Questions about the program

Beach Volleyball is played 4 on 4 on an outdoor sand court. There will be 5 to 6 players per team. We follow the majority of beach volleyball rules, but some have been modified to accommodate the level of our players.  The age range for players is 9 to 18 years old and we welcome beginners, intermediate or advanced players.

Teams will practice about 2 times a week before games start. Once games start each team will practice about once a week.
All practices and games are played at the Optimist Club Farm located at 2930 Optimist Farm Road, Apex, NC  27539.

 

Teams and Divisions

Instead of creating teams by age, we rank all the players by ability and broke them apart evenly into teams. The more advanced players are selected for an advanced division, while remaining players will be in an intermediate division.  Players must be placed in the advanced division - they can not simply sign up to be in it.  This will make for exciting and easy flowing games and teams that have worked very well.

We will have an All Star team formed from the Main division and the Advanced Division. 8 players from each will be selected by coach and commissioner votes.

Having 2 divisions gave players an opportunity to work with other players that were their same skill level. The 2 divisions are:     

• Main Division - Beginner and Intermediate players.
•  Advanced Division - High level and experienced players.
  

Advantages of having two divisions based on skill level:
- Accommodate the players that have leveled up and needed to learn more advanced skills. 
- Equally important is that the Beginners and Intermediate players get the attention they need at a level that doesn't move faster than they can learn these new skills.
Having these 2 divisions will help us better serve our players without having to organize clinics in order to get like skilled players together. The first two years of the program did not have such a large gap between advanced and beginner players, but through the dedication of the coaches and hard work of the players, there is now a distinct difference that cannot be ignored.

Continuing with this format certainly depends on registrations and coaches that volunteer to help.

2024 Beach Volleyball Timeline (Tentative)

• June 3rd - 6th - Assessments/Evaluations - must be registered and paid in full to participate.  More details on expectations will be provided as we approach that week.
  
• Team practices will start after teams are formed on June 7th ( Practice Schedule will come out after evaluations and team formation)
  • Practices could be 1, 1 and a half, or 2 hours on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and/or Thursday nights.  This is heavily based on the number of teams that are formed and coach availability 
    
  • Each team will practice 2 times a week until games start. 
    
  • Practice times are either 5:30 to 7:00 PM or 7:00 to 8:30 PM, or 5:30 to 7:30 PM or 6:30 to 8:30 PM with shared courts.  If three teams need the court there will be 1 hour practices at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30
    
• Games will start after the week of July 4th and run to August 17th (Game schedule will come out in early July)
  • No games or practices will be held the week of July 4th
    
  • Rain make up games will be worked in and could take over practice times if required.  Each team should have about 8 games during the season.
    
  • When games start each team will have an evening of games each week and one practice night (if possible)
    
• The end of Season tournament will be near the end of August. When a weekend is scheduled we will update the information here.

We practice and play games rain or shine, but if the weather becomes severe we will take a 15 minute break to see if the weather clears.  If it hasn't cleared after 15 minutes we will determine whether to wait longer or call the practice/game based on time already played and remaining daylight.  We use the WeatherBug application to help make sure we are off the courts when lightning approaches the area.  We will strive to have make-up games when weather impacts the schedule.

End of season tournament

There will be an End Of The Season Tournament all weekend near the end of August. Mark your calendars now! It will be a double elimination tournament. Hopefully we will still have the All Star Game and a Coaches vs. All Star Team Exhibition Game to finish the weekend. Other tournament activities could be scheduled and will depend on community assistance with the program

Opportunities to Volunteer

To make this season successful we need more volunteers than normal.
This year we need more coaches!  We would love commitments prior to evaluations so you can help evaluate and draft players.
We need referees and someone to help coordinate the referees for games.
We always need scorekeepers, book keepers, assistant coaches, sponsors and anyone willing to try to get equipment donations.
Please contact [email protected] if interested.  

Ready to sign up? Register