Baby Steps Towards the AVP

I chose to compete in a CBVA A-level tournament last weekend 1) with a partner I’ve never played with before 2) on my weaker side (right side) and 3) at a beach I hadn’t played on in years. We went 1-2 and did not even make it out of pool play. The format was one game to 28 points and we got too far behind in a couple of matches to come back from the deficit. Looking back, this was kind of a train wreck…but I’m a forward thinking person and like to look at the positive side of any experience – there are lessons to be learned at every turn. Below are some reasons why I decided to play in this tournament and some after thoughts:

• I wanted to compete in an “uncomfortable” environment in order to de-sensitize myself to things such as acclimating to new people/surroundings and learning to “read” players (i.e. shot tendencies, strengths and vulnerabilities) I’ve never seen play before.

I realized that when it comes to playing beach volleyball, once my feet are in the sand and the game starts, that’s all that matters – I’m mentally and physically engaged, and ready for battle. As such, I proved to myself that I’ll be able to compete at any beach/venue regardless of the weather, sand type (fine, gritty, gravel) or sand depth without it drastically affecting my play. Having spent so much time in the sand in my life, it’s actually where I’m most comfortable…and I was able to confirm that for myself before competing in a tournament with higher stakes.

The nice thing about playing against players you know is that you have a sense of how to play against them. You know, to some degree, what to expect from them and what it will take to beat them. When playing someone for the first time however, there is a little bit of a learning curve where you must apply fundamental volleyball knowledge (i.e. it’s hard for a player to spike down line when coming in at an extreme angle to attack the set) towards an opponents playing style in hopes to “figure them out” and effectively defend against them. My take away here (from playing in the A) is that when I get back to competing in the AAA/Open-level tournaments against players I’m more familiar with, I’ll be reminded to constantly look at them with fresh eyes in an effort to “figure out” their game out as it is TODAY. I expect that other players are working to improve their game just as I am and that means I’ll need to enter each match without predetermined expectations, as that would just sabotage myself from being as mentally focused as I need to be.

• I wanted to work on utilizing my jump serve more frequently and practice running up to the net to block after serving tough.

Placing pressure on your opponents with a tough serve puts you on the offensive and leads to earning points by instigating shanked passes and disrupting sideout rhythm. Utilizing a tough jump serve has proven to be tremendously effective in doing this. Jump serving also takes a lot of energy and can strip the stamina out of someone not conditioned for it. Until recently, I’ve been mostly float serving and putting emphasis on accuracy and placement in order to cause disruption for our opponents and to position our defense for success. Now, as I continue to get into better and better shape, I’m utilizing the jump serve more and more to increase the pressure on our opponents.

In this last tournment, I jump served frequently and was effective with it. The problem was that often times we’d win the point due to an errant pass so it ended up being like jump serve practice Vs. getting in some good jump serve and block repititions (including reading/reacting to the hitter and dropping off the net on bad/off sets). I know that earning these points was more a function of playing against A-level players than having an awesome jump serve…but it’s a good start to progressing in this skill.

Conditioning-wise, jump serving and blocking requires the ability to recover from two, three or possibly more explosive moves done consecutively (i.e. jumping to serve, sprinting to the net and jumping again on the block attempt). In recognition of this, I created a 5-exercise TRX circuit routine that works the entire body with attention to “volleyball muscles” and recovery from highly functional, whole-body anaerobic movements. Here is the routine, performed with 10 reps per set in a circuit format – I’ll repeat this program anywhere from 2-4 times depending on the time I have and how I’m feeling:

1. TRX Squat with High Row – works legs, upper back muscles and engages the core
2. TRX Suspended Push Up with Pike – works chest, triceps, hip flexors and core
3. TRX Hip Press – works glutes, hamstrings and erector spinae muscles
4. TRX Shoulder Series (low row, “T” row, “W” row, “Y” row) – works rear deltoids and engages the core
5. TRX Suspended Burpee – works single leg strength /explosiveness, balance and is highly cardiovascular

Many of these exercises are shown in video format online. Check them out and give them a try…especially if you’re a volleyball player! I hope to add video to this blog in the coming weeks so I can demonstrate these exercises personally for you – so keep coming back!

Next weekend (4/11) I’ll be playing in the AVP Young Gunstournament being held in Long Beach. There is a $10,000 purse up for grabs (men and women) as well as points that will go towards AVP rankings that will help with seeding in pre-event qualifier tournaments. I’ll be playing with a great partner, Sumi Epie who I’ve played with and against before in practice…and I think we’ll be a formidable team!

After Long Beach, we’ll be competing for a main draw berth in the AVP Riverside tournament on Thursday, April 16th. the main draw play begins on Friday, April 17th. Wish us luck and stay tuned to see how we do!

Thanks for following me on this “comeback” effort and please feel free to make comments and/or share this Blog with others who may be interested. I’ve received some nice comments in the past few days and I’d like to thank those people for their support and encouragement – truly appreciated!