How to Spike a Volleyball in the Sand
Every new volleyball player wants to learn how to spike a volleyball because it’s the equivalent of dunking a basketball. You may see people spiking the ball and think to yourself that it can’t be that hard to just jump up and hit a ball.
Beginners almost always seem to think that you are supposed to close your hand and a make a fist to spike a volleyball but this is not the case. Granted there are times when you might make a fist if the ball is set 50/50 (right above the net) and you can just crush it straight down with a fist but this is the exception and not the rule.
The best thing you can do to practice spiking a volleyball is to learn the proper approach and practice without a ball until you don’t have to think about the approach anymore. An indoor volleyball spike and a beach volleyball spike are two completely different things. Almost anyone can hit a ball when you jump off of a hard court, but as soon as you put sand under peoples feet they find it extremely difficult to execute.
The approach in sand is a little different than it is for indoor. When learning how to play beach volleyball you need to shorten your approach and make more of a stomping motion on your last two steps before you jump. You can’t use as much of your forward momentum to increase your vertical when you are jumping in sand.
The arm swing is also very important. You want to make sure you get both of your arms to go back behind your body as much as possible while keeping your arms straight and then you bring them both forward with speed and this will help add inches to your vertical leap. Both arms will be above your head as your feet leave the sand. Many people struggle with not letting their hitting hand go up high and then cock back to swing. If it seems like you aren’t leaving the sand, make sure both of your arms going high at take-off.
When you swing, you want to swing high and contact the ball when your arm is almost straight above you. You should have the ball slightly in front of you. Never get in front of the ball or directly under it, always stay slightly behind it. Make sure your hand is open when you hit the ball, this way you can control the direction of your spike. Again don’t close your fist when you spike, you should use an open hand to spike a volleyball. You want your hand to curve around on top of the ball when you hit it, this will cause the ball to spin and the spin will make the volleyball drop faster. This means that you need to make sure you jumping at least a foot higher than the volleyball net.
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You should never hit a volleyball with a closed fist. There is no exception. Not you are hitting it over the net at least. Maybe if you need to pop a ball up close to the net, but that should be done with just your fingers curled and not a fully closed fist.
I agree to a certain degree, but when a ball is set 50/50 right on top of the net, you can fist it straight down with a lot of power. Most people can’t do it, but some pros like Casey Patterson do it very effectively.