Indoor volleyball is an incredible sport that began in 1895 and eventually led to beach volleyball around 1915. Everyone has different opinions about the difficulties of each sport, but ultimately, these differences are what makes the sport so incredibly interesting to those who watch it and play it. Indoor volleyball specifically is incredibly complex and incredibly different from its sister sport, beach volleyball. An example of the differences in these sports involves techniques when jumping, the balls used, shoes vs barefoot, and overall movement.
If you go to an indoor volleyball game and see how someone plays, then bring them to the beach and have them play on a different surface, you will see many differences. Players may struggle because of how different the two versions of the game are. There are a variety of subtle differences between beach volleyball and indoor volleyball. The differences can be seen in how they hold their platform and set the ball. For example, indoor volleyball techniques include setting the ball on a serve or open-hand tipping. However, this can’t be used at the beach because that version of the sport does not allow it.
Reading articles about a sport before playing it or joining could help change your opinion of the sport. Going to your friend’s or school’s volleyball games could also help you shape your thought process.
Sam Applehof, a beach, and indoor volleyball player who’s a junior at Huntington Beach High School, said, “I didn’t realize by watching other people I could see all the little movements and things that make you mess up and the things that make you do better.”
Zoe Duncan, an indoor volleyball player and senior at Edison High School, went from playing indoor volleyball for three years to trying beach volleyball. Duncan said “We finally had our starting day at the beach, we showed up telling ourselves how easy it was going to be. We started warming up and never once have we looked so bad with a volleyball. We were dropping balls, not being able to pass them, it was so hard to move our feet in the sand, and we were tired out within a few minutes. After that practice, we realized how different the two sports are.”
It is incredibly important for people to research a sport before trying it, especially if they are looking to play it seriously. It is important that you know what skills you will have to build, the difficulties you will face, and what you will need to adapt to. For anyone switching from their main sport to something different or even starting a sport for the first time, research will help you by giving you someone else’s point of view of the sport and what techniques they use when they play. Reading anything or watching any lesson about a sport before joining will never let you down; it will always help you with skills and give you a better start.
