Time to brush off the sand socks and visors because the Girls’ Beach Volleyball season is starting! The girls will begin training on February 27th in the weight rooms as well as on the Corona del Mar beach volleyball courts with Coach Sharp and Coach Thomassen.

The season will be full of new workouts, fresh faces as well as a few beloved older ones, and plenty of competition.

Coach Thomassen, who has been with the school since 2003, is excited to work with a smaller group this season and “really focus more on high level training and more competition.”

Unlike indoor volleyball, where conditions are made optimal for the players and the game is much more structured, sand volleyball is much more dependent on weather conditions and is much more informal.

When asked about some of the main differences between indoor and sand volleyball, Thomassen said, “since you’re on sand, it’s a lot easier to dive because there is a much softer land,” as opposed to indoor volleyball, where a dive takes a lot more out of the player.

Thomassen said, “you also have the sun, the wind, a variety of temperatures…the ball is different and the court is smaller [with only two people on it]. There’s a lot more adjusting”.

With these differences players are pushed to utilize their space  as best as possible and adjust to the present conditions, instead of following a strict formula

Some previous strong players such as seniors Carissa Long and Jade Blevins, as well as sophomore Dani Beder will lead the team this Spring.

And even if a person has never played indoor volleyball, they can still be on the beach team. “Any girl that wants to come out and play can,” said Thomassen.

See you at the beach!