Podcast appearances and mentions of emily stockman

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Mykel Jenkins, the longtime personal trainer of Bourne – and John Hyden, Sara Hughes, Emily Stockman, and several others – and is a wide-ranging one. Bourne has worked with Jenkins for more than a decade, and together, they discuss: The significance, and critical importance, of personal training, especially in elite sports like beach volleyball. Why you have to build a unique training approach tailored to individual athletes The role of trust in the trainer-athlete relationship, and the necessity of being present in every moment. Tri gets into his own challenges, the mindset of elite athletes, and they talk about the journey of Sara Hughes, who made her Olympic debut in Paris this year And, per usual, much, much more. SHOOTS! *** WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Love the insights from this episode? Make sure you never miss a beat with Chatpods! Whether you're commuting, working out, or just on the go, Chatpods lets you capture and summarize key takeaways effortlessly. Save time, stay organized, and keep your thoughts at your fingertips. Download Chatpods directly from App Store or Google Play and use it to listen to this podcast today! https://www.chatpods.com/?fr=TravisMewhirter   Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/  

At USC Beach Volleyball, Dain Blanton, Delaynie Maple and Megan Kraft are looking to do something unprecedented in the world of NCAA Beach Volleyball: Win four consecutive NCAA Championships. They've won three straight, with 2023 being the biggest surprise of the bunch, if there is such a thing at USC. Now, they're back for a fourth, doing everything they can to not think about winning a fourth straight. We chatted all about that, as well as: How the USC team culture continues to produce winner after winner after winner What it was like for Blanton to replace the legendary Anna Collier Kraft's professional season playing with Emily Stockman and finishing with Terese Cannon How the previous generation of greats – Tina Graudina, Julia Scoles, Hailey Harward, Sammy Slater – paved the way for this current generation. And a whole lot more. SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  We have a new book! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you're reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Megan Rice, or Megan J. Rice, or M.J. She's gone by a number of different names throughout her 2023 season, one in which she won the VolleyballMag Rookie of the Year. Rice was the year's biggest breakthrough star, on both the men's and the women's side, exploding onto the scene at AVP Hermosa Beach, where she and Savvy Simo – on just one practice as a team – made it to the finals. She was then the AVP's most eligible bachelorette, getting picked up by Betsi Flint, Brook Bauer, and Emily Stockman, with whom she finished in the top 10 in every tournament. So, yes, it was a big year for Megan Rice. We chatted all about it, as well as: How she always felt she was just one opportunity away from a breakthrough The value of taking a year off of volleyball before returning 100 percent committed Why she didn't feel any different after making the finals of AVP Hermosa What her future looks like on the beach And a whole lot more. Fun chat introducing y'all to Rice! SHOOTS! *** We FINALLY have an alcohol sponsor, y'all! Bartender In A Box is here. SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  Bring in the fall right and Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code SANDCAST at Manscaped.com. That's 20% off with free shipping at manscaped.com and use code SANDCAST. As the leaves fall, make sure you have it all with MANSCAPED™. Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter have a NEW BOOK! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you're reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Stay healthy with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter and get your greens today! https://athleticgreens.com/partner/d35ctoffer-strength/en?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=sandcast_d35ct__a3172__o27&utm_term=cac__a3172__o27&utm_content=sport__a3172__o27 We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ 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! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB SHOOTS!

