If beach volleyball were a computer game, the players would probably be the little figures moving on the screen. However, the coach would not be the actual gamer as in volleyball, but rather the programmer who had to put in all the code ahead of the game. There is a major difference between a volleyball coach and a beach volleyball coach, and to help the fans understand it and gain more in-depth knowledge about the tireless behind-the-scenes work of those low-profile mentors in the sand from the first-hand source, in my Secrets of Coaching Success series, I also present some of Europe’s accomplished examples in the beach volleyball coaching profession and try to pick their brains for insider info about how it all gets done.
Aigars Birzulis
Following discussions with elite indoor volleyball coaches, this edition features our second beach volleyball expert: Aigars Birzulis. This accomplished Latvian coach guided Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova to the 2022 European Championship title in Munich. He also led Latvia`s women`s national team to a bronze medal at the inaugural BeachVolley Nations Cup 2022 in Vienna.
Born approximately 58 years ago during the Soviet era in Latvia, Aigars initially excelled in indoor volleyball, even securing a medal at the USSR Junior Championship. His coaching journey began in the mid-1980s as a coach and sports methodologist. Over the years, he coached numerous indoor volleyball clubs across Latvia, famously leading Incukalns/LU to a national championship in 2005. His extensive experience also includes head coaching Latvia’s junior and youth national teams, notably guiding them to an eighth-place finish at the 1997 FIVB Volleyball Men`s U21 World Championship. This foundational work indirectly paved the way for his successful transition to beach volleyball.
Birzulis encouraged his indoor players to engage in beach volleyball during the off-season to maintain their fitness. This casual practice evolved into a formal coaching path in 1996, at the first U20 Beach Volleyball European Championships in Jurmala. There, two of his male duos achieved podium finishes: Austris Stalls and Armins Vensbergs claimed gold, while Aldis Jaunzeikars and Klavs Zalkalns secured bronze, marking the official start of his beach volleyball coaching career.
His coaching triumphs continued, as his boys` teams earned six more European age-category medals between 2003 and 2011. Notable victories included Janis Peda and Toms Smedins` U18 title in 2003, and Toms Smedins and Janis Smedins` U20 title in 2005. Concurrently, in 2008, Aigars Birzulis earned his volleyball coaching degree from the Latvian Academy of Sports Education. Prior to the Beijing 2008 Olympics, he briefly collaborated with Latvian Olympians Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs. His breakthrough at the senior international level came in 2010, when Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins secured bronze at the European Championship in Berlin. This was followed by a fourth-place finish at the 2011 FIVB World Championship in Rome, culminating in an Olympic bronze medal at London 2012 – a career highlight. Birzulis also led Martins Plavins and Haralds Regza to a landmark gold at the 2015 European Games in Baku.
Birzulis celebrating the London 2012 Olympic bronze with Plavins & Smedins
Between 2014 and 2016, Birzulis added three more international medals to his collection, this time coaching Latvian age-category women`s teams. These included a 2014 U17 World Championship bronze with Tina Graudina and Linda Gramberga, and European Championship titles: U18 in 2015 with Tina Graudina and Paula Neciporuka, and U22 in 2016 with Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka. He coached in Finland from 2017 to 2020, and since 2021, he has been part of an FIVB development initiative, mentoring young girls` teams in Lithuania. In August 2022, the Latvian federation appointed him to oversee their women`s teams for the season`s two main events. He guided the national team, comprising Anastasija Kravcenoka, Anete Namike, Tina Graudina, and Varvara Brailko, to bronze at the inaugural Nations Cup in Vienna. Subsequently, with his strategic direction, Anastasija and Tina achieved a dominant victory at EuroBeachVolley in Munich, winning all six matches and losing only one set in the final.
At the 2022 Nations Cup with the Latvian women’s national team
In recognition of his significant coaching accomplishments, Aigars Birzulis was honored with the Order of Three Stars, Latvia`s highest state award for distinguished service. Since July 2020, he has also been coaching at the sports center in Marupe, near Riga. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys fishing, mushroom picking, and gathering berries, connecting with nature.
