How do you jump high in sand / beach volleyball?

Question

I'm new to the sport of beach volleyball and I quickly learned that I can't jump nearly as well in sand as I can on hard ground. I assume there's some "trick" to jumping high in the sand that I just haven't figured out yet?

I'm not particularly tall (5'11") or in phenomenal shape, but on asphalt I can still hang on a 10 foot basketball rim so it's not like I can't jump at all, I just can't jump in sand to save my life.

Any help / suggestions that can save me from any further embarassment and ribbing from my teammates would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Answer 1

El Gigante's essentially right.  The biggest mistake people make in going from indoors to the beach is that they take the same approach.  Do not broad jump.  Take a shorter approach, keep the ball in front of you, get your feet to the ball and focus on jumping straight up.  As El Gigante suggests, you may maintain contact with the ground/sand a little longer and then focus on jumping straight up.  This is not to say you stop your approach, but whereas indoors you get a long approach with a lot of speed and it propels you forward and up, on the beach you don't have that same kind of forward speed.  It takes time for everyone.  I played professionally and transitioning from indoors to the beach did not come overnight.

Answer 2

There is indeed a trick tp jumping in the sand.  In indoor or grass ball, you normally have more of a broad jump approach.  Normally you are using three steps.  This does not work well in sand as your foundation, the sand, is moving when you try to jump and a lot of energy is wasted into just moving sand.

When attacking, and especially blocking, I have found that I can get a much better jump if I pause for a second so that my feet sink into the sand and stop giving me a firm foundation to jump.  

You're still going to lose some height when you jump in the sand, but you'll jump heigher this way.

Answer 3

There's no trick for jumping higher in sand except working out more and being taller. You still must defeat gravity and the factor of jumping on a soft surface that gives when you try to propel yourself airborne.

The one thing I do before each serve is rake the sand with my feet, side to side, to fill in any low spots from previous jumps or dives. Sometimes it leaves a hole in the sand and that will take six inches off your next jump if in the same spot.

Answer 4

Our team would go practice at the beach, because they sand weighs you down. We would practice our jumps, w. this exercise called "Frog Jumps". You pretty much squat down a little, w/ your arms on your side (like in a frog position), with your arms, bend your elbows  back a little to get some force, (using your arms) then jump as high as you can, and repeat that to a certain distance and back. Those jumps helped me get higher. Your legs will get use to jumping in the sand, and the more practice, the higher you will be able to get, and the less tired. Good luck .