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Scott Davenport, the man who is arguably the most sought-out beach volleyball coach in America. Since stopping playing on the AVP Tour around 2006, Davenport has built a lengthy list of athletes on his roster, including Nick Lucena, Matt Fuerbringer, Casey Patterson, Theo Brunner, Chaim Schalk, Emily Stockman, Sarah Sponcil, Terese Cannon, Troy Field, Evan Cory, Megan Kraft, Zana Muno – shall the list go on? You get the point. In 2022, Davenport became the first coach in history to win the same AVP tournament – AVP Hermosa Beach – coaching a men's and a women's team when Sponcil and Cannon, and Schalk and Brunner, both claimed the title. He's a medal-winning machine, that guy. We chatted all about his athletes, as well as: His circuitous journey from Rochester, New York – hometown of Terese Cannon – to becoming a beach volleyball coach in Southern California How training with Karch Kiraly shifted his coaching mindset How biomechanics and data are the bedrock of his coaching What we can learn from men such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant And so, so much more. Action-packed podcast for you, ladies and gentlemen. SHOOTS! *** Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter have a NEW BOOK! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you're reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! A huge shoutout to our new sponsor, Goodr! Making the best shades on the beach, for the easy price of $25! Goodr makes $25 active sunglasses that don't slip, don't bounce, and are 100% Polarized! If you want to support the show and pick up a pair, goodr is giving SANDCAST listeners FREE SHIPPING on your first order! You can go to goodr.com/SANDCAST and use code SANDCAST to get FREE shipping. goodr offers a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee and 100% Satisfaction. Find your pair at goodr.com/SANDCAST and use code SANDCAST to get FREE shipping. We have a new -- but temporary -- sponsor with the Saucedwear Tournament, a $17,000 open with $5k to the winners down in Navarre Beach, Fla., where Travis Mewhirter first learned to play. Registration ends on July 14, and players can sign up at saucedwear.com!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Stay healthy with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter and get your greens today! https://athleticgreens.com/partner/d35ctoffer-strength/en?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=sandcast_d35ct__a3172__o27&utm_term=cac__a3172__o27&utm_content=sport__a3172__o27 We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ 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! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB SHOOTS!

For more inspired edutainment, visit: www.bebettermedia.tv Key Points, Top Takeaways and Memorable Quotes - “Sometimes stepping away is just exactly what the body needs.” 10:46“The coach I think is important, but you can't put all your eggs in that basket because they will leave.” 29:17“Holidays for our family are very big.” 32:00“But living over there, I think if you have the opportunity,, absolutely take it.” 32:14“From a physical sandpoint, first, is to be an athlete.” 39:53“Open communication is so important.” 42:32“At the end of the day, if you're not enjoying what you're doing, it's not worth it.” 44:03“You are a great leader by example, but if nobody is watching, then you're not leading anybody.” 47:06“Hard work is going to Trump handouts.” 52:39 Guest Bio - Emily, a Colorado native, moved to California in 2014 to pursue her career in beach volleyball. After a successful indoor career at Wichita State University, where she was a 2x All American and 4 years at the professional level overseas, she decided to make the transition to beach. In 2015, she made the Elite DevelopmentProgram through USAV, and has since moved up to being a top ranked team in the USA and 12th ranked team in the world, with teammate Megan Kraft.In 2016, she won her first international event at the NORCECA in St. Lucia. Since then, she has received 3 more Gold medals, a Silver, and a Bronze medal on the World Tour. In 2018, she and previous teammate, Kelley, were the first ever Queen of the Beach Champions. She was also a finalist at the 2017 AVP event in Austin, and in 2019 won her first AVP event in Seattle. Emily has finished the last 3 seasons as a top ranked defender on the AVP tour, and was nominated by volleyball magazine as a first team pick in 2019.During the off-season Emily helps coach the boy's and girl's beach programs at Mira Costa High School. However, anytime she has a free weekend, her and her bulldog Gilbert seek adventure, and you will most likely find them in the mountains, camping, mountain biking, riding dirt bikes, or snowboarding.Show Notes - 0:00 - Coming Up on ‘What I Meant to Say'0:42 - WIMTS Podcast Intro1:06 - Welcome to Emily1:30 - Playing AVP New Orleans 2:32 - Love of New Orleans Despite Poor Weather4:50 - Mindset Adjustments 5:40 - International Travel to Doha & Mexico with Megan Kraft6:05 - Road to & Training for the Olympics 8:40 - Finding Balance as a Professional Athlete10:53 - Sports Background 14:04 - Choosing Volleyball for College16:31 - Club Volleyball Memories Outside of Competition18:04 - What Was Your Parents Role in Promoting Athletic Growth?21:41 - Played at Winthrop University Freshman Year26:21 - Be Better Commercial26:54 - Wichita State Experience28:30 - What to Look for in a College Experience?30:28 - Moved to Europe & Played Professionally for 4 Year32:59 - Transitioned to Beach & Moved to California in 201433:27 - What was the Indoor to Beach Transition Like?35:25 - Playing with Different Partners39:11 - Teaching the Younger Athletes 46:10 - Attributes of a Team Leader51:37 - One Piece of Advice to Your Younger Self54:25 - Thank You54:57 - WIMTS Closing Links & Where to Find Emily - IG - Emily @estock2 & Gilbert @cowpigdog_Emily's Sponsors: @ride100percent & @promix  

What exactly should your mindset be? Our mindset should have a firm belief that we can compete at a high level and develop the skills to accomplish what we have set out to achieve. Get caught up on mental toughness today with Emily Stockman and Mark Burik.

