Jumping in Sand

[BHitterDPasser]

I play on occasion at a local sand court and while the net is a little high and the sand is a little deep, you'd think I'd still be able to put a pretty good swing on the ball. The thing is, I haven't really been jumping that high in the sand and my timing is gawd awful in the sand. (No comments about how it isn't that great on hard court!!)

Having watched the guys at the AVP and from talking to my partner, I tried a slightly different "approach". Instead of taking my standard approach which really causes my feet to dig into the sand and lose power, I tried stopping, having both my feet securely planted and then jumping and swinging. This did two things for me: I am habitually early. Now I could eat up a little bit of that time waiting for the ball. I think I jumped a little higher with a good base for my feet. Sure I lost a little from not dynamically stretching my muscles, but I think I earned more by having a good base to launch from.

All in all, I wasn't swinging great, but I did a lot better hitting the ball in the sand than I have in the past. Maybe with some practice I can hit as good as my partner yesterday.

What do you guys do when jumping in sand for hitting and blocking?

[nmsvbteam]

Jumping in the sand really is more about generating vertical force than transferring lateral force to vertical like indoors. If anything, work on your last hop step, and I mean hop! You can't really float or drag into the transition, you need to kind of hop on top of the sand and explode straight up, not forward like indoor. Until you get good sand legs, the rest of the approach should be more about getting you into the proper position than generating lateral force. Your timing will best be served by getting into position then waiting to explode on your final approach step, rather than trying to time out a four step. On blocking, squat real low and explode up and over. No need to be quick to block in the sand, you're really not going to face any trick sets. More advanced techniques have to do with hand movement and jumping into an angle, for example, but setting a good straight up block that cuts off half the court will be most effective for a while.

[BHitterDPasser]

Originally Posted by nmsvbteam

Your timing will best be served by getting into position then waiting to explode on your final approach step, rather than trying to time out a four step. On blocking, squat real low and explode up and over.

This seems to be the most effective way to jump in sand but does go against a lot of what I have read about jumping higher. They often teach the "rubber band theory" where you quickly load and unload your leg muscles. By squatting, waiting, and exploding you can't recapture that stored energy from stretching your muscles.

On this note, I'd think that it'd be pretty easy to weight train for this in the gym where in leg press or squat you hold the wait at the bottom of your rep and then DRIVE it up like you were jumping. Thoughts?

[volleyballstud]

I still take my standard indoor 4-step approach, but your 1st two steps aren't used for momentum... but rather to align your last two steps. The key is to make sure your last two steps are straight towards the ball because any side stepping will cause your foot to cut into the sand and take away from your hops. You want to make sure your center of gravity is on the balls of your feet when jumping and not the sides of your foot when trying to stabilize to jump.

[nmsvbteam]

Originally Posted by BHitterDPasser

This seems to be the most effective way to jump in sand but does go against a lot of what I have read about jumping higher. They often teach the "rubber band theory" where you quickly load and unload your leg muscles. By squatting, waiting, and exploding you can't recapture that stored energy from stretching your muscles.

On this note, I'd think that it'd be pretty easy to weight train for this in the gym where in leg press or squat you hold the wait at the bottom of your rep and then DRIVE it up like you were jumping. Thoughts?

Well, it depends on your strength to quickness ratios. Some people jump just as high or close from a static position as they do from a reactive position, which of course can be developed through proper training. The squat down is really probably less than a second, but it isn't a straight down bounce up motion. Sometimes you are better off sacrificing some height for stability and control. Also, the nature of the surface is to absorb more force than a harder platform. Explosive squats are important for any jump training, IMHO. There is no point to going slow in the concentric movement of a squat. Even with heavy weight, the attempt should be to be explosive. Plyometrics won't help as much with blocking in the sand, because it isn't as much of a conversion of force, strength is important. But, we know there are many directions and motions in the sand, so plyos do help for conversion in approaches, lateral movements, etc.
Just to be safe, here's Lambert backing me up on the blocking thing:
Indulge your inner voyeur - How to Block

[kvb]

Well I'm finding this a very interesting thread. Although I jog and do squats I'm noticably jumping impaired and slower in the sand vs. grass 2's etc., so any and all advice here is really appreciated. It hadn't really occurred to me the jumping from a platform idea (2 foot, stable, etc.) on hits point that bhdp makes and the concentrate on lateral vs. vertical movements on approach and final jump on hits that nvsbstream and stud make, but I am going to try these out in the sand this week...Blocking, well, it's deep dry sand and a men's height net, and some of the guys have good hops or 6'5" or both, so I think I'm just going up for distraction's sake rather than ever really hard blocking anything, just tips, or if I'm lucky soft blocks, it's frustrating sometimes in 3's and in 2's I am tempted to not bother blocking and just try reading the hitter and digging...

[OmniSpiker]

Jumping in sand is like jumpin on thin ice,...Not.

Well I find myself having to do more of a necessity to preload squat type jump in sand compared to hard floor. Sort of also little hop, pack the sand, jump with a flat foot feeling but really a gentle roll from heel to toes.

[BHitterDPasser]

Yesterday I really practiced good form for getting my ups and I think I did a good job blocking. My issue was I was standing at the net which left me way to open to roll shots over the block. My next exercise will be to play ~6' off the net so that I can step forward, plant, and block or pull back so I can play defense in a spot where the ball might actually go.

On a related note, at my tournament this past weekend I terminally blocked a ball off of my forearm just above my elbow which tells me I was getting some pretty good penetration/height on my block.

[wmavbplyr14]

I am just putting in my 2 cent about the previous post. It is not good to stand off the net right before you block because one ur momentum is going forward to block and two if the opposing team decides to quicken up the sets your going to struggle to try and position urself correctly with good block. I would suggest really focusing on reading the sets and the hitters so that you can make a concious effort early to play defense or block.

[OmniSpiker]

When you play in sand and especially doubles, positioning and mobility is key to defense. Positioning yourself up on the net will mean less mobility to play anykind of defense other than to block. Playing off the net ~ 6 feet, will still allow you to block but better positioning for roll shots. Reading skills, if you see good pass, good set, and you should see good spike coming. Errr, too late to react. If you see good good pass, good spike will probably be coming so move into position to block when there's still time to do so. If you see bad pass, read and choose whether a good set is coming if setter gets to ball or difficult set is coming if setter is chasing pass. No need to stay at net to block if setter isn't going to get a good set. Probably can't read where the set is going either.

(should've been a tip for playing doubles...LOL's)