Nummerdor explains it best

Since the creation of an international beach volleyball circuit in the late 1980s, many followers of the sport have asked players about the difference between the six-person indoor game as compared to the two-person competition outdoors.

Five-time Dutch Olympian Reinder Nummerdor offered one of the best explanations of the differences between the indoor and beach game in a February 2019 interview with Christian Bosse.

“Mentally beach volleyball is harder than indoor volleyball,” he said. “If you really suck in indoor, they just put another player in. In beach volleyball, if you have a bad day, the opponents pick you and go at you, then you have to figure it out with your partner and find solutions.”

Moving from indoor to beach volleyball

Nummerdor made a name for himself as both an indoor and beach player. He appeared with the Dutch national volleyball team at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games, before competing in three-straight beach Summer Games in Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio (2016).

Nummerdor said he and long-time friend Richard Schuil “decided at the Athens Olympics to take a step back from the national team. We played together on the national team for about 10 years, so we knew each other already for a long time. In the summer of 2005, we played beach volleyball for fun on the national tour. We enjoyed that a lot and without much practise, we won a few events. After that, we both went back to Italy to play the indoor season again for different clubs. Halfway through that season we got in touch with each other and we decided to start playing beach volleyball full time when the season was over.”

And they became the first Dutch men’s team to win an FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour title by defeating Brazilians Pedro Cunha and Franco Neto in a three-set, 68-minute finale in May 2007 at Manama, Bahrain. The Dutch pair added eight more World Tour titles the next five seasons with two in 2012 when Nummerdor and Schuil also placed fourth at the London Olympics.

“The final of Bahrain 2007 against Franco and Cunha for our first World Tour victory was memorable,” said Nummerdor, who was honoured as the FIVB’s top defender for the 2009 and 2011 seasons. “Winning the finals of the European Championships in Hamburg 2008 for our first of three European titles was also memorable along with winning the first World Tour event in the Netherlands in 2009. We beat Gavira (Adrian) and Herrera (Pablo) of Spain in the gold medal match in front of our home fans.”

Nummerdor noted that he and Schuil “had this chemistry from the beginning. We found each other easily on the court. There was not much discussion about how we wanted to play, and we always stayed calm under pressure. And beyond that, we complemented each other on a technical level.”

The Dutch pair appeared in 14 World Tour finals in 75 appearances together with 16 medals, 21 final four finishes and 34 quarterfinal advancements. After that, Nummerdor played three 2014 events with Steven van de Velde before finishing his competition days with Christiaan Varenhorst.

Playing with Varenhorst

Nummerdor and Varenhorst went on to play in 23 World Tour events together with three gold medals, five finals, six final four finishes and 15 quarterfinal appearances. After dropping the three-set gold medal match at the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in the Netherlands against Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt, they avenged the setback by defeating the Brazilians in a three-set final at the 2016 Moscow Grand Slam.

In his last event at the Rio 2016 Olympics, Nummerdor combined with Varenhorst to place fifth after being eliminated by compatriots Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen in the quarterfinals. Nummerdor finished the Copacabana event leading all men’s participants in digs per match (5.0) and was tied for eighth in aces (7).

Nummerdor said playing with Varenhorst as compared to Schuil was “quite different. He was much younger than me, and Richard and I knew each other for such a long time already when we started playing. With Christiaan, we had to find out how to communicate effectively on the court. That was our main issue. Technically it was a great match from the start.”

As for memorable moments with Varenhorst, Nummerdor said the “first one was the final of the Sao Paolo Grand Slam 2014. We beat Emanuel and Ricardo on their home soil. It was only our second World Tour event together. Then of course the final of the 2015 World Championships in The Hague against Alison and Bruno. My toughest loss, but nevertheless memorable. The whole atmosphere, playing at home in front of the Dutch fans and the king and queen of Holland.”

As the FIVB World Tour's most inspirational player for the 2016 season, Nummerdor said his final campaign was highlighted by defeating Alison and Bruno in the finals of the Moscow Grand Slam. “We were down in the third set by five points or so, but we still managed to win that match.”

Nummerdor also remembers his final beach win against Mexico’s Lombardo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen in the first round of elimination at the Rio 2016 Olympics. “Christian and I never played them in 2014 and 2015, but luckily we got to play them twice just before the Olympics in Germany and Switzerland,” said Nummerdor. "In Gstaad it was a really close game, but at least we got some information from them in case we would meet them in Rio. It was my last official win.”

Today, Nummerdor says he is “still happily married to the same beautiful woman (Manon Nummerdor-Flier) and our daughter Milou and son Daniël are doing great! I’m still the assistant coach of our top two men's teams and also working with two other young teams at the moment. Hopefully, we will be able to compete again this season.”

Read more: Roster 100 to showcase stars of volleyball and beach volleyball

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