When Is the Best Time to Play Beach Volleyball?
The beach volleyball player and the environment
When we mention to someone that we are beach volleyball players or coaches, images of sun, beach and fun surely come to mind. However, those of us who know this sport first hand know that the environment that surrounds us is not always so ideal and sometimes we are forced to play in really difficult conditions.
The sport of beach volleyball, which is generally played outdoors, is full of factors that can influence the game in a negative way (or positively, depending on how we use them). Elements such as temperature, the position of the sun, the direction of the wind or the type of sand must be taken into account when preparing for competitions in order to try to adapt our technical skills to the different factors that can influence us during the competition.
It is easy for players to not want to go to training when the weather conditions are adverse. Rain or wind are always annoying in outdoor sports and in beach volleyball they make it difficult to control the ball. We must understand that these conditions are possible in some of the tournaments we participate in and that it is necessary to play/train even if the wind or rain makes it difficult.
If our teams play a certain circuit (for example, the Spanish Championship or the World Circuit), they will have in their planning the places where they will have to travel to compete. This gives you an idea of what they will find in these venues and we can prepare training sessions that help us adapt to these circumstances. To clarify the issue a little more, we can use a simple example: competing in The Hague, where it is usually windy, rainy and cold and the sand is not very heavy, will not be the same as playing in Alicante, where the weather conditions and the environment are usually perfect and it is a bit more difficult to move around the sand. Experienced players and coaches know about these circumstances in places that are usually repeated year after year, so they know that the ideal is to prepare for them in advance, either by traveling to the event location beforehand or training in places with similar conditions.
However, we are talking about professional players who must be prepared for almost any situation. In the case of players with whom we work from an early age, the first thing will be to make them understand how all these factors influence our game and how to use them to play in our favor. We will review one by one those that we believe to be the most influential:
Wind:
This element does not affect all couples in the same way, some like it while others fear it. The slightest breeze can always influence the flight of the ball and it will be important for our players to take this into account. Before starting to play, we must know which way it is blowing, if it is strong enough, if it is in gusts or changes direction, etc. Studying the wind is part of our pre-match preparation and should influence the choice of the field on which we start to play. The team that has the wind blowing in their face is the most benefited and should take advantage of it to distance themselves on the scoreboard at that moment. It is important to reduce the number of unforced errors or service errors when we are on the “good” field and the strength of the wind is important.
However, it won't always be as easy as having the wind in our favour or against us. Sometimes the wind will be lateral or diagonal and will make the game even more complicated. In these cases we must watch which way the wind blows when we receive, set, serve or attack. When we are in a position facing us we should push it more, but when it is facing away from us we must be careful not to give it too much force so as not to go off the playing field. The most important thing is to apply logic and analyse the situation in order to react appropriately.
Rain:
The problem here is simpler, as rain makes us wet. This generally causes a drop in body temperature, something we must remedy by wearing appropriate clothing. However, what concerns us is the influence of water on playing technique, in how to prevent it from reducing our performance in competition. Several problems usually arise: the first is that when playing high balls, water gets into our eyes, limiting our vision; another problem is that the ball becomes slippery, decisively influencing the ability to touch the ball with our fingers or control it with our forearms when it flies at a higher speed, such as when receiving or attacking. In addition, we will find that the ball will become heavier as it gets wet, influencing all playing techniques, but especially in actions with one hand, such as attacking or serving.
In the first case, there is not much we can do; wearing caps or glasses (although these will get filled with drops) to minimize eye discomfort can help. In the second case, if we are not confident of being able to make a good touch with our fingers when setting up, it is always best to put in our forearms; for reception and defense, we will need to concentrate on finding a good position and a good hitting platform to prevent the ball from slipping and losing control. In the case of weight, we will find that it is necessary to apply greater force to the hits than usual. When directing the ball towards a certain area, we will have to take this added weight into account.
Sun:
In addition to health reasons, which we must control by regularly using sun creams, protecting ourselves with clothing and going to the dermatologist to assess the state of our skin, the position of the ball in the sky can be detrimental to our ability to see both the ball and the opponent's court. Playing with sunglasses is almost a requirement, but sometimes they don't even help in certain situations. Although the location of the courts in a tournament must be from East to West so that the sun bothers us as little as possible, we know that in many cases the location of the beach makes this not possible. Sometimes the receiving team has the sun in their face, other times the player who sets the ball loses sight of the ball because the sun is at its highest or low enough to bother them on the side, etc. We must foresee these situations and play with them to our advantage, trying to find them during our competition. That is, if we know that in a certain position the opposing player does not see when we serve, we must always serve from that position.
Temperature:
Related to the sun, there is a tendency to avoid the hottest hours when training. However, this will not always be the right thing to do, as in many tournaments we may have to play during hours of the day when the temperature is high. At a physical level we should always hydrate ourselves before, during and after the match, protect our skin with sun creams or even our feet with water shoes if the sand is too hot. It will be good to adapt our body by training during hours when the heat is high, but always taking into account the health of our players and controlling the risk of dehydration, heat stroke, etc.
In the case of cold weather, we can always cover our bodies with sports-appropriate clothing that works almost like a second skin. Players must keep in mind that in this case they must play exactly the same.
Sand:
As we all know, beaches are never the same. The type of sand can be very different from one to another. 
The size of the grain, the texture, the dust it contains or even the colour can influence our way of playing. Beaches with coarse grains cause players to cut their knees and elbows, the dust impedes vision and even breathing, and dark colours usually mean that the temperature of the sand can easily rise. In addition to these variations, if we want to build a training court, we must take into account that the sand must not absorb moisture.
But generally, what players pay most attention to is whether the sand is heavy or not. We all know how difficult it is to move through the sand, so if it is compact it will be easier to move and jump and the more powerful players will benefit from the conditions of this type of beach. The same happens on beaches with little sand. The hardness allows for greater jumping power and makes players avoid defenses by falling for fear of getting hurt. This type of beach with little sand should be avoided by teams with important projects, because the risk of injury is real and only second-level tournaments are usually played here. But just as we have compact sand, we have very heavy sand. In extreme cases we can end up not seeing our feet when we move, these are beaches where the player's technique will prevail over power. Technical players and good defenders will benefit, because the difficulty when moving will make precise touches and good readings lead us to victory. From our point of view, we should always look for this type of sand whenever possible, since changing to a less heavy sand will always be beneficial to us.
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