Volleyball : Caught in the Net : Beach Sport Is Riding Wave, Even in Places Where There Is No Shore

Cold winters and a lack of beaches aren’t dampening the growing enthusiasm in other parts of the country for what has been largely a California sport--beach volleyball.

In the Midwest and East, for instance, people have seen the introduction of indoor sand courts, some with sand that can be electrically heated to simulate beach conditions. So says Adam Johnson of San Clemente, one of the top players in the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals tour, who has observed a rise in club and tournament activity in those areas.

“You’re seeing all these different kinds of events popping up,” Johnson said. “It’s a sport that’s on the rise.” General interest in volleyball has been climbing since getting a boost with the success of the U.S. team in the ’84 Olympics, but that interest has been accelerating recently, Johnson said.

Although other parts of the country may start catching up competitively in the years ahead, parity is still a ways off. A top team in an Eastern tournament would probably finish in the bottom half of the pack in a California tournament, he said without apparent bravado. That’s just a fact.

Locally, volleyball continues to boom. The sport also has found a foothold at health and fitness clubs, notably the two big Irvine clubs on either side of the San Diego Freeway. Both the Sports Club/Irvine and the Sporting Club at Lakeshore Towers have indoor and permanent outdoor courts, along with leagues and clinics for members.

Johnson will lead a clinic at the Sports Club/Irvine on Saturday that will be open to non-members. A youth clinic for ages 8 to 16 will be from 9 a.m. to noon; an adult clinic is scheduled from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Most casual players learn by imitating other players or moves they see on television, Johnson said. It’s easy to have a great time with the sport with a minimum of skill: Johnson said he recently watched a pick-up game at a beach picnic.

“They were having the time of their lives,” he said. “They were having a great time just keeping the ball off the sand anyway they could.”

But in some ways, he said, volleyball is like golf. It’s possible to take the game to a certain degree of skill just by playing regularly, but to move to the next level some sort of instruction or coaching is usually needed.

Sometimes that means unlearning bad habits and starting from scratch by studying proper technique. Johnson’s clinic Saturday will teach the basics of passing, hitting and setting, with lessons on blocking for more advanced players as well as pointers on strategy.

Fall and winter, off-season for volleyball, are good times to practice the basics and to work on conditioning. Practice is mainly a matter of drills to hone proper technique. “Volleyball, when you’re not used to playing it, is very repetitious,” Johnson said.

“Just grab a ball and hit it back and forth with a friend,” he suggested. There are several drills that can be done alone too, as long as there’s a wall available. Bumping the ball against the wall--”See how many times you can do it,” Johnson said--is one effective way to practice.

To practice setting, Johnson suggested, stand facing against a wall and try to set straight up. Try not to hit the wall, but hitting the wall is better than letting the ball go behind you. Some players practice setting while lying on the ground.

As for conditioning, Johnson works with weights three times a week during the off-season (twice a week during the season). Volleyball is a sport that uses “explosive” power, he said, and he suggested doing sprints in the sand of 25 to 75 yards.

Jumping in sand, for people who are new to the game, can be a difficult skill to acquire. Johnson suggested that players practice jumping in sand at high repetition--even if it looks silly.

Still, even Johnson admits that practicing doesn’t match the fun of a game. “People don’t like to do just drills,” he said, and his clinics usually end up in a game: “They say, ‘Hey, we’ve mastered these skills. Let’s play.’ ”

For information on Saturday’s clinic, call (714) 975-8400. The cost is $30 for members and $40 for non-members.

Human Race: Started in 1977 and billed as the oldest triathlon in the continental United States, Sunday’s Fi-Bar Human Race is a sprint event--a half-mile swim, 13-mile bike and three-mile run. Its relatively short distance and long-running status have made it a favorite for first-time triathletes, although it attracts some top competitors as well. It is a regional championship for the Triathlon Federation/USA.

The event begins at 7 a.m. at Newport Dunes Aquatic Park in Newport Beach. The swim is entirely within Newport Bay; the run has one big hill, but the bike ride is relatively flat. There is no race-day registration. Registration can be done in person on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Newport Dunes.

Registration is $50 ($75 for relay entrants). Information: (714) 731-8433.