Beach Volleyball Spike Wristsnap Technique (Case Study)

Is it possible to radically change your beach volleyball spiking technique from KZbin videos, and suddenly learn a much better way of hitting the ball? What are some things we can look at within efficient attacking mechanics? What about wrist-snap and arm-swing?
These are the type of questions we are attempting to answer and start looking at in this case study of Dana Noel ( / dayladoof ) who contacted me about having gotten helped by my previous spike technique videos and showing great results from them.
Other parts of the spiking video series:
Part 1: • Seeing And Getting To ...
Part 2: • Beach Volleyball Spike...
Part 3: • The Truth About The Wr...
Full interview with Dana (bonus content from part 4): Coming soon!
Part 5: Coming soon!
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[@felicia5620]

I don't jump when hitting but i'm learning to keep my eyes on the ball. It's weird cause I always wonder why I was so inconsistent with hitting and always thought I was watching the ball but the moment I hit the ball my eyes trail off. Now when I watch the ball, I'm becoming more consistent in hitting and like she said I can touch different areas of the ball so it can go to different areas in the court. But watching the ball is still an effort. I have to be very mindful until it becomes muscle memory. Your video's are always great!

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Interesting! I need to reflect upon this a bit, I assume I'm watching the ball as I hit but I am not 100% sure actually! I know that I can often see the blocker in my peripheral vision so that probably means I look at the ball, but I should go out and do some hits and observe what I actually do..!

[@Zephyr1968]

The before and after looks like at least a year transformation with constant training. I still have the vertical to hit decent but over last few years hit it out too much or have to back off power becuase I know I will hit out. Will wrist snap tonight at leaque.

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Haha yeah I agree it's a crazy transformation, but I have seen it happen in one evening/just a few days for many players!

[@alexbostelle287]

....i've played against slow moving, heavy set dudes that can't jump yet can pass dimes and possess a acute hand eye wrist snap that makes them very successful hitting. I think wrist snap is an essential component.

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

That's sounds like a pretty good explanation of some people I've seen play too! You don't happen to have video of these games do you? :) The wristsnap is not the only way to get things done, but it is one of them, and it has some serious advantages compared to some other techniques (it is more effective than some techniques, and for most people way easier to learn than most of the "possibly better" techniques.) Can be used very successfully on intermediate/higher levels, and for some hits also at the mens pro level. Probably even more so at womens pro level (compared to mens pro) because of relative court size compared to players and net height.

[@AKDisobey]

Great video Alex! 👋 @ Dana, hey neighbor ✌️

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Thankss! :) Hahah, I gotta visit your guyses area some day!

[@AKDisobey]

@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast 🤙 365 days a year volleyball 🙌

[@Heny4Money]

Love this

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Thanks! :)

[@fredDeclerck]

HI , love ALL the videos. I would say here, that more so than the snap, the timing and her articulating what sets she prefers (what she calls tempo) is the #1 component to her success. YOu can see she is able to hit with fully extended arm. I much prefer lower sets myself. It is easier to time and it is less affected by the wind ^^ . @ Learn Beach Volleyball Fast, are you coming to Chicago soon ? ^^

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Yes, I think these two work together, if you have a technique that doesn't promote you hitting with a straight arm, you will not be asking for the sets and do your timing so that you end up hitting with a straight arm either, but of course if you don't have the right set and timing you will also not be able to hit with a straight arm even if you use a technique that "wants" you to hit with a straight arm. Kinda like a chicken and egg thing, both are needed! :) In the wind I agree, lower sets are easier. Kinda depends on the setter too and how easy the setter is to read, sometimes with bad setters in windless conditions I prefer higher sets because then I atleast have time to adapt to the set haha, but it's kindof a case to case thing..! Regarding Chicago.. I don't know! Would be fun to come to the states again sometime soon, but as far as my experience goes, the world has been majorly broken since march 2020 so we will see how all of this goes.. My main priority right now and for the foreseeable future is to not lose tons more money and not get stuck somewhere where I am not allowed to play beach volleyball..!

[@fredDeclerck]

Some great points, thank you !! Are you back in Sweden and able to coach ?

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@fredDeclerck Yes, hope they make sense! :) Yes, got back to Sweden almost 2 weeks ago I think, able to coach here but until the end of september main priority will be to make KZbin videos rather than coach! :) How are things in Chicago?

