Podcast appearances and mentions of Casey Jennings

Travis Mewhirter is an American professional beach volleyball player, color commentator and sports journalist. A man of many hats, he has been the eyes and ears of the sport for the better part of the last decade. One of the most traveled American players, he has played with and against the highest level the sport has to offer. His ascension has been rapid in previous years and the expectations are that another "level up" is imminent. He has a very popular volleyball podcast (the "Sandcast") and is considered the best writer in the sport (with Volleymag). Matt Prosser is an American volleyball color commentator, journalist and former indoor and beach standout. Cutting his teeth at Long Beach State University, He has played with a slew of different partners and has enjoyed a heightened level of success. His longevity has seen him play with players from two different generations, from players as far back as Casey Jennings to recent ones like current standout Eric Beranek. His comeback story from cancer back to the main draw is well-documented and is an inspiration to all. He is highly regarded as a top-two a commentator for Beach Volleyball World, the world's most prestigious beach volleyball league. 02:41 - Who is the team of the year? 08:04 - Newcomer of the year 16:42 - Most improved player of the year 27:42 - Hitman for hire award 36:44 - Most valuable player

Kirsten and Susie sit down and talk to Kerri Walsh Jennings, mom, wife, athlete, entrepreneur. They have so many wide-ranging discussions from Title IX to how volleyball helped Kerri find her voice and her hunter mentality. They touch on self-talk, growing up in a competitive household and how parenting athletes is getting out of the way. We think it's our best episode yet. We were all taking notes, learning from each other! We knew she was a Champion athlete; we love that she's a Champion parent and podcast guest!! Kerri Walsh Jennings is a legendary beach volleyball player who has won four Olympic medals and three world titles.  She was born in California in 1978 and started playing indoor volleyball at Stanford University, where she won two NCAA championships.  She switched to beach volleyball in 2001 and formed a dominant partnership with Misty May-Treanor, winning gold at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, and London 2012.  She is married to Casey Jennings, another beach volleyball player, and they have three children. She gave birth to her youngest son three weeks after winning bronze at Rio 2016 with April Ross.  She is still competing at the age of 43.

Matt Prosser is an American volleyball color commentator, former professional beach volleyball and indoor volleyball player, and college standout at Long Beach State University. He has played with a slew of different partners and has enjoyed a heightened level of success. His longevity has seen him play with players from two different generations, from players as far back as Casey Jennings to recent ones like current standout Eric Beranek. His comeback story from cancer back to the main draw is well-documented and is an inspiration to all. He is currently a commentator for Beach Volleyball World, the world's most prestigious beach volleyball league. Lightning round format: 02:11 - Favorite volleyball movie/scene? 08:28 - Commentator you loved listening to coming up? 18:13 - Favorite "Matt Prosser Moment?" 23:52 - Advice for up and comers? 29:28 - What old school rule should return? 40:25 - AVP: Who wins NOLA? 50:54 - True lightning rounds (60 seconds)

You might recognize my highly esteemed guest today as one half of what was once called “the greatest beach volleyball team of all time” With three (yes THREE) Olympic gold medals and one Olympic bronze medal to her name, Kerri Walsh Jennings is a Beach Volleyball legend and a force to be reckoned with. What makes Kerri such an amazing guest on this podcast is the fact that she truly lives what she teaches. Not only is it evident on the scoreboard, it permeates every part of her life, on and off the court. Juggling her elite career with being a wife and a mother of three, Kerri shares deep, internal wisdom about the importance of choice, cultivating joy, and what it takes to earn the mindset of a champion. She is vulnerable, honest, eloquent, and an endless fountain of wisdom for all things sports and motherhood. Through commentary about Mikaela Shiffrin at the 2022 Winter Olympics, stories of family and coaching her son through a loss, and awesome quotes that somehow come to her at the perfect time every time, Kerri proves time and time again that she is a gifted storyteller and a natural teacher. This interview is one I know I will return to time and time again. About Platform 1440: P1440 was founded by Kerri Walsh Jennings and her husband (and fellow Beach Volleyball legend), Casey Jennings to engage, equip, and encourage beach volleyball athletes to pursue their dreams. P1440 gives athletes direct opportunities to compete and grow alongside a dedicated community of high performers and big dreamers. Learn more about P1440: https://www.p1440.com/ Follow them on Instagram: @platform1440 Here's a glance at this episode: [4:24] Lindsey and Kerri discuss the fallacy of perfectionism and Kerri's relationship with failure through her younger years. She discusses her crushing disappointment at Rio and what it took to push through it. [9:21] “Our job is to show up and do our best.” Kerri relates her experience at Rio to Olympic Alpine Skiier, Mikaela Shiffrin, and encourages athletes like her to reframe the way they think about failure. [12:54] What does the phrase “Play so hard to win that it hurts so bad to lose” mean to an Olympian? [16:06] Purpose and self-love through the ups and downs are essential to being a successful athlete and happy human. In Kerri's words, “If you don't love yourself because you're in a funk right now, you're literally playing for the other team; you're fighting against yourself.” [17:53] Quoting Andrew Huberman, Kerri insists we need to be having conversations with children about the power we have within to create our outside environment. And we have to understand that greatness takes time. [19:39] Not unlike the lion and the gazelle, how we interpret stress actually impacts how our bodies respond to it. [24:44] Kerri remembers a conversation with her Sports Psychologist that changed everything. In summary, the words you choose MATTER because every word you speak is MOMENTUM. [30:39] What does it look like to be an Olympic athlete and a mother of three? Kerri's vulnerable answer includes an acknowledgment that It's messy. [38:04] “If you're committed, you have to commit through the good times and the hard times…” Kerri describes her complex pursuit of greatness and her commitment to her purpose, as an athlete, a wife, and a mother. [45:30] Kerri describes a few surprising ways in which becoming a mother helped her in her career. She makes a case for defining your life pillars and filtering your actions accordingly. [50:11] Kerry shares a relatable story about coaching her son through a big loss. She reminds him, “The truth of who you are is unafraid”. [55:42] Lindsey and Kerri wrap up their episode by outlining Kerri's mental training routine - on and off game days. From sleep, to cold plunging, to journaling, to talking it out, being where your feet are, and choosing what feels good, Kerri believes in creating sustainable routines that last a lifetime and cultivate joy. RATE, REVIEW, & FOLLOW ON APPLE PODCASTS “I love Lindsey's straight forward, realistic approach to motivation and living your best life.”

