Court Evaluation: Concepts of Reading the Court in Beach Volleyball

with Kristen Rohr,
Grand Canyon University Head Coach;
Co-founder of Coastline Volleyball Club (FL);
Member of the AVP - started playing beach volleyball professionally in 2007

and Joe Rohr,
former Grand Canyon University Assistant Coach;
has played on various professional beach volleyball tours; finished as high as 25th on AVP tour.

Court awareness and the understanding of how to evaluate what a competitor is doing offensively and defensively are tools that will help every team become more successful. In this video, Kristen and Joe Rohr present multiple training tools that emphasize the importance of court awareness.

Through a progression of drills, the coaches demonstrate drills covering basic fundamental skills, but inject chaos to improve necessary communication skills and court movement. They share variations of each drill that can be used at multiple skill levels.

Court Check

Many athletes tend to watch the flight of the ball. By understanding how to evaluate the court quickly, players can adjust efficiently to get better offensive and defensive plays on their side of the net. Early communication amongst players must be reiterated on a daily basis in order for players to become comfortable in their assessment of the court.

You'll learn how to:

• Train players to look at the other side of the court early for physical clues.
• Train players to relay information to setters in a quick, concise manner.
• Emphasize information regarding an opponent's block.

Court Vision

Players who can see what's happening across the net will be more successful on offense and defense. The coaches show you how to:

• Train players to start reading the opponent's court as soon as the ball is passed on their side of the net.
• Train players to identify the block early so there's an opportunity to adjust offensively if necessary.

Court Awareness Drills

The Rohrs suggests that too many players don't evaluate the court to use for their competitive advantage. They introduce multiple drills that can be used in practice to encourage players to gain strong communication skills while performing at game tempo. The drills are performed in two-player situations that can be adapted for multiple players. Drills include:

• Revolver Drill - A version of the Pepper drill applied in a half court situation to train your athletes to be better tactical attackers.
• Target Pepper Drill - This is another variation to train an attacker's eyes on where to look on the other side to attack. It provides a good way to establish ball control prior to your practice regimens.
• Chaos Drill - Works on communication amongst teammates, and less watching the flight of the ball.
• 2-on-1 Sideout Drill - Covers the sections on sideout, defense, and court assessment. The scoring system forces the defense to make a second effort to score, while the offensive side should look where to score against a single defensive back.

Coaches Kristen and Joe Rohr emphasize the importance of court awareness as an excellent tool to become a well-rounded player.

Produced at the 2016 AVCA Annual Convention in Columbus, OH.

33 minutes. 2017.