APRIL ROSS COMES TO SAN DIEGO AT SOUTH MISSION BEACH!
We are so grateful to have April Ross, Olympic Silver Medalist, come to San Diego and train with our athletes at South Mission Beach! Below are some great tips from this professional champion.

WARM UPS
It's crucial to have a regular warm up that gets your body and mind ready for practice, playing and competition. Be sure to be completely ready to go when you start to avoid injuries and set yourself up for a strong start.

Warm up generaly starts with a job, some dynamic stretching and throwing the volleyball with your partner. Move into cross-body hits, right side hitting with follow through and forward hitting, being sure to keep your reach high.

When starting to pass, stay close and squat very low and controlled to warm up legs. Use high, up and down passes to emphasize the apex in the pass. With setting, be sure to face where you want the ball to go, using your legs.

PASSING
Use your legs! Be sure to keep your feet shoulder width apart in a slight squat as you are ready to receive the ball. Move quickly to where the ball is going and get your hips around so that your arms and shoulders are facing where you want the ball to go. Keeping the ball in front of you, squat deeply, keeping your platform straight and solid, watch the ball all the way into your platform and lift with your legs to create an up and down pass with an apex, dropping in the middle 10' line of the court (your target). An apex is what the next passer or hitter needs.

Even if the ball is behind you or you are chasing a ball down, even digging a ball, it is important to think about where you are putting the ball. It's not enough to just "get to the ball" – you want to get to the ball and place it in the middle front of the court, giving your setter the best opportunity to set a good ball.

BUMP SETTING
Facing where you want the ball to go is crucial to making a good set. Again using deep squatting technique creates the perfect apex (a slight stop at the top of a pass) that hitters love. You want to stay behind the ball, keeping your platform flat with your hands slightly below your shoulders. Ideally sets will be 6" to one foot off the net and about 2-3' above the net. Some players will request a higher or lower set or on and off the net according to how their body works with hitting.

HITTING
Shoulder should always be facing the back opposite corner of the court whether you are hitting from the left or the right. You can practice hitting at 12 o'clock for a stong cross court hit to start. As you start to get a rhythm you can start practicing to hit 1 o'clock on the ball, thumb up and over to make the ball go more to the left (a line hit from the left side or a cut shot from the left). Hit the 10 o'clock area of the ball, thumb down to make the ball go to the right (cut show from the left side or line hit from the right).

April Ross and her husband, Brad Keenen will be doing INVITATION ONLY training sessions with individuals that have an A, AA or better beach volleyball rating on select dates. If you or someone you know has an interest in being part of these trainings and learning more about Aprils professional skills, please contact us at [email protected].