“I need to talk more.” “Talk!” “We need to talk.” Verbal loquaciousness is almost universally valued on the beach volleyball court. Coaches punish juniors...
Volleyball for the rest of us
“Was that going out?”
I hear a number of common phrases during volleyball play which I discourage athletes from using. “Was that going out?” This phrase is most...
May 23, 2018
The mythical 300 jumps
The mythical 300 jumps Wilson, the sporting goods company, posted an ad on Instagram declaring DURING A MATCH, VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS ON AVERAGE JUMP 300...
February 10, 2018
Background / Beach Volleyball / Instruction / Opinion / Science / Sports / Training / Volleyball / Volleysensei
PFP is our CTE
Football players are plagued by the disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). It’s a neurodegenerative disease that results in mood swings, behavioral changes, and dementia...
April 16, 2019
Beach Volleyball / Coaching / Instruction / Movement / Sports / Training / Volleyball / Volleysensei
Proactive Blocking
Blocking is a crucial strategy and technique in volleyball. The homographic confusion often talks about the technique solely, about the jump and penetration, but it’s...
April 15, 2019
Rehabilitation is not Prevention
I decided to revisit an old video done by the McKibbin Brothers called “Knee Pain Explained and How to fix it“. In this video,...
April 13, 2019
Beach Volleyball / Coaching / Culture / Science / Skepticism / Sports / Training / Volleyball / Volleysensei
Understanding Competence
Coaches often refer to athletes as being beginners or novices, as well as those who are “advanced” or “elite”. In racing sports like track...
April 11, 2019
The Moral Hazards
The drug Naloxone revolutionized treatment of opioid drug overdoses, but had an unexpected sociological consequence: it’s availability actually led to an increase in drug...
April 4, 2019
Improving Quads 3: Distributed Setting
Part of the Improving Quads series. As noted in the previous article, most beach quads teams adopt the “diamond” formation for both serve receive...
April 2, 2019
Role Model
The common refrain is that Southern California is the mecca for beach volleyball. Perennially good weather and nearly unlimited availability of courts, people have...
February 21, 2019
Build Up
View this post on Instagram True strength is developing the power to destroy but using it to build. Too often when coaches speak about...
January 15, 2019
Courtesy Rules
In many communities where beach volleyball is played, some unspoked coed “courtesy” rules are occasionally in use. The most common form in doubles play,...
January 14, 2019
Age is not a barrier
View this post on Instagram Beach volleyball is approachable for almost any age group #beachvolleyball #respect #seniorswelcome #playsmarter #staymotivated #vb4therestofus A post shared by...
December 4, 2018