The team of Reid Pfeifer and Justin Adam certainly emerged out of nowhere in terms of beach volleyball capturing the U18 two-man beach volleyball provincials held in Regina Aug 21.
Both 17, Reid and Adam were participating in their first beach volleyball tournament, and still came away with the title.
It was a notable accomplishment for the boys who have grown up playing volleyball in Yorkton for the past five years, including at the Yorkton Regional High School, and with the local Bongo Boys Club program.
Adam said he decided to give the beach game a try because there was so little to do in recent months.
“Honestly I just wanted to do something. I was pretty bored with the COVID restrictions,” he said.
As the restrictions eased the opportunity to play beach for provincials opened up and Adam was ready for the challenge.
“It looked like it would be fun to do,” he said.
Pfeifer said the idea to play beach volleyball was Adam’s, adding “we thought about it last year,” but COVID-19 meant provincials were cancelled.
While Adam has played volleyball since he was in Grade 7, he said the beach game is significantly different with its own unique challenges for players.
The first notable difference is the court size.
Adam said he was afraid to hit the ball too hard for fear “it would go five metres out the back (of the court).”
Then there is the sand.
“You can’t get as high on your jumps,” said Adam.
Pfeifer said the sand was certainly a factor, noting “it fatigued you pretty fast.”
The wind is the next factor that is different as games are outside. Adam said the direction of wind was important to consider on serves and a crosswind could impact shots too.
“You had to be careful with that,” he said.
Pfeifer agreed dealing with the outdoor elements took some getting used to.
And then there is the fact there are only two players on the team.
Adam said with the regular game it is not always easy to determine who made a mistake that cost a point. In two-man the error is pretty easy to assign, and that means it can be easy to get angry if a partner is making mistakes.
Pfeifer said the key was just getting used to the different elements that he said make beach volleyball a more difficult version of the sport than they had expected.
“Once we got used to it, and started playing our game, it all sort of came together and we started getting a better chemistry going,” he said.
Fortunately, the new team were able to keep the emotions generally in check, partly because they have been friends for years.
“We’ve been playing on the same club since Grade 8, and we’re friends, so we know how to play with each other,” said Adam.
“He’s (Adam) my setter on the court (in regular volleyball),” said Pfeifer, adding having defined roles helped them.
The duo finished the round robin at 3-1, and then headed to the playoffs where they recorded a quarterfinal win 2-0 over a team from Swift Current.
They then topped a Regina team 2-0 in the semi-finals, advancing to the championship where they defeated a Saskatoon team 2-1.
“Honestly, when we got to the final came I didn’t think we’d pull it off,” said Pfeifer, adding they lost the first set, then “fought back” for the win.
“It definitely feels really good,” he said.
While they are now champions, Adam is not ready to simply focus on the beach game. He said as a summer option it is something he will likely pursue, but added he looks forward to getting back in the gym to play the regular game too.
