Having a great warm-up routine is an important step toward being a successful beach athlete and competitor, because:
(1) it allows an athlete to be best prepared to play
(2) use practice time to focus on playing better and getting better rather than warming up.
(3) helps reduce injuries.
Warm up drills can also allow an athlete to learn something, improve at something and have some fun while doing it. So always have a plan for stretching, muscle activation and getting a sweat going before it is game time.
Below you will see Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser, USA Olympians and one of the best teams in the world, working on a Beach Nation warm up drill called 3 ball juggle drill. Phil and Nick are being instructed by Olympic Gold Medalist and Cal Poly Head Beach Coach Todd Rogers.
3 ball juggle drill is a great way to start practice and is one of the drills we use most at beach nation clinics! Not only is it fun and requires a lot of communication, but it also helps teach one of the most overlooked fundamentals of beach volleyball…taking your eye off the ball and eye sequence training.
Eye Sequence Training
By passing and setting one ball while throwing up and catching another ball, players can begin to train their eyes to leave the ball in play. On a wider scale, this same eye sequence can be used when blocking and reading hitters, on serve receive to look at what the defense is doing, and on defense to read the hitter and the play develop.
Vision is one of the most important skills a beach volleyball player can have regardless of size and skill. As you first start this drill it may seem really difficult and most players have a tendency to “panic” and rush their passing and setting contacts. The more you do this drill, the more comfortable players get and the drill becomes more controlled.
