Beach Volleyball Attacking Strategy For Short Players (with Eric Nygård)

Beach volleyball hitting for short players is a relative high volume search term on KZbin - short players want to play well and attack successfully just as everyone else. While I do have many thoughts on spiking for both shorter players, injured players, and all players in general (if interested, check out one of my most watched videos and the video series surrounding it: • The Truth About The Wr... ), having a very strong hard attack isn't the only way to score points in beach volleyball.
This video is a revisit to Eric Nygård, who has become semi famous through this channel for his unique attacking style with the tomahawk. Here I interview him about how he strategizes around his attacking, and we will learn both how he plans his game, but also that he actually does use some pokeys, shots, and semi driven balls at times too if he needs to. I believe what he shares can be valuable for basically any player, whether you want to attack like Eric, like some other shorter player, or just have to defend against these types of players every now and then.
This video is therefore in a sense part 3 in a video series around Eric's attacking style, but will work as a standalone video also.
Part 1 which is the intro to his attacking style can be found here: • Beach Volleyball Spiki...
Part 2 where I break down his tomahawk technique can be found here: • How To Tomahawk Attack...
Part 4 and possibly 5 will be found here later once they are released!
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More stuff mentioned in the video:
Adrian Carambula doing the same pokey as Eric talks about in a professional match (slowmo after as well): • Ranghieri/Carambula vs...
Another pokey by Adrian Carambula (slowmo after on this also): • Evandro/Arthur vs. Ran...
David Åhman on the Learn Beach Volleyball Fast podcast: • #16 - David Åhman on J...
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Intro music - Divine Life Society by Jesse Gallagher (Copyright free music): • Divine life Society (N...

[@Defensewhiz]

One thing to add...shot makers need to develop a really thick skin. You will be called cheesy, a jerk, an a$$hole, and other expletives and colorful adjectives by your opponents. I've gone through entire tournaments maybe hitting...6 balls? Maybe 8? And won the entire tournament. And with many tournament wins under my belt, I've gotten a lot of friends over my years, but also made a lotta enemies from my shot making abilities. Funhy enough, the US players are the ones that seem to have a problem with me, but all my friends in Canada and Australia, they're the ones that have respect for my shot making game. I'm only 5'8" so maybe if I could rely on height/vertical, it'd be a different story, but to all the people I've pissed off over my years, it's been fun cashing the winner's paycheck and thank you for making me better and it's been so much fun leaving you in my dust

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Hahah interesting! I'm actually not sure if I have encountered that attitude..! 🤔 Maybe it's a US thing as you mentioned?? (I have played mostly in Europe.) I think over here people think that if you score, you did something that worked, and if you win that means you scored more than the opponents - meaning you did something that worked more than the opponents. If you win over me with only shooting, I should be thanking you for showing me what I'm weak at and need to get better at, rather than get angry at you. In my opinion it's quite fun to hustle in defense after these sharp shots, the exception being bad courts with shallow sand, which should be avoided anyway.

[@Defensewhiz]

@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast It's definitely more a US thing, and funnier enough, I encounter it more in the regional and local tournaments than I do in the upper/higher ranking tournaments (meaning everyday tournaments vs larger scaled, higher tiered). It seems the lower tiered, every weekend type tournaments, the more attitude people have. And I loved competing in Europe and Australia over my time as well as Canada. I love competing in the US, it's just that the attitudes you have to deal with make it more "I'm there for business" rather than the friendships and camraderie. I learned my shot making game watching other shorter players at the pro level when I first started competing on a larger scale, and figured, if it'good enough for them, it'll be fine for me...and it definitely has been in my 34 year career (and still going) Thanks for your videos, they've been awesome to watch

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@Defensewhiz Makes complete sense! And thanks! :)

[@boaltie10]

Super fun to be the team that no one knows why they lost to.

[@mangomariel]

why do they think doing shots make you an asshole? sounds like your opponents are children.

[@tonybowen455]

Yes, thanks for this! Super insightful. I can relate to a couple of things. I love that he doesn't drill, just plays. Also bad vision. The one thing I differ from him is that I think I work more on trying to see what I can get away with in easier games than trying to win all the time. That being said, I finally started getting better when I played tournaments these past couple of months. Also him talking about a few diff shots helped a lot. I rarely jumbo in any form so I'll have to start messing around with it even more as it should be one of my go to's.