[@fredDeclerck]

@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast great, i can play 2-3 times a week in the summer, so I cant complain ^^

[@norD2542]

Hi! Glad to see new video from you, thank you! I realize that tempo sets comfortable for me, but how to develop spiking from high sets - when playing second touch, or set from behind after broken pass?

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Hey! Yes, I hope that I wil be able to get back into some consistency again with producing content! :) (Haha and literally about the same day I dropped this video new covid restrictions started happen again here which caused confusion about rules, fear etc and a lot of wasted time trying to manage it all, which is exactly what made me unable to make content last year.. But I hope I'll be better abe to manage this this year..!) Anyway, to your question..! Actually, Dana asked this in the video, and I didn't quite get to the answer. In the actual recording I attempted to give an answer but it became a bit clumsy etc so I cut it out in this video (also this video was already becoming longer than I planned), but I'm going to upload the whole interview soon so maybe there you can see a clumsy attempt at trying to explain a bit of how I think about this. Anyway, I think both I might not have figured out all the answers myself to this question at least yet, but I do have at least two theories. One is sort of a method of really understanding where the optimal contact point compared to your head is. And then giving your body the "instruction" to make sure with the approach that this optimal contact point unites with the flight path of the ball when it's coming down in the set. A bit similar to how your body calculates both your own speed but also the flight path of a ball if you need to run to catch a thrown tennis ball. It's basically just a visualization that makes this process a bit more natural in volleyball. It's one that has helped atleast me and some people I have coached. Second point I have is that I don't always believe the problem is high sets per se, but rather unexpected high sets. I earlier made a video where I argue that the height/tempo consistency of a setter is actually a more important quality than accuracy in the setter (here's the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJLYk4Z8pb2FmNU ). I think first make sure that this isn't the actual problem, rather than high sets in themselves. Then kinda combined with this, I think it is very important to also have real reps with the higher sets as well as the sets from behind etc, don't expect to just be able to do them if all you do is a rep in a game every now and then. Many reps in a row usually gives you an opportunity to "figure it out" and realize the mistakes you are making etc, so that you understand how to think in these situations and then apply that in real ame situations afterwards. Use the visualization method from my first theory when doing these reps and I believe it will become quite apparent quite quickly what is done wrong in terms of approach timing. The the third answer which would take tons of explanation and discussion to explain fully so I can't do that here in a comment, but I do also believe that different hitting techniques will make certain types of sets easier/more difficult. Especially the sets that are coming from behind you, just as an easy example, if you can't hit "wristaway" (to the right of your body if you are a righthanded player), it will be more difficult to hit sets coming from behind if you play on the right side. Simply because you are forced to take an approach that makes the ball come even more "from behind". If you can hit wristaway though, you can then take an approach more from the outside (similar to how many people hit on the left side) which allows you to see the ball and the set easier, but you would still be able to turn the ball back into the line hit because you have the wristaway capacity. And there might be similar mechanisms regarding to high sets too, depending on different hitting techniques.. Hope this brings at least some clarity..! But I do have to reserve myself on this one and say that I feel like I might not have found all the answers yet haha, and maybe in a year I'll have a better answer. We will see..

[@norD2542]

@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast thank you for such big answer! I've got new thoughts, thank you!

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@norD2542 Awesome! Feel free to let me know if you end up experimenting with some of these new thoughts and if they lead to either results or new insights.. I am always on the hunt for more experiences/thoughts/ideas, and I suspect this is one of the corners of beach volleyball knowledge where I might be able to find some gold still. Or I basically believe that becoming good at hitting these "weird" sets very much comes down to exceptionally good hitting technique, but there could be other factors too! :) Actually personally in my own training, I will soon get into a period where I will focus on training hitting these types of balls myself. I am currently doing some last tweaks to my hitting technique on normal sets, and some preliminary results are teling me that with this technique I am developing I'll be able to bomb away on also a lot of sets that I previously haven't been able to. So if you asked me the same question in a few months I might be able to give better answers! :)

[@norD2542]

@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast Wow! Excellent -- after few mo nths I'll be ask you for new results!=) My coach says that I have to more practice with balls tossed by me. But when tossing without partner I have to solve one more problem=)) What can you advice to speed up wrist?

[@hbrbuyandsell9539]

More snap videos

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Yess planning on that soon! :)

[@zaeya_bw]

How do I know if I have natual talent for volleyball? Is there a way to know?

