Who Is Ben Kohles and Why His Training Approach Works

Ben Kohles is a professional beach volleyball player who built his athletic foundation playing indoor volleyball as a setter at UCLA. After college, he transitioned to the beach game, where his combination of explosive jumping, smart court positioning, and precise ball control helped him compete at elite levels on the AVP Tour and FIVB World Tour.

What makes Kohles worth studying is that his competitive strengths — vertical leap, sand movement, and technical skill — are all developable. He did not succeed primarily because of raw size or natural speed, but because of disciplined, targeted training applied consistently over years. His approach is accessible to any motivated athlete willing to follow a structured program.

The four pillars of his training are: building a sand fitness base, developing explosive jump power, sharpening ball-control skills, and recovering properly between sessions. Each pillar gets a dedicated section in this guide with specific exercises, rep schemes, and progressions you can start this week.

Build Your Sand Fitness Foundation

Sand training is fundamentally more demanding than gym or hardcourt work. Every step recruits more stabilizer muscles, burns more calories per minute, and builds the specific endurance needed to sustain high-level play in beach volleyball. Establish this base before layering in complex sport skills.

• Sand jogging: Begin with 20 to 30 minutes of steady jogging in sand three times per week. Barefoot is ideal for activating foot and calf muscles, but wear minimalist shoes if you have a history of foot problems.
• Lateral shuffles: Set two cones five meters apart and shuffle laterally for 30 seconds. Rest for 15 seconds. Repeat eight times. This drill directly replicates the defensive movement pattern in a real match.
• Sand box jumps: Use a low platform about 30 centimeters high at the edge of the sand. Jump onto the platform with both feet, step down controlled, then jump again. Three sets of 10 reps. Focus on a quiet, soft landing each time to protect your knees and ankles.
• Sprint intervals: Sprint 40 meters through sand, rest 30 seconds, then repeat eight to ten times. Increase to 12 repetitions over four weeks as your conditioning improves.

After four consistent weeks of this sand conditioning phase, your legs will feel noticeably stronger and your match endurance will improve significantly. Only after completing this base phase should you move into the more intense jump training program below.

Vertical Jump Training for Beach Volleyball

In beach volleyball, a player who consistently gets above the net controls the game. Ben Kohles earned a reputation for his vertical leap, and that ability comes directly from years of focused strength and power training. The following exercises form the core of a jump development program.

Perform this routine three times per week, always with at least 48 hours of recovery between sessions. Quality of movement matters more than volume — do not rush the reps.

• Box jumps: Use a 60 to 75 centimeter box. Stand at the edge, drive through your hips and jump onto the box with both feet, stand fully upright, then step down carefully. Four sets of six reps. Treat every rep as a maximum effort rather than rushing through the set.
• Depth drops: Step off a 30 centimeter step, land on both feet simultaneously, absorb the impact by bending your knees and hips, then immediately jump as high as possible. Three sets of five reps. This trains reactive or plyometric strength, which is what actually drives your jump in a match.
• Trap bar deadlifts: At a gym, load the trap bar to 75 to 85 percent of your one-rep max and perform three sets of five reps. This builds the posterior chain power that drives the first phase of your approach jump. Substitute Romanian deadlifts if a trap bar is not available.
• Bulgarian split squats: Stand one meter in front of a bench, place your rear foot on the bench behind you, and hold dumbbells at your sides. Lower until your front thigh is parallel to the floor, then drive back up. Three sets of eight reps per leg.
• Ankle dorsiflexion work: Loop a resistance band around a fixed anchor point and your ankle. Flex the foot upward against the resistance. Three sets of 15 reps per ankle. Better dorsiflexion directly translates to a more explosive push-off and a higher jump ceiling.

Test your standing vertical jump with a wall touch test every four weeks. Most athletes see three to five centimeters of improvement within eight weeks of consistent training.

Hitting Mechanics and Arm Swing Development

Hitting power in beach volleyball comes from technique before muscle. A technically sound arm swing generates far more force than raw strength applied with poor mechanics. Build the movement pattern first and the power will follow.

The Approach Footwork

Most beach players use either a three-step or four-step approach. For a right-handed attacker, the three-step pattern is right-left-right. The four-step is left-right-left-right. The critical element in either pattern is the penultimate step — it should be your longest and most aggressive, loading your hips and driving the upward jump. Practice the footwork pattern without a ball until it becomes completely automatic before you add the ball to the sequence.

Arm Swing Sequence

1. Draw both arms back and behind you as you leave the ground.
2. Lead with your hitting elbow driving up and forward. The elbow should reach shoulder height or above before the hand moves through.
3. Rotate your torso, then pull your elbow through the swing plane.
4. Contact the ball at the highest possible point, slightly in front of your hitting shoulder.
5. Snap your wrist downward through the ball to generate topspin and drive the ball down into the court.

