Living in the Southbay for close to 8 years now, I’m ashamed to say I’ve never played Beach Volleyball. It’s always been one of those things that I said “one day I’m gonna play.” It was something I took for granted, until recently when I connected with a group of guys and girls that plays every Saturday.
I haven’t played volleyball for well over 15 years, but I guess it’s like riding a bicycle (through the sand). It came back pretty quickly, but it’s a workout trying to move in the sand. After a few weeks, I’m finding it much easier to make my way around and almost able to spike the ball now (I feel like I have cement blocks tied to my ankles).
I don’t know if you knew this or not, but volleyball is a fun sport! I forgot how fun it was. Mix that with sun, fresh air and cool breeze, beach, and great people and it doesn’t get much better than that! That combination makes for a truly enjoyable day. Now I understand why I see the same people playing every weekend – it’s addicting!
If you haven’t played beach volleyball, or it’s been a while, I highly recommend getting out there. Because beach volleyball is such a part of the Southern California culture, there’s no shortage of places to play. From Redondo Beach past Santa Monica, pick your beach and you’ll almost certainly find more than enough nets for everyone to play.
Just bring your volleyball, and if you want to get really serious, bring your boundary lines and you’re all set. If you don’t have anyone to play with, don’t be afraid to ask a group if you can join them. Or if you’re not comfortable with that, there are groups that you can join that play every week at most of the local beaches.
Meetup.com is a website where people set up groups for all kinds of things, and you can join, post messages, see schedules and “Meet up” with a group to play volleyball.
Some of the active groups (with links to the group page) on Meetup.com are:
- Manhattan Beach – Bump-set-spikers
- Santa Monica – Santa Monica Volleyball Group
- Hunnington Beach – Hunnington beach Volleyball Players
- Long Beach – Long Beach Volleyball Group
And plenty more. It’s as simple as clicking on the links above, or vising www.meetup.com and looking for a group in your area. No time like the present to get some fresh air, sunshine, beach and exercise, and it’s a great way to meet people.