You might recognize my highly esteemed guest today as one half of what was once called “the greatest beach volleyball team of all time” With three (yes THREE) Olympic gold medals and one Olympic bronze medal to her name, Kerri Walsh Jennings is a Beach Volleyball legend and a force to be reckoned with.  What makes Kerri such an amazing guest on this podcast is the fact that she truly lives what she teaches. Not only is it evident on the scoreboard, it permeates every part of her life, on and off the court.  Juggling her elite career with being a wife and a mother of three, Kerri shares deep, internal wisdom about the importance of choice, cultivating joy, and what it takes to earn the mindset of a champion. She is vulnerable, honest, eloquent, and an endless fountain of wisdom for all things sports and motherhood.  Through commentary about Mikaela Shiffrin at the 2022 Winter Olympics, stories of family and coaching her son through a loss, and awesome quotes that somehow come to her at the perfect time every time, Kerri proves time and time again that she is a gifted storyteller and a natural teacher.  This interview is one I know I will return to time and time again.  About Platform 1440: P1440 was founded by Kerri Walsh Jennings and her husband (and fellow Beach Volleyball legend), Casey Jennings to engage, equip, and encourage beach volleyball athletes to pursue their dreams. P1440 gives athletes direct opportunities to compete and grow alongside a dedicated community of high performers and big dreamers.  Learn more about P1440: https://www.p1440.com/ Follow them on Instagram: @platform1440 Here's a glance at this episode:   [4:24] Lindsey and Kerri discuss the fallacy of perfectionism and Kerri's relationship with failure through her younger years. She discusses her crushing disappointment at Rio and what it took to push through it.  [9:21] “Our job is to show up and do our best.” Kerri relates her experience at Rio to Olympic Alpine Skiier, Mikaela Shiffrin, and encourages athletes like her to reframe the way they think about failure.  [12:54] What does the phrase “Play so hard to win that it hurts so bad to lose” mean to an Olympian? [16:06] Purpose and self-love through the ups and downs are essential to being a successful athlete and happy human. In Kerri's words, “If you don't love yourself because you're in a funk right now, you're literally playing for the other team; you're fighting against yourself.” [17:53] Quoting Andrew Huberman, Kerri insists we need to be having conversations with children about the power we have within to create our outside environment. And we have to understand that greatness takes time.  [19:39] Not unlike the lion and the gazelle, how we interpret stress actually impacts how our bodies respond to it.  [24:44] Kerri remembers a conversation with her Sports Psychologist that changed everything.  In summary, the words you choose MATTER because every word you speak is MOMENTUM.  [30:39] What does it look like to be an Olympic athlete and a mother of three? Kerri's vulnerable answer includes an acknowledgment that It's messy.  [38:04] “If you're committed, you have to commit through the good times and the hard times…” Kerri describes her complex pursuit of greatness and her commitment to her purpose, as an athlete, a wife, and a mother.  [45:30] Kerri describes a few surprising ways in which becoming a mother helped her in her career. She makes a case for defining your life pillars and filtering your actions accordingly.  [50:11] Kerry shares a relatable story about coaching her son through a big loss. She reminds him, “The truth of who you are is unafraid”. [55:42] Lindsey and Kerri wrap up their episode by outlining Kerri's mental training routine - on and off game days. From sleep, to cold plunging, to journaling, to talking it out, being where your feet are, and choosing what feels good, Kerri believes in creating sustainable routines that last a lifetime and cultivate joy.  

"You can still be hard, and be sober, and be a sweetheart, and super masculine." -Casey Jennings WOW! This is episode with Casey will tug on your heart strings and inspire hope for people from all walks of life. A beach volleyball legend. A husband to another beach volleyball legend, Kerri Walsh. A Dad. A man in sobriety. Casey opens up about how he and Kerri saved their marriage at the height of Kerri's volleyball career. And Casey's life-changing experience going to rehab and getting sober. Casey talks about the importance of fundamentals in al areas of life. His mentors who helped him get to where he is today. And his journey from an undersized athlete in Las Vegas to becoming one of the best beach volleyball players of his generation. And how the title of dad and husband are most important. This is one episode you do not want to miss. Follow Casey on IG @caseytjennings

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Matt Fuerbringer, the associate head coach at Long Beach State and one of the all-time good people in beach volleyball. He's a Manhattan Beach Open champion and came within a fingernail of qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Games with Nick Lucena, a story we discuss on the podcast.  We also chat about: - His partnership with Casey Jennings, and the emotional team they were that thrived on adversity and in big moments. - How he felt like he was playing the best volleyball of his career at age 34 or 35 - The leadup to the 2012 Olympics, playing with Nick Lucena, and finishing fifth in the world and still missing out on qualifying - The lessons he's trying to instill in his kids, and his awesome definition of what it means to have fun at practice This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! This episode is also brought to you by CROSSNET, a fun new beach volleyball game, where beach volleyball meets four-square. It's an absolute blast, and is actually a great training tool as well. Use our discount code, SANDCAST, for 20 percent off! SHOOTS!  