Daily Hitting Practice Routine

• Shoulder warmup before every session: 10 arm circles each direction, 20 band pull-aparts, 15 external rotation reps with a light resistance band.
• 50 shadow swings daily, focusing entirely on elbow height and wrist snap. Do these away from the court as standalone technique work.
• Hit 30 balls per session against a rebounder or with a setting partner. Target specific zones on each rep: sharp cross-court, line shot, and cut shot. Do not just swing — aim deliberately.
• Film yourself from the side every two weeks and compare elbow position at the moment of contact. The most common fault is a dropped elbow, which costs both power and accuracy.

Setting and Ball Control Drills

Ball control separates consistent players from great ones. In the two-person beach format there is no specialist setter — both players must pass and set under pressure, often after sprinting across the court. Build this skill through daily repetition.

• Wall sets: Stand one meter from a wall and set the ball to yourself repeatedly. Begin with 100 consecutive sets per session. Focus on consistent hand shape: fingers spread wide, thumbs angled back, contact the ball with your finger pads above your forehead. Progress to 200 consecutive sets as your hands strengthen over several weeks.
• Wall passing: Using a forearm pass, hit the ball against a wall at varying heights for 50 consecutive repetitions. Control the pace so you are actively placing the ball rather than just reacting to it.
• Partner pepper drill: With a partner, complete a continuous pass-set-attack loop for five minutes without letting the ball drop. This drill trains the transition from defense to offense at match speed and is the single most game-specific drill in beach volleyball.
• Back setting practice: Practice setting the ball overhead to a target behind you. This is used when the first contact takes you away from your setting position and is a critical skill that many recreational players neglect. Include 20 back sets in every ball control session.
• Tip and roll shot finesse: Not every offensive ball is driven hard. Practice tipping the ball just over the block and rolling shots to the deep corners. Include 15 tip shots and 15 roll shots per session to build offensive variety that keeps defenders honest.

A Weekly Training Schedule

Structure converts individual exercises into consistent progress. Here is a weekly plan that reflects professional beach volleyball training priorities while remaining realistic for serious amateurs with jobs and other commitments.

• Monday — Strength and Jump: Trap bar deadlifts three sets of five, Bulgarian split squats three sets of eight, box jumps four sets of six, depth drops three sets of five, ankle band work three sets of 15. Total gym time approximately 60 minutes.
• Tuesday — Sand Skills: 30-minute sand conditioning warmup including jogging, lateral shuffles, and sprints. Then 90 minutes of serving, passing, setting, and pepper drills with a training partner.
• Wednesday — Active Recovery: 30 minutes of yoga, static stretching, or foam rolling. Contrast shower for muscle recovery. No volleyball-specific activity.
• Thursday — Strength and Plyometrics: Upper body pressing such as bench press or overhead press three sets of six, pull-ups three sets of eight, plyometric push-ups three sets of 10, single-leg hops three sets of eight per leg.
• Friday — Full Match Practice: 90 to 120 minutes of full-court scrimmage or competitive practice with a partner. Focus on game situations and decision making rather than isolated drills.
• Saturday — Tactical Review and Light Work: Watch 30 minutes of professional beach volleyball and take notes on serve-receive patterns, blocking decisions, and transition play. Follow with 30 minutes of individual ball control work.
• Sunday — Full Rest: No training. This is not optional. Muscle repair and neurological adaptation happen during rest, not during training. Skipping rest days reduces performance and increases injury risk.

Nutrition and Recovery for Volleyball Athletes

Training hard without recovering properly produces injury and stagnation rather than improvement. Nutrition and sleep are the most consistently under-used performance tools for amateur athletes at every level.

Daily Nutrition Targets

• Protein: Consume 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight every day. For a 75 kg athlete, that means 120 to 165 grams of protein. Practical sources include chicken breast, salmon, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and whey protein powder if needed to hit your target.
• Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are your primary fuel for explosive athletic activity. Do not restrict them. Eat rice, oats, sweet potato, fruit, and whole-grain bread, particularly in the two to three hours before training sessions.
• Hydration: Drink a minimum of three liters of water on training days. Beach volleyball is played outdoors in direct sun, often in high heat. On hot days or sessions longer than 60 minutes, increase water intake to four liters and add an electrolyte supplement to replace sodium and potassium lost through sweat.

Pre-Training Meal Timing

Eat your last full meal two to three hours before a hard session. Good options are oatmeal with banana and honey, rice with grilled chicken and vegetables, or whole-grain toast with peanut butter. Keep fat content low in this meal to avoid digestive discomfort during high-intensity activity.

Post-Training Recovery Window

Within 45 minutes of finishing a hard session, consume 20 to 40 grams of protein alongside 40 to 80 grams of fast-digesting carbohydrates. A whey protein shake with a banana is effective and convenient. This recovery window is when muscle tissue is most receptive to amino acids needed for repair and growth.

Sleep and Contrast Therapy

Target eight to nine hours of sleep per night during heavy training blocks. Reduce screen brightness and avoid screens entirely in the 60 minutes before bed to improve sleep quality. For sore muscles, alternate two minutes of hot water with 30 seconds of cold in the shower and repeat for three cycles. This contrast therapy accelerates circulation and measurably reduces delayed onset muscle soreness between sessions.