In beach volleyball, as in basically any other aspect of life, people who develop their own ways to do things and succeed tend to create a unique identity within their industries. As with any other sport, beach volleyball had its own standards and routines, but they are certainly not the only ways to accomplish the end goals players set for themselves.
Over the course of their careers, some players went to establish their own identities inside the court due to not only a great level of play but also by creating and developing moves only they are capable of executing to perfection.
These trademark moves are easily identified by the fans who follow their matches around the globe and add to their profile as players. Here are five of these moves, which, we’re sure, you will waste no time in identifying.
Anders Mol’s backflip
Anders Mol can do a handful of impressive things with a beach volley ball on his hands, but funny enough one of his moves that get the most fans on the edge of their seats happens after matches are over. If you have ever been to a tournament that the Beach Volley Vikings won – and if you have been to any tournaments at all in the last two years there’s a good chance that was the case – you know what we’re talking about. When the Viking claps start at the stands, you can tell something exciting is on the way and in that case it’s Anders’ backflip celebration, a move you’d never expect a 2m-tall person could do so smoothly, but one someone with the Norwegian’s outstanding body control can easily master. We have to confess that it’s a little frustrating that Christian Sørum cannot keep up with his partner when it comes to backflipping, but hopefully he used the quarantine time to put some work on it.
Laura Ludwig’s offensive defense
Offense is meant to score points. Defense is meant to avoid points from being scored. It certainly takes a genius mind to find a way to accomplish both of these goals, as opposite as they might be, with a single move during a beach volleyball game. But, let’s be honest, Laura Ludwig is a genius. If you were on defense and realized an easy shot was coming your way, what would you do? Probably focusing on getting that dig nicely into your partner’s hands and preparing to score in transition, right? In that case, Laura would be at least two steps ahead of you. But don’t feel bad, she’s always two steps ahead of us all to be honest and what she’d do would be taking a shortcut and bumping the ball straight back to her opponent’s court, making the dig and scoring the point with a single touch. It’s called “The Ludwig” for good reason and you probably saw that from her already, didn’t you?