On today's show we go CROSSNET with multi AVP Tour Champion & co-founder of P1440 - Casey Jennings. Enjoy this great interview with a beach volleyball legend. Casey and I talk about his journey and the vision for P1440. All in the name of growing the love for volleyball. Enjoy this fun conversation!  Make sure to subscribe, give us 5 stars, and leave your comments. Feel free to email Ryan with questions and comments: ryan@crossnetgame.comWho knows, we might get your questions answered on the show! Follow Ryan on Instagram - @ryanmillar9Follow Casey and the P1440 team too - @platform1440

Today, we continue the conversation with one of the winningest Olympians of all time – sorry Nat L Whether it was her stellar Collegiate Indoor Volleyball career where she is considered the best all-around player in history or her unprecedented 102 match winning streak in international beach volleyball in 2007/2008, Kerri Walsh Jennings somehow manages to also win Sportswoman of the Year as well. Transcending the sport of beach volleyball by winning Gold in 2004, 2008 and again in 2012 w her partner Misty May, it would be appearances like Oprah and Ellen that would solidify her as a star but I believe its more like the fact that she raised three kids w her husband Casey during this whole Golden ride!She truly epitomizes the Whitney Houston song “Every Woman” as she now heads up her passion project P1440 w her hubby – a digital platform exclusively built around the sport and culture of beach volleyball. But don’t think she’s done getting her feet sandy as she is in the running for qualification for her 6th Olympic Games. And don’t think the first-ever postponement of the Games will get her down – only serves as more time to “sharpen the blade” as she commented!It's her attitude for life that I really want to explore. Yes, she’s one of the winningest athletes of all time, but she is so much more than that. She’s somehow relatable and lovely and smart and funny and lovingly thoughtful and courageous all balled into one…lets dive a little deeper into the making of such a human!The Goods on Kerri:Paired up with Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh-Jennings won Olympic gold in beach volleyball at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games, and is known as one of the best players to ever compete in the sport. At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, Walsh-Jennings and May-Treanor started off with a bang, defeating Australia, the Czech Republic, Austria, The Netherlands, Italy and China. They went on the win the final against fellow American team Jennifer Kessy and April Ross, 2-0 (21-16, 21-16), taking their third consecutive gold medal in beach volleyball. Upon May-Treanor's retirement, Walsh-Jennings paired up with former competitor April Ross for the 2016 Rio Olympics. In 2005, Walsh-Jennings married Casey Jennings, a top U.S. men's beach volleyball player. She gave birth to the couple's first child, Joseph Michael Jennings, in May 2009. The couple had another son, Sundance Thomas, in May 2010, and a daughter, Scout Montgomery, in April 2013.In February 2018, the volleyball star opened up to CNN about the professional complications that follow the news of a pregnancy, from the loss of sponsors to warnings of physical problems that could impede career ambitions.Contact Kerri: Twitter: @kerrileewalsh Instagram: @kerrileewalsh P1440 Website: www.p1440.com Go to http://www.bit.ly/InTheGamePodcast to become part of this growing community of DREAMERS!

Welcome to Starting Point with Casey Jennings. In episode 14 of the show, Casey sits down with behavior counselor and dog trainer, Brian Lee, to talk about his "Way of the Dog" approach to training dogs and their owners. Although you won't hear much about beach volleyball in this episode, it's a fascinating listen for anyone—whether you're a dog lover or not a dog person at all. So sit back and enjoy this interview with Brain Lee, owner and founder of Way of the Dog. Ciao!

Kerri Walsh Jennings is a 5x Olympian, 3 x Gold medalist, 1 x Bronze medalist & is going for a 4th GOLD this Summer at the  Tokyo Games.  She is an Entrepreneur, the co-founder of p1440 a digital platform that is built around the sport of Beach Volleyball, supporting its growth on every level from the sand to our screens. Kerri is a proud + loving wife to her husband Casey Jennings and one of the best mommies I know on this walking earth to her 3 kids, Joey, Sundance + Scout.  In addition to that incredible list, Kerri as many of you may already know, is one of my dearests and besets of friends. Straight up- she’s family. There are WAY to many too many qualities for me to address here on what makes Kerri such an incredible human but to prime you a bit on this inspiring conversation with her I will note a few things I love about my girl: She is a believer who sees NO limits to what is possible to achieve in life. She has INCREDIBLE mental frameworks that support the daily practice + process of reaching for better and achieving it. She is fiercely loyal and loving to her people- I can to this speak LOUDLY.  She walks her walk with CONSISTENCY. She is a GROWTH MINDSET, CURIOUS woman who is DRIVEN by Passion Purpose and VISION. She is kind, courteous and generous beyond words. I’ve barely scratched the surface here but I believe you get the point- She’s remarkable. In this super giggly (you’ve been warned, elevating conversation we get down on topics around: The backstory to our friendship  How she manages Intense energy  Being obsessed with winning  Her strengths in how balances her fully loaded life What pressure means to her Her focus on discovering the perfect amount of tension on her focus + her desire to win How important teamwork is to her process and invaluable to actualizing her vision  Inviting more Feminine Energy into her daily life Meditation as a major tool for inner peace Her morning routine How deeply important her training team is and why The difference between vulnerability vs weakness High-Performance conversations The powerful teamwork/dynamic between her and her husband Casey  The difference between a goal vs a vision  Her Vision Quest for 2020 Her goals for 2020 Maneuvering around the emotional waves of your biology  Kerri answers 3 questions asked from the BlackBeltBeauty community: How she keeps her nerves under control when she competes? Why optimal nutrition is so important at all ages and stages in life? How she keeps going on days when she’s tired + on the hard days? And so much more. Needless to say, this episode is very special to me as it’s been 2 years coming and we finally made it happen. If you don’t know Kerri yet, be ready to fall in love with one of this remarkable woman, the GOAT of Beach Volleyball, one of the GREATEST ATHLETES OF ALL TIME and my ride or die- homegirl for life, Kerri Walsh Jennings. Enjoy! Kerri Walsh Jennings: INSTAGRAM: @kerrileewalsh TWITTER: @kerrileewalsh FACEBOOK: KERRI LEE WALSH www.p1440.com PS. My weekly LOVE❤️NOTES are ALIVE and ready to elevate your mindset + heart! Sign up to start receiving one weekly empowering, encouraging, bite-size LOVE❤️NOTE that is also available in audio format. I want you to start your day with this short but sweet love note so that you feel AMAZING as you tackle the hustle of your day like a BOSS.  You can sign up for them here VIA WWW.BLACKBELTBEAUTY.COM

Welcome to episode 13 of Starting Point with Casey Jennings. In this installment, Casey sits down with McKenna Thibodeau and Madison Willis (aka the Witt Twins) to talk about the dreams and realities of pursuing a career in professional beach volleyball. You'll hear about their upbringing, how sports factored into their young lives, their relatively late entrance into the sport, how they unexpectedly found themselves chasing the pro beach dream, and how they've decided to hang up their swimsuits in pursuit of other passions. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of Starting Point with Casey Jennings. Ciao!

