The Rise of Beach in the Midwest
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} A little over…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue Reading Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
A little over a month ago marked NCAA’s 4th national beach championship event. Eight collegiate teams fought for the title in a double-elimination style tournament. The final was between USC and UCLA, with UCLA capturing the championship. Since the induction of the NCAA Beach Championships in 2016, USC and UCLA are the only teams to have earned the national title.
Basic Rules of Beach:
- Each team consists of 5 competing pairs (ranked 1-5 much like tennis).
- Victory is achieved by the first team earning 3 pair wins.
- Matches are best of 3 (first 2 sets go to 21 with the third going to 15) win by 2 points.
With the increased popularity throughout the south and west coast, we are seeing more opportunities arise in the Midwest at the club, regional, and collegiate level.
Club:
Both the Iowa and Great Plains Region have several club programs that compete for a chance to qualify for national tournament every year.
Regional:
Both the Iowa and Great Plains Region hosts regional beach events. On June 1-2, the Great Plains hosted the Great Plains Region Beach National Qualifier, part of the USA National Beach Tour. The Iowa Beach Open is set to take place June 15th.
The USA National Beach Tour is a collaborative effort to provide top-notch beach competition opportunities from coast-to-coast for every player’s skill level. From sand newcomers at the grassroots level to elite players aiming for a national title, this Tour offers opportunities for all players, even an adult division for men, women, and coed.
The Junior Beach National Championships will be hosted in Manhattan Beach, California July 18-23. There are three divisions for both boys’ and girls’ teams: National Open, Regional Open, and Patriot.
College:
Nebraska has had their beach program since 2012 and is currently the only NCAA University with a beach team in the states of Nebraska and Iowa. Nebraska is a bit different than most Division I collegiate beach programs as they use theirs as a tool to improve their indoor game and get more training time. Most Division I programs have separate programs with different coaches and players whereas Nebraska has the majority of their same roster as their indoor program.
There has been talk of many Division II’s and NAIA programs adding beach volleyball to their list of athletic programs throughout the Midwest.
Austin Filer is a beach coach in the state of Iowa who has lead several athletes at the club level to qualify and place in the top 5 in the nation. Along with coaching, Filer has extensive experience as a player in both the indoor and beach game, having played professional beach for several years where he notched 8 career championships. Now the head coach for Xavier High School, Filer talks about the beach game. “Beach volleyball forces athletes to play the entire game while indoor often becomes a game of specialists. If you struggle in one aspect of the game, it becomes exposed quickly. This exposure allows athletes to strengthen their weaknesses. With the combination of not having a coach and no substitutions, athletes develop a deeper understanding of the game, learn decision-making skills, and are forced to work through adversity. Dual-sport beach and indoor athletes are able to combine the power and speed of indoor with the finesse and strategy of beach.”
The beach game has been underrepresented in the Midwestern region from lack of resources to lack of experience. However, we are beginning to see more and more indoor and outdoor sand facilities arise and coaches are becoming more knowledgeable of the game to provide more opportunity for players to learn and compete.
Filer states the importance of having beach opportunities in the Midwest. “Playing beach allows athletes more touches and breaks up the monotony that comes from playing indoor year-round. We have fantastic volleyball athletes in the Midwest; beach allows those athletes the opportunity to fine-tune their ball control and learn some advanced strategy.”
Obviously the west coast has established their dominance in the world of beach volleyball much like the Midwest has with indoor game, but could the talented athletes within our land-locked states make strides in the beach game and create a new culture of success in this rising sport in our part of the country? Only time will tell as opportunities continue to arise!