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Hey! Hahah what an interesting question! And one that I have never thought about, until now! :) So yes, I do think there are ways. There are qualities that usually transfer to volleyball, and checking those before starting to play would probably work as a somewhat good method at seeing if one has "talent" for the sport. Now, to go nerdy, this is an insanely complex sport, and some skills might not be needed for one level of the sport, while becoming actually crucial for another level... (If you wan't to deep dive into this, check out the very first video on this channel ever: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3LOpmZ_f92Im6c ) So what this means is that for example if we have 2 players, one of the possesses skill A from before and the other possesses skill B. Then what could happen is that for playing high level beachvolleyball you need to have both skill A and B, but to play intermediate level you only need skill A. In this case one might think that the player who has skill A from before might be more of a talent because he/she can start playing intermediate level straight away and will then later be able to learn skill B and go to the higher levels. But it all twists again IF we say that for someone who doesn't possess skill A or B, skill A takes 5 hours to learn, while skill B takes 50 hours to learn. Now if that was the case, actually it would be advantageous to have skill B from before, at least if one aims to play higher level ball than intermediate. But if only intermediate ball is the goal, then still the player who has skill A has an advantage.. Hahaha soo, now that that is outta the way..! There are some skills/body design features that will definitely help you no matter what level of volleyball you want to play. Basic ball control will always be needed. Usually people who have played other ball sports where you both need to calculate ball trajectories and have quick (yet smooth) reactions will have an advantage. Typical examples are soccer and tennis players.. who also tend to have a natural way of moving quickly in many different directions in an "athletic position", which is a skill that some people unfortunately do not possess in this modern world we are living in where computer use is often prioritized over being outside playing games and sports and therefore learning how your body functions as a kid. Another big factor could actually be the anatomy of your arms. Since your arms are in a sense your "racket" in beach volleyball, how they are shaped can influence your game quite a bit. Watch these two videos for more info (and solutions) on this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmSToaCag81lfKM kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJe5aZJta8uBnZo Tallness can definitely help with attacking. Having good ball throwing mechanisms from earlier in life, as well as good jumping abilities can very much help with the work of learning to hit a volleyball well (needed for intermediate level and beyond). However, if one's natural two foot jumping style is to plant the right foot after the left foot (right before the jump) for a right-handed player (this seems to often be the case for basketball players), this can lead to problems down the road. Having an understanding of tactical thinking from other sports as well as sports psychology (keeping your head in the right place during the game) can definitely help on all levels of the game. General athleticism is seldom a bad thing either. Hahah another comment answer that could almost be turned into a chapter in a book I guess..! :) Hope this at least gives some ideas to answering your question. There's probably tons more too that just didn't pop up in my mind here as I was writing this.. But thanks for a fun question, made me think! :) Can I ask you, what is the reason for the question? :)

[@zaeya_bw]

@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast I asked this question, to see if I actually had natural talent haha, and I was curious on your take about talent. I'm a bit skeptical on something you said tho, for instance wouldn't it be more of an advantage to have skill a, so you could work on skill b faster and other techniques? Because having skill b first means you have to work on skill a which means you lose lot of time and experience then you would with skill a.

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@zaeya_bw Okok! Did you end up thinking you might have talent? :) Ah yes, so the only time havig skill B would be better tham having skill A, is if your goal is to play at a level where both skills are required, and skill B takes significant amounts of more time to develop from scratch than skill A. In this case, yes you would still lose out a bit to the person who has skill A as a natural talent, but you would be able to learn skill A quite fast and then watch when the other person is stuck in the process of learning skill B for a long time, and since you already possess this skill, you will reach this more advanced level faster than the other person. Short term you are a little worse off, but long term you are a lot better off. Does that make more sense?

[@zaeya_bw]

@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast okay it makes it sense I understand it completely, and idk if I have natural talent, tbh right now I'm fine if I don't, I just want to keep playing and get better then I was yesterday, thanks for your videos on the wristsnap they improved my hitting. My coach who used to play beach opens told me and my partner when we're are about 17, we will probably be open level, so that' how I got curious. Also can you make more videos on spiking, like timing were the ball is in front of you, even on a low set, anywho thank you for your time.

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@zaeya_bw Ah yes makes sense! :) A bit better every day, and sometimes taking huge leaps! How old are you now? If you still have years and years left of your career, I think some of the "career strategy" videos could be very valuable for you as well! More videos on spiking definitely coming! :)

[@WolfsSchwein]

hi ;)

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

😅 Hello!