Welcome to episode 12 of Starting Point with Casey Jennings. In this episode, Casey speaks with Kamila Tan, a beach volleyball player and current graduate student at UCLA whose sincerity and authenticity shine bright. In this interview, Kamila shares her story and speaks openly about recovering from an eating disorder in hopes that her journey will inspire and help other people facing the same issues. Sit back and enjoy this insightful, honest, and thoughtful conversation with Kamila Tan. Ciao!

Welcome back to Starting Point with Casey Jennings and to the tenth episode of our show. After a short break, we are excited to bring you this interview with retired beach volleyball professional and top-producing real estate agent, Lee LeGrande. In this candid conversation, you'll hear about Lee's upbringing in Hawaii and Mississippi, his journey through the professional beach volleyball ranks, and what life has looked like since retiring from the sport. Enjoy this exchange between two good friends and we will see you soon for episode 11!

Today, we continue the conversation with a man who continues to scrap his way to a more fulfilled and contributory life. Growing up near the Casinos of Vegas with his 5 brothers, I can just imagine what he had to do to survive.How does a little boy fighting for survival end up at Brigham Young University with a sociology degree, captaining an NCAA Indoor Volleyball title, and being a 2016 Rio Olympic hopeful??Perhaps, for Casey Jennings, it has something to do w his life mantra: “There will never be a time when your life is not this moment.” Lets find out what has allowed him to navigate raising 3 kids (Joseph (10), Sundance (9) and Scout (6)) while his wife Kerri Walsh-Jennings battles it out on the beach volleyball court for her 4th run at Olympic Gold. It’s as if 3 Gold Medals wasn’t enough JToday, I want to dive deeper into his relationship w his Champion wife and how he navigates his own lofty dreams and desires while all the while raising a conscious family! What are dreams really made of? Achievements, gold medals, titles, or moments of pure presence, contributing to the next generation w his p1440 innovation, seeing your kids be a source of inspiration in the world. Do we inherently know the value of these kind of dreams when we are kids and then become socialized to make it about achievement or are the visions we have for our life all a mere game of BECOMING??Let us start the inquiry…Contact Casey: Facebook: @casey.jennings Website: www.p1440.com Twitter: @caseythomasjGo to http://www.bit.ly/thenatandsarahshow to catch this week’s livestream!

Welcome back to Starting Point with Casey Jennings. We hope you've enjoyed the show so far. With school back in session and the summer drawing to a close, we are going to take a short break to regroup, plan our next series of 8 episodes, and work on delivering an even more compelling and polished product for our listeners. So far you've heard from Olympic gold medalists including Natalie Cook and Eric Fonoi, learned what it's like to be a transgender child in today's world, peered into the mind of Jake Gibb, and been touched by Chris Crabb's stories of fatherhood and resiliency. We look forward to continuing this Starting Point journey with you and will see you in October.