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Nice! I almost never jumbo either haha, maybe I should add those in a bit more at times also..? Can I ask you what you mean by "trying to see what you can get away with in easier games"? Like trying different shots just to learn? Your sentence almost sounds to me like you try to play worse than what you can, but still win, almost like you are playing a game of "I'm going to try to win with as little margin as possible", but I'm pretty sure that's not what you meant..? :)

[@tonybowen455]

@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast That's it exactly. I like playing from behind as well. It's something I borrowed from Firas Zahabi, coach at tri star gym and gsp if you know mma. If not, basically he that if you're say a black belt fighting a brown belt, you can work on your offense more. It's harder to do that against other black belts since you'll have to be more defensive. Also some people like putting themselves in impossible positions and trying to work out of them. It's easier to do vs weaker ppl. One thing I like working on now is a cutshot from the right. I used to never do it. So I'll just keep doing it over and over even if they know it's coming. It's still hard to dig. It's something I stole from nuss vs melissa and brandie i think at the 2022 chicago avp. Nuss just kept doing it, Melissa knew it was coming, but nuss still kept scoring. If im playing a tougher game, my go to shot is high line.

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@tonybowen455 Ahh yes this makes sense! :) I do that too (or at least something similar) sometimes, for example if one needs to get in game handsetting reps but one still doubles a ball here and there, that may be much more doable if you play with people at a slightly lower level, so that your partner doesn't get frustrated because he/she is losing the game solely because you insist doubling a handset every 5 balls.. "Putting yourself intentionally in a bad situatiom and working yourself out of it" is a new one for me though, I have done this in drills, but for whatever reason I've never thought of doing this while playing against a lower level team.. But it makes complete sense and probably makes the game more enjoyable for everybody on the court! So thanks a lot for sharing that idea, it's quite genius actually, I almost can't believe it's slipped me by.. 🤯

[@Mikkarus]

I actually don't have a powerful attack (just more or less when a set is very convenient), but I always approach to it - and at the very last moment I do either cut-shot or short pokey or rainbow shot. I'm very happy when someone tries to block me, because it's very easy to send a ball right over block. The tactic works just perfectly.

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@Mikkarus Nice! One thing I tend to teach people who cannot attack hard first, is the short pokey that goes just over the net. That way, as long as nobody blocks them they can ask for a very tight set and just dump the ball every time basically, forcing the other team to start blocking sooner or later, and when they do, then you have your other options that you already mentioned and love! :)

[@tonyvball]

This is how I play. I am just about 5'6, 200LB and had left knee and right hip replacements, on the older side and I can still compete, maybe not win as much as I used to. I don't do the tomahawk, I use the pokie instead and I can put the ball just about anywhere in the court. That is the best skill to master, even if you are a tall player. About the vision, you need to work on the peripheral vision. You need to be able to see the ball and at the same time be aware of where the other team is and their movements in the court. If they are coming up you go deep and if they are not moving you can go short. Having good peripheral vision also helps with passing the ball when the Sun is in your eyes, you can kind of look away from the Sun and keep the ball in your peripheral. One thing to know is even if you are a shot maker you still need a good set, however as a shot maker you can better deal with bad sets. One thing to remember, anyone can play with a good player but only good players can play with anyone.

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Makes sense! Never heard about the look away from sun and serve receive with peripheral vision thing, I'm gonna try that next time I play in those conditions! I also do believe that it would be good practice for someone like me (who does rely a fair amount on hard attacks) to play the game with a personal rule to only do pokeys for a full game for example. The awareness, vision and understanding you gain from those reps I'm pretty sure won't hurt your future game!

[@galaxy_mosaic3587]

hahaha, I got to the point where he described his hitting as like a randomizer. that's funny. I mean that is the hardest hitter to defend, where you have no idea where the ball is going beforehand. I play with the same people (even in a large group where we rotate 4's) and have some pretty strong idea about where people are going to hit and how they hit...

