Prince William gets sandy during fun beach volleyball match at Copacabana

Prince William is enjoying his first-ever visit to Brazil!

On Monday, November 2, the Prince of Wales landed in the country in South America for his 2025 Earthshot Prize event.

During his first day of the visit, the future king enjoyed a beachy outing at Rio’s Copacabana Beach with local children.

The future king pulled off his socks and shoes for a classic Brazilian beach sport – volleyball – with players from the Levante Institute, a school run by Brazilian Olympian Carolina Solberg.

“Hi guys, be nice,” Prince William reportedly said to his opponents before playing for about 10 minutes.

Prince William played the sport to the fullest, leaping into the air and diving in the sand to dig the ball.

“He’s tall. He can hit, he can. I think he could be really good if he practices more,” Solberg told PEOPLE.

She further gushed, “He’s such a gentle [person] and showed kindness with everyone.”

“It’s amazing. Like, I never expected this with such a surprise to receive this invitation to be part of this, so it’s an amazing honor and pleasure, and it was fun also to see him playing my sport, beach volleyball.”

The father of three also met Rio de Janeiro’s Military Fire Brigade, which runs the lifeguard services on the beach.

Earlier in the day, Prince William visited the Maracanã Stadium, where he and former Brazilian national team star Cafú joined some young people in the penalty kick competition. The prince will attend the Earthshot Awards on Wednesday at the Museum of Tomorrow.