You know what they say about plans. Some say that when God hears you making plans, he just laughs. Mike Tyson claims that everybody’s got plan, until they get punched in the face. Eric Beranek had plans this year. He was going to get a coach. Play the year with one guy. Do it the right way, finally. Then God chuckled, and Beranek was, proverbially, punched in the face. He began the year well enough, with Curt Toppel. Straight into main draw. But Toppel was, well, “Toppel,” Beranek said on SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. He said this with a laugh, because Toppel is Toppel. Full-time job. Kids. Just had enough points to make main draw, so why not go out and play? Beranek knew, though, that Toppel wasn’t his full-time guy. Wasn’t into it like he was. So he turned to Marty Lorenz. That, too, went well enough at first. They made main draw in Austin. Played well, too. Only thing was, Beranek had a cyst on his tailbone. Didn’t tell anyone but shew wee, you should have seen that thing. Went to the hospital right after he got home, and the surgery seemed to go ok, until, an hour later, he was sitting in the bathroom, body rejecting everything, plunging into septic shock. He spent a few more days in the hospital. Had to skip New York, and then Seattle, though the latter turned out to be a bit serendipitous. When Lorenz called Beranek to tell him he couldn’t play Seattle, Billy Kolinske phoned no more than two minutes later, asked him to play the Pottstown Rumble, a big money grass tournament just south of Philadelphia. “I still wasn’t quite right,” he said, but he went anyway, and wouldn’t you know it, they made the finals. Won a good bit of cash, too. Maybe this year was looking up. Going to turn around, close on a high. Somewhere, God laughed. Maybe he knew Beranek was about to get punched in the face again. The day before AVP Hermosa, where he was set to partner with Lorenz again, Beranek’s girlfriend broke up with him. Then salt was poured in by Dylan Maarek and Dave Palm, who knocked him out of the final round of the qualifier. “I didn’t play two AVPs, don’t qualify, girlfriend breaks up with me, ‘I’m like, awesome! We’re back. All time low. Sweet!’” Beranek said, laughing. That’s the things about slamming into the bottom: You bounce. And he did. He set up a practice with Corey Glave, just the two of them. He told Beranek that the player he once knew only wanted to win. He needed to become the player who expected to win. “You gotta find that, and you gotta work super hard to get back,” he told him. “Ok,” Beranek said. “Here we go.” Here we go meant eighth seed in the AVP Manhattan Beach qualifier. No longer with Lorenz, Beranek was back with Kolinske, his Pottstown partner. Lorenz almost encouraged the move. He had trouble dialing in Beranek’s set in transition. Kolinske, who’s world-class at the art of transition setting, would be a better partner for him. That’s one plan God didn’t laugh at. Beranek was finished, for the weekend, at least, getting metaphorically punched in the face. They qualified, and then, after dropping their first match to Ed Ratledge and Rafu Rodriguez, they battled back to win a three-setter over Travis Mewhirter and Raffe Paulis. Their legs were toast. Didn’t matter. They rallied, one more time that day, to beat John Hyden and Theo Brunner. With six matches on their legs, they were moving onto Saturday. “Holy shit,” Beranek thought. “This tournament just started.” It would have been funny, for anyone in the stands, to see Beranek’s dad there. He’s made quite the turnaround. He’s his biggest fan now, Mr. Beranek, but a few years ago, to imagine his son competing on a Saturday at the AVP Manhattan Beach Open? No way. He’s got his own Aerospace manufacturing business. His son was set for life. Didn’t matter if he had dropped out of OCC, dismayed by grades and volleyball. Eric had a job. “You’re set!” he pleaded with his headstrong kid. His friends weren’t much different. When Beranek told them he wanted to play beach volleyball professionally, “they looked at me like I was crazy,” he said. “They said ‘Ohhh, you want to be an actor too? You probably have a better shot at that.’ That was a funny and weird thing I struggled with.” So his friends would laugh, and his dad would send his daily offer: Want me to help pay for trade school? Stay in the shop? Want to be a hairdresser? Nope nope nope. He may have dropped out of OCC, but he had his own kind of education in mind. He skipped work one day and biked down to the strand to find Holly McPeak. He asked if she knew of any coaching opportunities available, and she said no, but there’s this guy, always dressed in Pepperdine gear. Name’s Marcio Sicoli. He’d be down at 15th street tomorrow morning. Go find him. So he skipped work again, found Sicoli, and for the next four months, became the world’s most dedicated ball shagger. From 8-10, he’d be with Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross, and from 10-12 he’d work with Kolinske and Casey Jennings. He took the work he saw them doing and applied it to his own game. The results, as they do, lagged at first. Took their time to come in. But a main draw in Seattle of 2018 led to Hermosa, and Manhattan, and Chicago. And then he made plans for the 2019 season, which is when everything began to dissolve – crystallizing only when Kolinske, in a poetic reunion, needed a partner. Then came Manhattan, qualifying, stunning one team after the next: Hyden and Brunner, Avery Drost and Chase Frishman, Ricardo Santos and Sean Rosenthal, Chaim Schalk and Jeremy Casebeer. And now they were in the semifinals? Eric Beranek? The kid who had to trick his way onto the court at OCC, telling the starter that the coach wanted him in instead, only for the coach to notice, one play in, and yank him again? That kid? Oh, yes. He had made the switch Glave wanted. Eric Beranek expected to win. “It was ‘We need to win. How are we going to win?’” Beranek said. “We were playing good ball. I’m playing good volleyball against these guys. We can beat them.” He’s able to sit back, relax now. Now that the legs aren’t feeling like jello and the adrenaline has reduced his heart rate to somewhat normal. He didn’t know when his time would come, only that it would. He simply had to be ready. “Everyone’s timeline is different,” he said. “Some people will say ‘I’m this age, so I should be doing this at this age because he is,’ but there is a lot of those pressures and I think it’s easy for younger guys, girls, to look up to people, the superstars who come out of college and are placing super high. There’s a lot of that. There are girls my age that are in contention to winning tournaments. I thought ‘Man, when is that going to come? Am I going to be 25? 26?’ “I didn’t really know, and I didn’t put too much pressure on myself to do that. I just said it’s going to come when it’s going to come. Everyone has their own timeline, so I’m just going to keep grinding.” Keep grinding. The one plan God doesn’t laugh at.

Casey Jennings is an American Professional Beach Volleyball Player, entrepreneur and Co-Founder of the relatively new and competitive Professional Beach Volleyball league "p1440." Tune in, as this former NCAA champ and legendary, multiple-time FIVB/AVP/NORCECA winner chats up the long, hard road to his success, always reaching for higher goals, his wife's (Kerri Walsh) competitive nature, respect and love for the game, fan questions, and much more!

Welcome to episode seven of Starting Point. In this episode, Casey sits down with the other Olympic gold medalist from Sydney, the one they call "The Body", Eric Fonoimoana. In this episode you will hear candid stories about Eric's upbringing in Manhattan Beach, the loss of both parents at a young age, becoming a parent himself, bringing home Olympic gold in Sydney, and a few of the pranks he used to pull to keep things light on tour. You'll also get a glimpse into the work ethic and mental fortitude of an Olympic champion and the lessons learned in childhood that propelled Eric to a successful beach volleyball career. Please enjoy this conversation with Fonoi and thank you for listening to Starting Point with Casey Jennings.

Welcome to Starting Point with Casey Jennings. In this show, you will hear stories centered around childhood, upbringing, adolescence, parenthood, and the pivotal moments and influential people that shaped the life-trajectories of our guests. In our first episode, Casey sits down with Hawaiian volleyball legend and father of four, Chris Crabb, to talk about childhood, fatherhood, resiliency, and what it takes to endure the inevitable storms of life. We get a glimpse into Chris' early days and also get to hear about the diplomacy required when raising two competitive, Olympic-hopeful sons. Enjoy this conversation with Chris and thank you for listening to Starting Point with Casey Jennings.

Casey Jennings is a lot of awesome + is largely inspiring. He played Pro Beach Volley Ball for 15 years at the highest level + is still competitive, playing select PRO tournaments like the badass athlete that he is. He is the Co-founder of p1440, An event series and digital platform dedicated to revolutionizing the beach volleyball industry, he is officially a new Podcast host as of this Fathers Day when he launches his podcast “Starting Point” this Fathers Day, his a loving father of 3 + husband of 17 years to my bestest girl Kerri Walsh Jennings Casey is a unique blend of fiery passion- (he’s unarguably one of the most exciting volleyball players to watch) paired a laid-back, Cali, surf vibe that makes it really easy + fun to be around him. Casey has faced A LOT of adversity in all areas of his life and in his darkest hours, he would inevitably choose to keep learning, growing + trying to become a better version of himself, for his own personal health, for his relationship with Kerri + their family. There is A LOT of wisdom to gain from Casey’s mental-frame work Some MINDSET GEMS we dive deep into in our talk are rooted in: Appreciating Failure The importance of discipline The power of commitment Leading by example Parenting as a team + weathering the “storms” as a UNIT. Fighting for what you love + believe in-which includes yourSELF Constantly striving to be a better person + how everyone around you gains from it His journey is as REAL as it gets as is Casey. He’s really carved out his own unique path in life through his love for sport which eventually took him to Southern CA where he would meet Kerri, fall in love and start their life journey together as a powerful unit. Its an absolute privilege to witness how he and Kerri do their Life together-its hard, it's romantic, it's raw, it's inspired, it's constantly evolving + in my opinion, it is what real love + dedication to a unified vision as partners is ALL about. Enjoy xRx STAY CONNECTED WITH CASEY VIA IG: CASEYTJENNINGS + P1440.com    

