The Capital District isn’t known as a beach sport capital because well, the area would need more beaches in order to have more beach sports.
One organization, though, brings the beach spirit to the region.
The Capital District Grass Doubles club offers area residents the opportunity to play beach-style 2-on-2 volleyball throughout the summer.
The only thing it can’t offer is the beach itself. In place of the beach, the CDGD holds its matches in area parks, including a series of weekend tournaments at Scotia’s Collins Park.
Everyone is competitive, but [the tournaments are] also a big social event, said Tim Skinner of Guilderland, a 15-year member of CDGD.
The CDGD has been around for more than 20 years. Over that time, the club has grown from a few volleyball junkies to dozens of players ranging in age from their teens to their 40s. It’s also become affiliated with the AVP Next program, which promotes the sport at the grassroots level.
`It’s definitely grown over the years. There’s more younger players at the tournaments these days,` said Skinner.
Tournament fields are divided by ability level, not by age. So in any one of the four divisions (open/AA, A, BB and B), there can be matches between younger players and older players.
`I’m very competitive, so I have to play a lot to keep up with the players who are younger than me,` said Skinner.
`In this group, everyone thinks of themselves as competitive players,` said Jim Bishop of Rotterdam, who has been with the CDGD since it started in 1987. `I’m still trying to play competitively, even though I’m not as fast as I once was ` not that I ever was that fast to begin with.`
The level of competition ranges from basic to advanced. The most talented players compete in the open division, which can take on the appearance at times of the AVP Tour ` the professional beach volleyball organization.
`Relative to the rest of the country, [the competition level] is a little bit lower,` said Guilderland Center’s Doug Gordon, who regularly competes in the open division. `Relative to me, I often have my hands full.`
`This year, it’s been very good ` a lot of good experience out there,` said Sally Gillich of Clifton Park, who competes in the A division, the second-highest level in CDGD.
Each tournament runs for two days. The first day is for men’s and women’s compeition, and the second day is for co-ed competition. Prize money is awarded in the open and A divisions, and prizes are given to the top teams in the BB and B divisions.
Players work on their skills at CDGD’s free pickup games, which take place Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Avon Crest Park in Niskayuna.
`If the weather is nice, there’s usually four or five nets up [for pickup games],` said Skinner. `There’s been a lot of rain this summer, so there haven’t been that many here. But on a good night, you can have several nets going.`
`Sometimes, you plan to be here with a [specific] partner or you arrange to play against another team,` said Bishop. `I just come and see who’s here.`
Unlike its tournaments, CDGD pickup games give players an opportunity to challenge themselves against higher-caliber teams.
`It’s all different kinds of players,` said Colonie’s Andy Mink, who joined last year. `You have to kind of get used to it. You learn a lot playing at the higher level.`
Gordon learned how to jump serve like the professionals he saw on TV as a teen, though it took a lot of practice.
`I like being aggressive [when I serve], so I had to probably miss about 7,000 serves before I started getting them in,` said Gordon.
Voorheesville native Joshua O’Brien just started participating in CDGD events this summer, and he said he’s already hooked.
`It’s a lot more intensive. You have to be good at everything,` said O’Brien, who plays club-level indoor volleyball at college. `[On a team], you only have to be good in one or two things such as hitting, blocking or serving. Here, you have to be good in all areas.`
`It’s a little bit more fun [than indoor volleyball] because you’re getting more contact with the ball,` said Mink, a 2005 Colonie Central High School graduate.
The CDGD club has two more tournaments at Collins Park on its schedule, Aug. 15 and 16 and Sept. 19 and 20. The entry fee is $40 per team if paid the Thursday before the tournament starts and $60 per team thereafter. The entry fee does not include the AVP Next membership, which is required for all club tournaments and is a one-time $10 fee.
For information, visit the club’s Web site at www.cdgd.org.“