Next Level - Defense
You and your partner are one team and your movements on the sand court need to be coordinated in order to cover as much ground as possible. Practicing how you both should move during certain kinds of offensive plays by your opponents will help you cover more shots and thus earn more points in every match. Start by watching the first two videos to begin to understand the kind of dance you need to have with your partner to win. Communication during this movement is both by signals and simply calling them out loud during play. After awhile, you will be able to know where your partner will be simply because you have done defensive drills over and over again - until your position on the court at any one time will be predictable in relation to your partners (at least to the both of you and hopefully not to your opponents).
Blocking/
Defending
Video 1: Blocking calls and what the blocker does.
In order to start building your defensive plans with your partner, you need to know these blocking signals, even if you aren't planning to block. You may always peel back from the net as opposed to blocking because you may not be able to reach above the net enough to block successfully. But being a threat to block or at least being near the net allows you to cover the short tap over the net as well as sometimes get into the head of the opposing hitter.
Video 2 & 3:Defensive positioning and what the defender does.
Now that you have learned the blocking calls from the previous video, you are ready to learn how the defender coordinates their position based on them. In video 3, Mark Burik analyzes a part of a match to showcase where the blocker and defender position themselves after serving and during play based on the blocker's call.
Video 4: How and When to Drop (aka Peel from the net).
These 3 basic tips will help you to improve your dropping (aka peeling) on the beach and overall game as a blocker!
Reading the Hitter
Your opposing hitter will quite often have a body language pattern that will tell you what kind of hit they'll attempt or where they intend to hit. Sometimes where the hitter is located as compared to the set will dictate which kind of hit they are most likely to attempt. Having this knowledge makes your job as a defender and blocker much easier and increases your chances of earning the point. Check out BOTH of these videos about reading the hitter from Better At Beach and the McKibbin Brothers to solidify your knowledge on this topic.