Three time Olympic gold medalist KERRI WALSH JENNINGS talks about falling short of the gold in Rio and the grind in trying to get to Tokyo for her 6th Olympic Games; A candid conversation about aging, marriage and why being a sport parent can be a challenge.Like what you hear?? Spread the word!! Make sure to subscribe and leave 5 star review and a nice comment :)

The first episode of year 10 for The Net Live kicks off with Kevin Barnett and DJ Roueche chatting with Kevin Hambly about coaching Stanford Women to a National Championship, youth club volleyball, TNL book club, reflecting on the Casey Jennings interveiw, AVP 2019 schedule and College Volleyball Weekly.

Casey Jennings and the TNL crew have a spirited conversation about p1440.  We also got our College Volleyball Weekly correspondent talking NCAA Women's VB Semifinals/Finals happening this week in Minneapolis. 

As if his path to beach volleyball wasn’t unique enough – raised in Minnesota, little to no volleyball background aside from a little club indoor, not a clue who men named Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser were – in his nine-year career thus far, Stafford Slick may have authored his own personal record book. Name another who has played with six different Olympians, including three gold medalists. Or anyone crazy enough to play in 17 – 17! – different NORCECAs with eight different partners. “We might have to do some fact checking,” Slick said on SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “But I think I’ve played with more Olympians than anyone else. I played with Dain [Blanton], retired him, put him out to pasture. I played with Rogie [Todd Rogers] in his last event, so I retired him. I played with Rosie [Sean Rosenthal], I played with Casey [Patterson], I played with Adrian [Carambula], who wasn’t an Olympian at the time, but he is now. And then I played with Reid Priddy. That’s another thing I might have a record for: I have a lot of partners too.” For an individual who has been playing beach volleyball for a hair over nine years, indeed, Slick has gone through his fair share of partners, though that’s less a detractor from his talent than it is an indicator of it. It’s only so often you get a coordinated, athletic, hand-setting 6-foot-8 blocker out of Minnesota. “I guess those guys saw something in me,” Slick said. And of all people, it was Blanton, a gold medalist, who saw it first. Slick was in his cabin in Minnesota for a July 4 getaway in 2010 when he got the call: Blanton, a gold medalist alongside Eric Fonoimoana in the 2000 Sydney Games, wanted to give Slick a shot. They’d be automatically in the main draw, Slick’s first. He wouldn’t even have to qualify. “It was huge for me,” Slick said. “Dain was kinda poking around, looking for a big man to play with because it was the tenth anniversary of his gold medal. So he was kind of connected with some of the people in the USA office and they dropped my name.” And just like that, Slick had his first of many accomplished partners. And yet, funnily enough, his unofficial Olympic partnership record may have never happened without his willingness to play in his unofficial record number of NORCECAs that, frankly, borderlines on absurd. “I don’t think that would happened without me playing all those NORCECAs,” he said. Because about those NORCECAs: They were on a lower international tier than they are now. When Slick moved to California in 2009, NORCECAs didn’t count for international points. The prize money, even if you won, wouldn’t cover the expenses for the majority of the tournaments. The incentive for American teams was, well, what was the incentive? In Slick’s case, to put your name on the map. “In 2009 and 2010, it was trying to scrounge and figure out a way to keep playing, and at the time, NORCECAs didn’t count for international points, so it was just sign up,” Slick said. “Back when I started playing it was ‘Hey can we play in this tournament?’ and they said ‘Great!’” So he did. He played with Mark Burik and Billy Allen, Even Engle and Will Montgomery, John Mayer and Casey Jennings, Priddy and Marcin Jagoda. Seventeen of them. Enough to get Slick on the map. Enough to get him a partnership with a gold medalist in just his second year attempting to qualify. Enough to kickstart a career that, two years from now, could turn Slick into an Olympian himself. Indeed, he has come a long way from the guy with the blonde Viking locks who didn’t know who Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser were. Back with Allen, with whom he won his first AVP tournament, Slick is no underdog to make Tokyo, should that be their goal. "When it came time to make that decision, it was something that just fit," he said. "It was something that just made sense. That was a big part of our conversation was 'Do our goals align? Are we making a run for Tokyo?' I"m excited. I'm hopeful." Popular on SANDCAST:SANDCAST: Eric Zaun, the Happy Gilmore of the AVP TourSANDCAST: Taylor Crabb, AVP Seattle championSANDCAST: Sarah Sponcil, Pac-12 Champ, National Champ, AVP FinalistSANDCAST: Jake Gibb ain't finished playing yet!SANDCAST: Tri Bourne is BACK ON THE BEACH Train like the pros, with the pros, at VolleyCamp Hermosa! Recover the right way with Firefly: Accelerated Athletic Recovery Choose the ball the pros use. Choose Wilson and use our discount code: WILSONSAND FOR 20 PERCENT OFF!

