Beach volleyball isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for players ready to dig deep and spike hard. Just ask three-time Olympic gold medalists and beach volleyball duo Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.
Back in 2009, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) made the decision to add “sand” volleyball to its list of Division I sports. As of this upcoming August, beach volleyball won’t be restricted to Olympic athletes and recreational players; it will extend to university athletes across the United States.
With this expansion in mind, David Cassidy, director of the Central Coast Volleyball Club (CCVC), has made “sand” volleyball a part of his efforts. The club has been around for about eight years, and Cassidy took over in December. It includes players from Santa Maria and the Five Cities areas, bringing in girls in junior high and high school.
Cassidy is leaving the ultimate success of the new beach volleyball addition to the players and parents. The players will be able to decide where they want to play, and the parents are responsible for the fees.
So far, there’s been a lot of interest.
“Three girls have showed up regularly so far and said that they will spread the word,” Cassidy said. “I expect a lot more girls to trickle in over the next few weeks.”
As of right now, there’s no official beach volleyball team. Cassidy wants to keep an open policy, which means no try-outs—just private lessons for whoever is interested in taking volleyball skills to the next level.
Cassidy, who played volleyball for 10 years, said starting beach volleyball at the junior high level opens young girls and boys to Division I play, because beach volleyball is a lot more strenuous than a traditional indoor game.
“There is a lot more court to cover with beach volleyball,” Cassidy said. “It improves conditioning, serving, and ball-handling, making the girls better all-around players.”
In beach volleyball, players are forced to rotate through and learn how to play all six positions. Indoor volleyball, on the other hand, is much more specialized, with players typically sticking to one position and rotating in and out of play. Being able to play all positions skillfully is a huge asset on the indoor courts.
Most importantly, players who want to continue their game at the college level could get college exposure primarily from beach volleyball tournaments, Cassidy said. The California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) ranks players by letter. According to Cassidy, an AA or AAA ranking will earn attention from colleges.
Cassidy is currently working with three eighth grade players who are serious about their futures as volleyball players. Despite impending wind or fog, the girls hit the Pismo Beach courts every Monday and Wednesday morning.
Tara Loayza, Elaine Christiensen, and Mardi De La Garza have all been involved in volleyball for about three or four years. Each of these eager girls decided beach volleyball was “a sport that looked fun.”
“It’s just so fun and entertaining; it’s something new,” De La Garza said.
While the sport is fun, the girls also agree that it’s hard work.
“The hardest part about beach volleyball is moving to the ball and the sand stopping us,” Loayza said.
Though there’s no team yet, the girls would like to get good enough to compete against other teams at beach volleyball tournaments. Cassidy said he’d love to see his players compete in the upcoming CBVA Pismo Beach Volleyball tournaments on July 9 and Aug. 6. There are several hundred other CBVA tournaments scheduled throughout California, from Los Angeles to as far north as Santa Cruz, meaning there are a lot of opportunities for interested players.
“Once the players get into the groove of beach volleyball, they need to play up against adults and win,” Cassidy said.
It should be noted that beach volleyball at the club isn’t only for girls. Though beach volleyball isn’t recognized as a male collegiate sport at this time, the skills they draw from the sand can benefit indoor court play.
Cassidy expects beach volleyball will become popular at his club, and the benefit to his players will be huge.
“I love to see players who knew nothing when they started go on to play varsity and beyond,” he said. “That’s what I call success.”
Intern Kristina Sewell is serious about sand. Contact her at intern@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 23-30, 2011.