Analysis of an Athlete: Sand vs. Indoor

As the talk of NCAA women's sand volleyball gets more serious, the debate over what the consequences will be continues.

My concerns when I first heard the news were two-fold: that it could have a negative effect on indoor volleyball and whether it was really necessary considering that U.S. beach teams continue to win in its absence. Both those concerns were adequately put to the test in a recent analysis.

The article takes note of the differences between the games and the players that she based on statistics from top indoor players and top beach players. Turns out there are some major differences. According to the stats, successful beach players are shorter, have different skills and are less likely to have been indoor All-Americans.

The point being that the majority of players who will switch to sand will not take away from the elite indoor pool. The stats are compelling. On height - 58% of top FIVB and 40% of top AVP beach players are under 6 feet tall while only 25% of AVCA D-I All Americans were under 6 feet and 40% were over 6'2" tall.

As for the All- Americans - only 30% of the Top 20 AVP players won the honor. And as for the notion of losing indoor players to the lure of the beach - only 18.6% of all the All-Americans at the prime age for beach (26-30) have played consistently in the AVP.

When you look at it that way, these are very good points. On the other hand, narrow it down to the top eight women's players and the demographics change:
Misty May-Treanor (5'9" All-American, LBSU)
Kerri Walsh (6'3" All-American, Stanford)
Elaine Youngs (6'0" All-American, UCLA)
Nicole Branagh (6'2" 2nd team All-American, Minnesota)
April Ross (6'1" All-American, USC)
Jennifer Kessy (6'0" All-American, USC)
Annette Davis (5'11", All-American, UCLA)
Jenny Johnson-Jordan (5'10" All-American, UCLA)

All of these players were impact indoor players and would have been missed dearly by their respective teams had they chosen to bypass indoor altogether. They are above average in height and they were each All-Americans.

Regardless of the stats, there are some good points about other countries starting to specialize much earlier. I agree that our beach training starts much too late despite the current success. If the stats are correct and it takes 3-4 years to transition successfully from indoor to beach, starting after college will put us at a distinct disadvantage in the coming years.

In the end, I think college sand volleyball is a good move for the sport, but I still believe it will effect indoor volleyball in significant ways. Like most changes we've made to the sport, there will undoubtedly be some unforeseen consequences to deal with when the dust settles.