Tri Bourne and Evie Matthews are the first to admit it: They were not the thinkers of the trio between those two and John Hyden. Bourne was the up-and-coming player, a green, mid-20s blocker making his first rounds on the FIVB. Hyden was the veteran who preferred to fly on his own. Matthews was the coach who just preferred to fly with Bourne -- "A lot more fun," he said, laughing. That fun, of course, came with its share of hilarity. “One time,” Bourne said on SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, “me and Evie are sprinting, our names are getting called, we’re dripping sweat, he’s running upstairs, getting through all of these places, going from Germany to Cincinnati, and we get to the gate, and I’m like ‘Thank God, we made it!’ I gave the lady my ticket, I walk through, and I go on the plane, sit down and like ‘I didn’t see Evie sit down, he must have been behind me.’ “Legit four hours into the flight I’m like ‘I wonder where he’s at. I’m gonna go walk around.’ I walk around the plane like four times, and I cannot find him and we got to the plane together. We made it. Has he been in the bathroom the whole time? “The whole flight happens, I land, and I check my phone. Evie didn’t make the flight. Somehow, he’s a foot behind me, sprinted to the gate, and didn’t make it.” Stories like that one are hardly in short supply for beach volleyball coaches, and they certainly are not so with Matthews, whose list of players continues to grow at every level of the game. Bourne estimates that four out of 10 flights they’d take – and they took many – they lost Matthews’ bag. In Qatar, they were stranded a full extra day because everyone on the trip forgot when their flight was.   He’s funny, Matthews, with the stories to prove it. But he’s also exceptional at his craft. He’s worked with Hyden, one of the most successful beach players of the past two decades, for 15 years now. “I love his mindset,” Matthews said of Hyden. “You know when you show up to practice with him, we’re all in. We’re all in. There’s no B.S. It’s super-efficient.” In just their fifth international tournament as Team Bourne-Matthews-Hyden, they won a Grand Slam in Berlin, ushering in a quick-setting, spread offense where options were used regularly, an offense that has since become vogue on the FIVB circuit. “I really believe that he evolved the game,” Matthews said. “He started running stuff that people were like ‘Wait, what?’ The hard part is you know it’s going to happen but it’s still hard to deal with.” Everyone Matthews is working with is now becoming hard to deal with. Canadians Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson, whom Matthews has coached, have established themselves as the best team in the world, winners of three straight, the most recent being in Chetumal, Mexico. Under Matthews' tutelage, Americans Miles Evans and Billy Kolinske have climbed from one-star qualifiers to four-star main draws. “You just have to find the right way to work with everybody,” Matthews said. “You’ve gotta be mindful. It’s been fun to coach other people and figure out how to make them better,” He’s working with everyone from the best in the world to the up-and-comers in the qualifiers to the veterans like Casey Jennings making comebacks to Canadian-American transfers in Chaim Schalk. He’s learning how to adjust his coaching style for each. He’s learning how to get his guys the right training, the right diet, the right playing weight. He’s watching film religiously. He is, in short, becoming one of the best in the world at what he does, in order to make those he works with the best in the world at what they do. “I think the game is starting to speed up,” he said. Now he’s the one helping to set the pace. Evie Matthews isn’t going to be left behind again.

It's not a tour. That's the first thing that Dave Mays, this week's guest on SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, wants you to know about p1440, of which he is a founding partner. It is many different things with many different meanings. Take, for example, the name itself. The 1440 is assured: It represents the 1,440 minutes we all have per day. But the p? Platform seems to be the most popular word for it, though, as Mays says, it's up to your own interpretation. It could be purpose. Or power. Or people. Or whatever word that starts with ‘p' you'd like to use to represent how you'd like to use your 1,440 minutes in a day. Would you like to use it to strengthen your relationship with people? People it is. Or strengthening your mind, body and soul? Power it is. That sort of the point: p1440, and how you spend your minutes, is up to you. To some, yes, that means it's a beach volleyball tour or league, and currently, there are eight events on the schedule, which bridges 2018 and 2019. The first four are set – Chicago in September, with Huntington Beach, San Diego and San Jose to follow – while the next four, which will be held in early 2019, are in limbo, though the sites have been whittled down to a few catchy options. There's Vegas – Vegas! – a major city in Texas (Dallas and Houston, namely), Miami, Hawaii. An ambitious start. An exciting start. And that hardly scratches the surface, for each event is not just a beach volleyball tournament. It is, as Kerri Walsh-Jennings, a co-founder along with her husband, Casey Jennings, and Mays, has taken to saying: “Part Wanderlust, part Coachella, part beach volleyball league.” Each event, tantamount to the World Series of Beach Volleyball, will feature a tournament, but it will also serve as a music festival of sorts, replete with concerts and fanfare and everything you'd expect of the triumvirate Walsh-Jennings mentioned. How, you may be wondering, can an upstart tour fund eight events while also doubling as a music festival? Beach volleyball has been a notoriously volatile space in the market, in spite of the sport itself growing every year, to the point that more girls play volleyball than soccer or track and field or basketball. For females, it's the most popular sport in the country. And yet nobody has been able to monetize the market in a sustainable enough fashion for it to work. The business model has remained the same since a company named Event Concepts began putting on professional events in 1976. They'd find a sponsor – Schlitz Beer was the first – or many sponsors, to throw in money, and that money would then be translated into prize money, which would draw talent and a crowd to watch that talent. Sponsors would be happy because they got the eyeballs they wanted, players would be happy because they got the prize money they wanted. And so it went. Until, of course, the tabs being run up by the tour were too hefty for the sponsors to cover, and one gigantic failure led to the next. Event Concepts was booted in 1984, thanks to a player protest at the World Championships of Beach Volleyball, and in came the AVP, an organization led by the players and a young, savvy agent named Leonard Armato. The AVP changed hands in 1990, when Armato was replaced by Jeff Dankworth, who in 1994 was replaced by Jerry Solomon, whose gross mishandling of the finances led to a bankruptcy, only for the AVP to be revived by – who else? – Armato in 2001. Nine years later it was bankrupt again, and in 2012, Donald Sun took over and put on a pair of events, and since then he has done a fine job of steadying the frighteningly tenuous heartbeat of beach volleyball, increasing prize money and events and introducing a “Gold Series” and putting the sport back on television. And yet the business model remains relatively the same, though there are certainly various nuances, as 1976: sponsor-driven. “If we were to start a new pro beach volleyball tour tomorrow, we would fail,” Mays says on SANDCAST. “So that's why we're not starting a pro beach volleyball tour. We're taking the sport of volleyball and we're celebrating it, what works and what doesn't. We're applying some principles of what have worked and what do work, to this.” And here is where the differentiation between p1440 and the AVP Tour begins. p1440 will charge a $40 gate fee, every tournament. The AVP allows its fans, which pack stadiums, for free, though there are paid box seats. But the entry gate will hardly be the chief source of revenue for p1440. That's where the “platform” comes in. Above all else, above volleyball and music and entertainment, p1440 is built upon four pillars: competition, development, health and wellness, entertainment. The platform, an online resource featuring myriad digital media, will host webinars, coaching, nutrition, live clinics – any type of wellness resource you might need, be it mental, spiritual or physical. It's not live yet – it is scheduled to launch in July – and until 2021, it will not be monetized. The content will be entirely free, with the goal of reaching 4 million subscribers by 2021, by which point a subscription fee will be required. No numbers are for sure in terms of the subscription fee, but on SANDCAST, there was a $5 estimate. If p1440 hits its goal of 4 million subscribers at $5 a month, you can do the math – $20 million in revenue per month from the platform alone. If successful – an admittedly large “if” in this sport – the subscription model answers, in part, where the prize money and funding for the tour will stem from. Which leads to the next inevitable question: Who will be receiving those paychecks? Mays, who built and sold a shipping business for a not-so-small fortune and was looking for a new project to work on, thinks it's no question at all: p1440 will feature the finest talent in beach volleyball, and not only because there will be more prize money – he gave no definitive figure on what the breakdown will be, only that it will be more – but there will be more talent. The failure to retain the game's highest talent led to the breakdown of the NVL. Players want to play against the best, which was why, when Sun revived the AVP in 2012, and the top players returned, the NVL lost momentum and, eventually, financial backing. The best currently play on the AVP and FIVB tours. There will be a battle over loyalty, the AVP's non-compete (p1440 has no exclusivity clause in its contract), and, when it comes down to it, prize money and sponsors. Mays intends on bringing in the best, not only in this country, but overseas. Each tournament will feature a 24-team main draw. Sixteen of those teams will be Americans automatically seeded in. Four will come out of the qualifier. And four will be international wild cards. Want to play against the best? p1440 could have Alison and Bruno, or Evandro and Andre, or Nicolai and Lupo. For the women, it could be Ludwig and Walkenhorst, Agatha and Duda, Talita and Larissa. Walsh's reach, even if she has been on the peripherals of the game as a player lately, is still extensive. You don't win three gold medals and suddenly lose all of your contacts. Those players mentioned will be available, too, for Mays and Walsh-Jennings and Casey Jennings have made it a point to schedule around the AVP as well as four- and five-star FIVBS. The plan is to have the best in the world, playing for the best prize money in the game, with some music and entertainment to cap the night. It's a lot. It's big. It's potentially transformative. It might work, it might not. That's part of the excitement around this movement. And maybe that all sounds a bit crazy, though it is worth reminding that the most successful ideas and businesses were, at one point or other, invariably labeled “crazy.” As Walsh-Jennings wrote on Instagram: “It's go time.”                                               

