Boys beach volleyball finds success in inaugural season

In this summer for the spring season, several Samo volleyball players took their talent to a new stage this past summer: the beach. Samo was able to triumph in their first beach volleyball tournament ever, as they took home gold, silver and bronze medals in the U18 AAU National Beach Volleyball Championship.Coach Kurt Schwengel is coached the three volleyball teams, for the first time but has extensive prior experience, as he has been playing beach volleyball for over 30 years.  The teams consisted of John Schwengel (’18) and Tyler Logan (’16), who won gold, Sam Wittert (’17) and Rowdy Lennon (’17), who won silver and Keve Kemper (’17) and Sam Rietta (’16), who won bronze.The Vikings had to adjust to a new form of the sport, as they transitioned from indoor to beach volleyball. There are new rules and techniques, some of which are legal in indoor volleyball playing, but illegal on the sand. There are many other restrictions, including how much more difficult movement is on the sand.However, the biggest difference between the two sports is the tight relationship that the two teammates must establish. This was a partnership that these Vikings were not used to, as they had to transition from six to two players.This past summer, they trained on the beach for eight hours per week and participated in several scrimmages against teams from the same region as Samo. Since the technique is so drastically different from indoor volleyball, they had some things to work on.“We mostly had to work on our passing, because in a lot of games that was our weakness,” John Schwengel said.The Vikings also participated in the U16 AAU National Championship in Hermosa Beach and the California Beach Volleyball Association California Cup in Manhattan Beach, which consisted of some of the best teams in California as each participating team was required to win a regional beach tournament to enter.John Schwengel and Logan have found a unique, yet effective strategy that helped them win gold.   “We encourage each other with insults,” John Schwengel said. “That’s how we fuel each other to do better.”Even when laughing on and off the court, they claim their playing level is boosted when firing each other up, forcing one another to prove their partner wrong. According to Kurt Schwengel, the team is ready to be competitive when they return to playing in the gym in the spring season.“The Samo team is looking great,” Kurt Schwengel said, referring to his beach team. “We beat Pali[sades Charter High School] 19 matches to 3 the other day in a preseason scrimmage. We should be very competitive this season.”This experience will help the boys’ overall technique in the indoor season as well.“Beach volleyball refines all of your skills as opposed to indoor, which only focuses on one skill depending on what position you play,” Logan said. “So now, we are much better players all around.”These boys will not only be taking their medals into this upcoming season, but also a new knowledge of the game as well.Note: In the paper issue, it was stated that setting is rarely allowed in beach volleyball. This is incorrect. Setting is allowed under certain circumstances in beach volleyball. The Samohi apologizes for this misinformation.