5 Keys to Bring MONSTER IMPROVEMENT to your Beach Volleyball SETTING Accuracy

MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THE BALL

The quickest and most efficient route for a setter is straight to where their partner is aiming to pass. At the highest level of the game, setters are only a single step out of their serve receive position by the time their partner receives. Too many players try to run forward before the ball and wait for the ball to come to them. When you do this, you are creating the potential for extra movement and you are blinding yourself. If you run a head and look backwards at your partner, you won't have any vision or momentum to attack on two. Let the ball get in front of you. Keep your chest and eyes open to the net so you don't waste energy and you can attack on two.

MAKE SURE YOUR BELLY BUTTON FACES YOUR TARGET

How many times have you seen an NBA players turn side ways at the three point line or at the foul line and shoot a basketball?  YOU DON'T! All of the effort and movement should have the intent of facing our target before we set. In beach volleyball we call it "squaring up". Your shoulders, toes and hips should be facing where you want the ball to go as much as possible. It's not always possible but when you practice it, you quickly realize how much you are NOT facing your target. When you don't square up, you make it harding for your hitter to read your aim intent and you make yourself less accurate because there are more angles to calculate. Make sure your belly button is facing your target way before you set AND during your set. Don't cheat and twist into it. That will kill your accuracy.

OFF FOOT, NET FOOT, SET. | DIP, DIP, LIFT.

There is a very specific foot sequence that every setter should have locked down. As setters, we can all imagine that it is way easier to move forward into a ball and set rather than back pedaling and reaching or getting jammed up high. We also know that when we want to get good at a skill, we should have to same physical sequence of movements leading up to it. Think about a pitcher in baseball, a server in tennis or someone at the world series of darts. On every execution of the skill, the movements are as similar as possible. As setters in beach volleyball, we need to embrace this. Depending on which side you are setting from, you should have a specific foot and body sequence. Your job is to athletically get to the place behind the ball in relation to your target and then, step forward and through your set. You should use the same steps and that final sequence is "off foot, net foot, set." Having this routine makes you more consistent over time. In order to help absorb the ball and have enough power to give a higher set, we should also embrace a "dip, dip, lift" sequence. We catch the ball in a coiled position when hand setting and then we can extend through the ball with power. If we uncoil or extend to early, we won't have any power left. When bump setting, if we don't get a little leg action involved, we might be forced to swing our platform and that might play with our angles and our partners view of our touch. We'd like our arms to be as stable as possible so hitters can get a good read on the set and so that a small movement creates accuracy over time.

EARLY PLATFORM. EARLY ANGLE. EARLY SHAPE.

Preparation is everything. Pro's in every sport make actions look SOOO EASY! They make us think we can do whatever they are doing because, it's so fluid and effortless. The truth is all of their years of training and effort, has gone into maximizing efficiency and getting the most done with the least unnecessary movement. You can achieve this by preparing your hands or your platform VERY early so that your targeting system is engaged and you don't have big jerky movements. Imagine trying to shoot a target with a firearm. You wouldn't leave the gun down and then quickly throw your gun hand at the target each time your pull the trigger... Instead you hold your target out and aim so that there is less movement and more accuracy when it comes time to execute your set. Your hands should be prepared before the last two steps of your setting approach.

CHEESEBURGER ---> JELLYFISH

The best shape and hand position I can recommend, Ive nicknamed "Cheeseburger Position". Spread your thumbs and forefingers apart and shape your hands like you are holding the biggest, fattest cheeseburger you can imagine. Put that giant cheeseburger right above your mouth. Your palms shouldn't be facing straight up or out and your fingers should not be in a "W" position.  This is your catch position. Your goal is to wait patiently for the ball to get close to you instead of reaching out to it. That way, you will have good hand shape and elbow play so there is enough power available to set high. 

The second key we give from there, is "jellyfish". A lot of players tense their hands and fingers in that position. But your fingers are going to have to be soft and relax. In slow motion they will make a slow, watery, pulsing action without ever stiffening. Great setters receive soft and can eject at what speed they want but the soft jellyfish like receiving comes completely from the hands and wrists. Your elbows shouldn't bend more with the receiving action. Your elbows wait bent for the ball to enter, then your hands and wrists softly receive the ball and finally at max stretch of the fingers and wrists, you can eject the ball with everything you have.

What skill level is this for?

We've designed this program so that ANYONE can do it. It doesn’t matter if you’re 15, 25, 45 or 65. 

From beginner all the way to expert, we've got you covered. 

Everything we do starts with the foundational elements, and we build on those. 

You'll quickly get a feel for how each training session can be applied to different skill levels. You can post questions on our Members Only Facebook Group at any time. And if you upgrade to our Inner Circle Membership, you can meet via Zoom with our coaches who can talk you through variations, modifications and solutions along the way.

Once you sign up, you'll see that we even give recommendations for different levels of experience so you'll have a workout plan if this is your first ever training program and you'll have a different plan if you are an advanced athlete who uses olympic style lifts.

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