Tooth sits with professional beach volleyball player Casey Jennings. The talk ranges from competing at the elite level for sixteen years, the joys and difficulties of being married to the most dominant female in the sport (3x Olympic Gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings), and teaching inner city students how to meditate. 

As the well-known Indian-American author and physician Deepak Chopra so eloquently writes, “There will never be a time when you life is not this moment.” Casey Jennings, professional Beach Volleyball Player and 2016 Olympic hopeful, lives by this mantra. Casey Jennings is the youngest of 5 brothers. As any younger sibling knows, being born on the bottom branch of the family tree only means you figure out a way to climb to the top. And climb to the top, Casey has.  Casey has a remarkable gift. His gift is the ability to bottle and harness the wonderful teammates, coaches and overall experiences from his past that enable him to maintain present-day perspective, and therefore, success. To Casey, the scoreboard is important, but his family, teammates and continuous journey to simply learn have been his most valuable award. No athletic medal can serve as a substitute for mastering your craft and understanding your drive. As you will hear, Casey has an entire trophy case full of gold medals representing life’s most important events: being a great husband, father, teammate, coach and friend.  Equally importantly, Casey has learned to adopt the power of “living in the moment” and simply being present. A learned-trait oftentimes absorbed and understood through adversity and deliberate practice. As the listener will learn from Casey, any great athlete, parent and spouse must have the wherewithal to have an open mind. Casey has done so successfully. Therefore he understands the art of how to harness lived-experiences during his formative years, boosting him into the realm of acceptance and positivity. In other words, Casey Jennings has accepted and embraced lessons learned from his past in order to propel his personal life and professional career. These lessons have now become the catalyst for Casey’s success both on and off the Volleyball court. In this episode, Casey shares reflective stories from his childhood all the way to present day. As a 2016 Rio Olympic hopeful in Beach Volleyball, Casey has incredible qualities that add to his tremendous success as an athlete, but more importantly as a father and husband. Casey Jennings is a professional Beach Volleyball player. In fact you may see him center-stage in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. He teams up with Kevin Wong and has teamed up with Brad Keenan or Matt Fuerbringer during most of his career. Casey began his college career at Orange Coast College and Goldenwest College before transferring to Brigham Young University. At Goldenwest, Casey was a setter and outside hitter, receiving MVP honors on his way to a Junior College Championship. While at BYU he was named Team Captain, helping lead his team to the 1999 National Championship. He and his former partner, Matt Fuerbringer, captured their first victory at Belmar, New Jersey in 2004. Casey Jennings along with partner Kevin Wong successfully ended the 2010 season by capturing gold at the Swatch FIVB World Tour by beating the Brazilian duo of Benjamin Insfran and Bruno Schmidt at The Hague, Netherlands. Casey made his AVP in 1999 in Chicago. Over his long and successful career, Casey has seven AVP tour victories from 2004-2013. He was named the AVP Most Improved Player in both 2002 and 2003, and was named Best Defensive Player in 2003. Casey is married to fellow beach volleyball player and 3-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Kerri Walsh-Jennings. The couple has three children. Casey is currently sponsored by Oakley, Asics, and Rain. 

One of the most meaningful ways to make your ceremony personal is by infusing it with traditions from your background. We show you some of the ways you can do that, along with some of Colin Cowie’s favorite ceremony traditions. Olympic Gold medalist Kerri Walsh shares her wedding day memories of exchanging rings with husband Casey Jennings, and we’ve got the latest trends in rings, and bridesmaid dresses, for your day.