King of the Beach

King of the Beach

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

To take risk or not take risk when serving?

In other movements of beach volleyball (passing, setting, spiking, blocking, digging), you don't have too much time for thinking. But before the serve, you can think a little bit about the next serve. Should I hit the ball with full power or just make a very easy and safe toss over the net? Most of the time, the question is simplified to jump or not jump? The are several factors, that affects this decision:



1.The features of the tournament
If you will probably have 5 more matches this day, you should consider it. You can knock-out yourself by jumping all the time, especially when the weather is hot. For example, if you have a much weaker opponent, you don't need to finish them out 21-3. 21-10 will also do. This is tipical for younger players.
Of course, if you're a Terminator, don't listen to me, just do it with full power! Maybe you can lose more, if you fall out of your rhythm. :)
If you're in a single-elemination quali or already in the losers bracket, there is no such a thing as next match. You have only THIS match, don't even think about the next! A little exception: if the 1st or 2nd seems to lost already, you can save energy for the next. Try to rebuild your rhythm at the and of the set to make sure, that you will start the next with full effort.



2.Wind
If the wind is against you, you can hit the jump serve much harder. Do not forgot the topspin at ball-tossing. The wind will push down your serve, so aim your shot a little higher. Once, when a played in stormy wind, I've made a serve, where the ball passed the net, and came back under the net without the touch of the opponent. :) I remember, at this ponit they gave up the match mentally.

3.Opponent
Against lower seeded, younger or less experienced teams, many teams doing safety serves. They're just waiting the opponent to make errors. If you're showing confidence, they probably will make errors. Not to say, this is a very passive approach to the match, if they can avoid the expected errors, you'll end up losing.
Against very good side-out teams, you can take more risk than usual, because they can convert your easy serves with confidence. Usually taller players are in this category. You need to challenge them with tougher and/or well-placed serves (either jumpy or floater).

And an universal tip: If ain't broken, don't fix it!
If the match is in your hand with your current strategy, don't change anything.
More about serving later...