Volleyball enthusiasts hope to make some ‘Net’ gains

North Shore residents looking to practice their serve and spike have some good news.People can set up their own nets at a designated area at Long Beach in Nahant, and plans are in the works for volleyball nets behind Lynn Tech.Department of Conservation and Recreation spokesman Bill Hickey said of the Long Beach area, “We at the DCR certainly don?t mind going out there with your family or a couple friends for a game of volleyball, enjoying the beach on a hot summer day.”However, he said that larger-scale projects would require a recreational use permit, such as “if you?re looking to have a beach volleyball tournament with 25 people coming out or set up a bunch of different nets under the same organization.” Under the latter scenarios, he said, “you need to call the main office and request a recreational use permit.”The same set of rules exists for Revere Beach. While the DCR has had this policy in place at beaches “for years,” Hickey said, he noted that Nahant Beach has been “in some state of closure the past few years with construction. Maybe people were not out there playing volleyball.”The beach reopened on Memorial Day weekend and operated on a weekends-only basis until a couple weeks ago, when it began operating seven days a week.People can set up their own nets between lifeguard stations 4 and 5.?It?s a good enough space,” Hickey said, and quipped, “There?s a reason they call it Long Beach.”Meanwhile, volleyball nets are in the works for Neptune Field behind Lynn Tech. The field is undergoing a refurbishment of its own.City Councilor Hong Net helped raise awareness of an interest in volleyball. Net said the sport is popular within the city?s Asian-American community.?Asians are very interested in volleyball,” said Net, who is from Cambodia.He added that there is a volleyball net at LeLacheur Field in Lowell, which has a sizeable Cambodian-American population, and that “every day people will go, socialize, provide food and get together.”He called the LeLacheur facility “a model” and said that people “would like to have something like that in Lynn.”He said that “certain people have been playing before and requested the city, through me, for a place for them to play.”Net talked with James Marsh of the Community Development office, and that the result would be a volleyball facility that would belong to the city and be a place where all communities could go to play volleyball.Net said that the process of creating the facility has been “going on for about one year,” and added, “It?s supposed to be up any day now.”The 45-year-old said that he used to play volleyball at school and in college.?I?m not that tall,” he said, noting that he stands 5-5. “I was OK.”Asked whether the opportunities at Long Beach represent (pardon the pun) a spike in interest in volleyball, Hickey said, “It would be speculation on my part.” However, he added, the sport “has been in constant growth over the past several years in popularity. More school systems have volleyball teams. The sport itself is becoming more and more popular. But as to whether interest at specific beaches is increasing, I couldn?t say yes.”