually one of the first things girls playing beach volleyball learn when they transition from the indoor volleyball game.

It's one of the most important things to adopt in your volleyball passing strategy. Here's why.

The wind can play a big part in where your pass ends up regardless of your intentions.

To counteract its effects as much as possible you want to pass the volleyball using a low body position.

The farther you can let the ball fall before making contact with it, the more time you are giving yourself to react to any wind gusts that move the ball away from you.

Once you pass the volleyball, you want to deliver a relatively low but controlled pass to your partner/setter.

Beach Volleyball Passing Tips: The higher you pass the volleyball, the more chance you give the wind to take hold of it and move it around. (Aversen)

The higher you pass the volleyball, the more chance you give the wind to take hold of it and move it around.

This will then force your partner to have to go chase the ball which will get both of you out of sync.

So you want to adopt the passing strategy of "staying low to pass" and "passing low to control the ball."

Quite frankly, if you can't master how to bump the volleyball on the sand then you can't play.

Since this is an offensive volleyball skill of finesse and technique, it will take practice, concentration and repetition to improve your sand passing skill in no time at all.

Beach Volleyball Passing Tips: In beach the way that you place your feet for the forearm pass ready position does not differ much than what you do in an indoor game. (Aversen)

In beach volleyball the way that you should place your feet for the forearm pass ready position does not differ much than what you do in an indoor game.

You use your bent knees and leg strength to get underneath the ball, getting your body as far towards the ball to play it, by stepping into it and with your platform angled to the target.

Your feet should be in a comfortably balanced position about shoulder width apart with your knees bent in a slight squat so that you can move front, back, sideways, diagonally or turn and run quickly for any balls that land behind you.

Some sand players when performing the serve receive skill prefer to have their right foot forward when they are passing the ball on the right side of the court and have their left foot forward when passing on the left side of the court to protect the sideline that they are playing the closest to.

Some players like to have their right foot forward when passing on the right side of the court and have their left foot forward when passing on the left side to protect the sideline. (Aversen)

This serve receive strategy positions a player's body so that it faces where they want the ball to go.

Alternatively, there are beach players who face their target so they pass the volleyball straight ahead of them.

Beach Volleyball Passing Tips: First run to get to the ball and then fight to get your feet in a balanced position underneath you so that you can have your body behind the ball. (Aversen)

The secret to improving your beach volleyball passing skill is to move your feet so that you get your body behind the ball.

When you can, you always want to play the ball within the centerline of your body, in other words that's the area in front of your belly button.

Beach Volleyball Passing Tips: You want to first run to get to the ball and then fight to get your feet in a balanced position underneath you so that you can have your body behind the ball. (Aversen)

And now, since you are playing sand volleyball, you want to first run to get to the ball and then fight to get your feet in a balanced position underneath you so that you can have your body behind the ball.

Your passing skill will improve when you pass the ball with a stance where you have both feet squarely planted side-by-side, so you're not rocking back and forth or wobbling around by the time you contact the ball.

For any last minute adjustments that you make (and you will have to make them) you want to make them so you finish up in this balanced position.

Check out more rules of sand volleyball and beach information on the pages below:

This has been an important message by your favorite volleyball coach! That's me!!

Thanks for visiting.

Be sure to check out more of my volleyball articles by clicking one of the links below!  (April Chapple)

Follow me on Instagram @coach_apchap to improve your game even faster!

I share alot of individual, partner and easy-to-do volleyball serving drills we do in class with my followers.

Many of these volleyball practice drills you can do at home by yourself or try at your next practice with your teammates.

If you're a B team or JV player trying to make varsity next year...your goal should be to complete 1000 reps a day of at least three of the basic skills on your own...volleyball passing, serving and setting should be at the top of the list. 

ShareFacebookXPinterestTumblrRedditWhatsApp