SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s decision to start a beach volleyball program wasn’t the only reason Dani Barton chose to play for the Utes, but it was definitely an important aspect of her decision.
“It was a really big part of my decision,” said the freshman, who graduated early from Brighton High so she could compete with the Utes in their inaugural beach season this spring. “I mean, I love the coaches and I love the girls, so that was a big part, and my family being here. But when they said they would (start) beach volleyball, I thought, ‘How cool would it be to be able to build the program with them?’ So it was a pretty big factor in my decision.”
Barton, who was the 2016 Ms. Volleyball and Gatorade Player of the Year, started playing beach volleyball in sixth or seventh grade. It’s a path players pursue because there is a professional tour and the possibility of playing in the Summer Olympics.
There are not, however, a lot of opportunities in a place like Utah.
“It’s not like when you live in Utah you can play beach (ball) in high school,” she said laughing. “And the whole winter and fall season it’s too cold to play beach. So as I got older, it made more sense to focus my time on indoor.”
Utah beach volleyball coach JJ Van Niel said it was a confluence of events that allowed the U to join seven other Pac-12 schools in offering beach volleyball as a sanctioned sport.
“We had a lot of discussions, and 2017 seemed like a good time to add it,” Van Niel said, noting that all of Utah’s players participated in this first season, which began in March and will end with the Pac-12 Tournament in April. “We had a few who weren’t too excited. After playing it, I think everybody is realizing all of the benefits of it, and they’re also having a lot of fun with it.”
Van Niel, who was a consultant and scout for USA Women’s National Team before joining Utah’s indoor staff last year, said playing beach can refine a player’s skills.
“From a volleyball standpoint, it’s good at teaching you how to read the game,” he said. “It’s really good for ball control.”
It allows big blockers to practice passing and setting, while teaching hitters there is more than one way to score points.
“They learn how to hit shots instead of just trying to hit it as hard as they can,” he said. “It’s also really good for communication.”
Utah has only won one tournament – an invite at San Francisco on March 12. But different pairs have won matches, with Barton winning five matches with three different partners. Van Niel said winning a title wasn’t the point in this first season.
“We tried to approach this season as a great learning experience,” he said. “The players have been awesome, and they’ve been growing and getting better. We didn’t jump in and go five days a week in the sand. We really haven’t trained a ton.”
Instead, they’ve mixed a little beach training (two-person teams indoors) with their regular indoor practices, as well as offering players some down time.
“We tried to keep it from being a grind,” Van Niel said. “I haven’t received any negative feedback.” While Barton has a passion for sand volleyball, other players had only limited experience with beach volleyball.
Libero Torre Glasker, who played a summer of beach volleyball with Barton two years ago when they were both in high school, said it pushed the players while still giving them a break from their regular training.
“It’s been awesome,” Glasker said. “I mean, it’s kind of been an adjustment for all of us. It’s been a weird transition because I played before, but then I hadn’t played in so long. …But it was a good off-season, kind of keeping us in shape, and we’ve been building new muscles.”
She laughs as she recalls how stiff and sore they felt after their first couple of beach practices.
“All of us were like, ‘Oh, my gosh! What is this?’” she said. “It’s just different movements.”
Both Glasker and Barton said they feel it’s already making them better indoor players.
“I think it helps a lot,” said Glasker, an all-state player from Bingham High. “In outdoor, it’s just you and your partner, so you’re basically touching every other ball. …It helped me because you have to use your eyes more. I have to read what that hitter is doing.”
Barton said it’s been helpful with skills, but also in building team chemistry.
“It’s just a nice break from the court,” she said. “I think all of us have a lot of fun. We got to go to Hawaii together, and I think everyone loved that. It’s certainly a different atmosphere. …It helps with defense and just all-around ball control, and kind of our mental aspect of the game, like being smarter and knowing where to put the ball and seeing everything.”
The Utes are practicing indoor for the next two weeks as they have tournaments at home on Saturday against most of the state’s indoor programs, followed by a tournament next weekend at UVU.
After that, they’ll return to beach training for the Pac-12 Tournament, which is scheduled for April 28 in Tucson, Arizona.