Sand Volleyball Thrives as a Game for Expert and Beginner Alike

Every Wednesday morning, a group of friends meets at the Sand and Sea Club on Santa Monica Beach for the latest installment of a volleyball game that has been going on for more than 50 years. The oldest participants started playing before the breakwater was built, back when the tide would nip at the edges of the private clubs lining the beach.

Others started during the Depression, and played for apples or, on good days, quarters in the shadow of the Santa Monica Pier. The youngest date back to the boom years of the late ‘40s, when the ex-GIs moved here, eager for a taste of the good life.

Watched the Sport Grow

They have played beach volleyball ever since, through the good times and the bad, and have seen it grow from a neighborhood curiosity to a bona-fide sport. Last year, more than 34 million people in this country participated in sanctioned indoor or beach volleyball games. Millions more watched the men’s or women’s professional tours, which are televised on cable television.

In the last five years, beach or, as they are sometimes called, sand volleyball clubs have sprung up in unlikely places such as Columbus, Ohio, but virtually every top professional player still lives in Los Angeles. In addition, Los Angeles hosts perhaps the most fervent and most important grass-roots scene in the country.

Although there are rumors of occasional games on the beaches of Hawaii in the early 1920s, the first documented game of beach volleyball was in 1927 at the Edgewater Beach Club, a private club near the Santa Monica Pier.

‘Caught on Fast’

After that, says Paul Johnson, one of the country’s premier indoor volleyball players in the ‘30s and ‘40s, “it caught on fast because it was the only game that was well suited to the beach. You could jump into the ocean when you got tired, eat a hot dog when you got hungry or just stretch out in the sun when you were done. Best of all, you didn’t have to wear shoes.”

Initially, the beach game was no different from the indoor variety, with six-person teams playing on a full court. If there weren’t enough people, a team would have four people or, if that’s all there were, with two. These two-person teams only used a quarter of the court, however, because that was all anyone thought they could handle.

Then, one day in 1931, just for fun, Johnson and his three companions decided to play on a bigger court. They started with half-court, but didn’t like it. “Since we were almost there, we decided to cover the whole court,” Johnson says.

“Within minutes,” he says, “we were flying all over the court, developing signals for our movements and working out new strategies. We had such a good time that we never played quarter-court again.”

By the late ‘50s, beach volleyball had become a cult sport statewide, and had as its undisputed champion a man named Gene Selznick. He would hold court daily at Will Rogers State Beach, at the intersection of Chautauqua Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway. As Al Scates, who eventually would guide UCLA’s volleyball team to 12 national championships in 18 years, remembers, he was king of the beach.

“I had played football and basketball and wanted to learn how to play beach volleyball,” Scates says. “I was told to go down to State Beach for some basic instruction, but was warned to get there early.”

Although Scates showed up at 8:30 a.m., there was already a 3-hour wait for a court. He and his partner patiently watched until finally, at 11 a.m., it was their turn to play. But just as the other team was about to serve, three cars pulled up to the beach.

Everything stopped while Gene Selznick and an entourage got out of the cars. As Selznick surveyed the scene from the parking lot, Scates’ opponents waved to Selznick and asked if he wanted to take their place.

Scates was shocked because by relinquishing the court, they wouldn’t get to play until late afternoon. But Selznick graciously accepted their offer and took his place against Scates, his due.

Without bothering to warm up, Selznick served a sky ball that “went up about 80 feet, spun and then came crashing down in front of me,” Scates says. Then, without breaking a sweat, he demolished Scates and his partner and sent them back to the sidelines.

These days, with more than 300 beach courts between Zuma and Torrance, it is much easier to get and stay on a court. However, at certain “volleyball beaches,” such as Santa Monica State Beach, Muscle Beach in Venice (south of the Santa Monica Pier) and Marine Avenue beaches in Manhattan Beach, where many of the professional players practice, “the scene can still get intense,” says Sinjin Smith, the six-time world champion who is the sport’s most successful player and author of “Kings of the Beach” (Power Books), a book chronicling its history.

For the most part, he explains, beach volleyball is fairly informal. The courts (not the nets or balls) are provided by the city or county on a first-come, first-served basis.

Pickup games are the norm, especially among beginners.

But, Smith says, “one noticeably less-skilled player can destroy a game. Since many of the people at the local beaches are professional players whose livelihood depends upon the quality of their training, and others take the game seriously, it is inconsiderate to ask to play in a game that is above your ability level.”

Instead of trying to play with them or with others who are equally serious about the game, Smith recommends watching how they play. Then, after getting a feel for what is going on, join a more casual game on one of the side courts.

Tips for the Novice

You will understand the action better if you already know the sport’s basic rules:

--As in indoor volleyball, each team can hit the ball three times before putting it over the net. An individual, however, cannot hit the ball twice in a row.

--Only the team that serves can score a point. If the other team wins the volley, it wins the serve and the right to score but not the point.

--Games generally go to 15 points, and must be won by 2. So that the sun and wind do not give one team an advantage, teams change sides every 5 points.

The court and net are the same height and size as an indoor court, but the beach ball is made of leather (for suppleness), is heavier (to compensate for the wind) and has more give (for control) than its indoor counterpart. Although cheaper models are available, a good ball generally retails from $40 to $60.

Team Size Varies

Competitive beach games usually are two-person-team affairs, but recreational games can have anywhere from two to six people on a side. Games with more players on a team tend to keep the ball in play longer, but are less demanding for the players.

Although the game is relatively easy to learn and enjoy, the best way to establish good technique is by attending a beach volleyball clinic. The Manhattan and Hermosa Beach Department of Parks and Recreation and experts such as Smith and Scates all conduct clinics from time to time. For dates and locations, call the appropriate park department or the California Beach Volleyball Assn., (213) 635-6666, or consult Volleyball Monthly.

Clinic or no, beginners do not have to worry much about being injured on the court. While 100-m.p.h. serves take their toll on the professionals’ knees and shoulders, the pace of the recreational game reduces the risk to the casual player and explains why it can be played at all ages.

Virtually the biggest dangers, Smith reports, are bruised fingers and burned feet. Although fingers can find their way into the path of a moving ball, burned feet can be prevented by wearing shoes. Most people, however, take their chances, because they move better if their toes grip the sand.

As with other sports, the best protection from injuries is an effective warm-up. Move slowly, and gently hit the ball around at first. Gradually intensify the activity for about five minutes. Then, after your muscles loosen up, take your place in the sun and get ready to shine.