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Hahaha yes, the "randomizers" are damn hard to defend sometimes.. 😅 Fortunately people tend to lose the "randomizer quality" once they get a bit better... But the tomahawk attack really can create the same type of effect, so often people just freeze and don't know what to do, even if the ball is technically within their defensive reach haha. 😁

[@kos6654]

Love this channel ❤

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Thankss! :) It means a lot!!

[@kyapox]

I wish there was a tutorial on how to be tall..

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Haha would help from time to time! But I guess we just have to take what we have and make the most out of it! :)

[@mangomariel]

the 170cm crew in my group should watch this. There are two 174cm kinda chunky guys that always spike, and it is 95% of the time out, or in the net. I never block them. They can spike indoor, some times, but at beach, nope.

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@mangomariel Hahah, send it to them, and hope they will take it well and not be offended! 😁

[@hithambasha3171]

Great view bro ! We're is that court ?😅

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Hahah! It is by the Nydala lake in the city of Umeå in northern Sweden! :)

[@hithambasha3171]

@LearnBeachVolleyballFast wish I can visit and train with you someday 🫡

[@tonybowen455]

When eric says he doesn't have good vision, I didnt understand it. Lately I've been really working on getting my cut and high line perfect. Ive realized that vision is overrated. As the shots get better, you start creating things. I've noticed this watching random pool B cbva games on youtube. It's pretty solid vball, but the shots arent as potent. I used to think I needed to have some kind of magical vision.

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

You mean that it's enough to just make the shots go really far/to the limits, and that that is the deciding factor, because then you will probably score even if the defender would happen to move that way?

[@tonybowen455]

​@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast Well I always feel like cut or high line is open. So I would stress myself out trying to figure out the "right" shot. But if my shots get even better, I create the openings. I'm tagging the back line lately because I'm playing so much and zoned in sometimes. That opens up the cut. And today I noticed people cheating for my cut shot after the fact. I thought I was telegraphing something, but then I would go jumbo and they'd be going forward for the cut. Also at A and AA here they will try to bait me to do something. So I have to pick a shot, go with it, and then see what happened afterwards. You definitely still can read, and I'm always surprised how well nuss can read, even when they're baiting her. But sometimes she struggles to score and starts swinging, which I totally relate with. The old BB me at scoring would think I have to swing or read better, but the A me at scoring wants to play a basic high line or cut game and make the shots really good. There's a tipping point that happens once the shots get to a certain level. It feels binary to me.

[@jerrychen2302]

do you think someone could go pro using this style of play

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@jerrychen2302 Haha love this question.. On the mens side, no. Defenders are too quick. However, on the womens side, the net is lower (so ball goes down into the sand a bit quicker) and defenders should on average have shorter limbs and be a bit less explosive.. So I wonder!! I always had a dream of finding one female player that had amazing ball control (passing, setting, defending) but struggles in attacking to play the highest level, and coaching her for free for a while to see what would be possible if she thoroughly learned this type of attacking. I know Eric has played with some of the back then top women players in Sweden and I believe he won more than he lost. So I don't know if it's possible, I don't think anyone has tried. But maybe once my covid-hurt finances are in order again, I will feel that it's worth offering some free coaching in exchange of one day getting to know what level actually is possible to gain with this on the womens side. It would be so so interesting to see. Imagine Erics reaction if he one day got to watch world tour beach volleyball with his attacking style on full display..! 😅

[@jerrychen2302]

@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast dang I'm a guy

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@jerrychen2302 Haha, I mean, "doing the impossible" are some of the most interesting challenges, right? How tall are you? Do you jump well?

[@jerrychen2302]

@@LearnBeachVolleyballFast I'm 5 6 and my vertical is like, 24 in at best

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

@@jerrychen2302 If you don't mind the jumping, an attacking style that mixes together Erics style, a lot of pokeys, and some smooth wristsnap hits in weird angles could probably work up to a pretty high level! But the pro level internationally is crazy, but I am not sure if that's the level you were referring to! :)

[@kyapox]

🥲

[@LearnBeachVolleyballFast]

Why tears? 😶

[@flacko4292]

yall yapping nf