Megan Kraft is just 19 years old, yet is already a World Champion, AVP main draw player – she recently finished a career-high third in New Orleans with Emily Stockman – and is preparing to make a run at the Paris Olympic Games with Stockman. How does a 19-year-old college sophomore, who has already won a pair of National Championships at USC, find herself in that position? By making it look easy. Such a fun chat on SANDCAST with Kraft and Savvy Simo. On this episode, we chat about: The transition from the NCAA season and going directly into both the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, and the AVP How she and Emily Stockman became a team Competing on the biggest stages in the sport, from NCAA Championships to AVP Sundays to medal matches representing the United States What the rest of this year looks like for her and Stockman ENJOY! *** We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ 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! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Emily Stockman, one of the best defenders in the world – and one who isn't finished playing beach volleyball just yet. After a torrid run up the FIVB rankings in 2018, Stockman and Kelley Kolinske would finish the Tokyo Olympic qualification process ranked 10th in the world – and just out of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Afterwards, she went where she always does: the mountains, where she contemplated retiring, moving on, pursuing something new. And in those mountains she rediscovered her passion for the beach. Now Stockman is back on the sand, gearing up for one more Olympic run to Paris. On this episode, we discuss: Stockman's journey into beach volleyball, and stops in Finland, the Maldives, and Switzerland that helped get her there Stockman and Kelley Kolinske's rapid, and oddly unnoticed, ascent up the world ranks from 2018-2021 How difficult it was to come so close to qualifying for Tokyo Why she decided to return to the beach, and what her plans are for 2022 and beyond And, as always, much, much more. You can follow Emily Stockman on Instagram: @estock2 ENJOY! *** Like our content? Leave us a tip :) We don't charge a subscription fee, so everything is much appreciated: https://motivated-author-4500.ck.page/products/sandcast-tip-jar We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ 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! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/ SHOOTS!

Episode 28: Emily Stockman - Pro Beach Volleyball Player, FIVB Champion, AVP Champion, Fitness Guru, Nature Lover In this Episode We discuss: Why being in Nature is Emily's happy place Mindset on the way to a practice session Mindset of Proper Training - Trainer Mykel Jenkins Mindset of being one of the hardest working teams in the world The Value of being a humble athlete & winner The fine line between confidence and arrogance The Value of using a sports psychologist - Lee Hancock Manifesting a tour victory The Power of Speaking out what you want Emily's Error Management System Journaling, Calendar Management, Emily's work with the Warrior Foundation Freedom Station Self Motivation & Discipline tools

In this episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, Bourne describes life inside the Cancun Bubble, where he has been competing for three weeks, with one final tournament remaining. Joining him on the show is coach Evie Matthews, who coaches Emily Stockman and Kelley Kolinske, who are also in the midst of a tight Olympic race.  On this episode, Bourne and Matthews discuss: - The nearly non-stop beach volleyball being played: from country quotas to qualifiers to pool play to elimination rounds, there is competition happening every single day.  - The intense vibe in the Bubble, from all the athletes on the cusp of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games - Bourne and Trevor Crabb beating some of the best teams in the world thus far, including Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins, Evandro and Bruno, Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy, Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai.  - The crazy wind and heat, and the impact it has been having on the matches 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! This episode is also brought to you by Chasing Gold, a new non-profit founded by Matt Callahan and SANDCAST host Travis Mewhirter, aimed at funding aspiring Olympians to relieve the financial burden of traveling around the world. Read more and donate today at www.chasinggold.org! SHOOTS!  

On today's show we go CROSSNET with AVP, FIVB Champion & US Olympic hopeful - Kelley Kolinske. Kelley and I talk about her tips on moving to San Diego and the best Mexican food to try in the area. She shares her journey to beach volleyball after playing many years indoors at Pepperdine. She played both indoor and beach while in Malibu. She shares her perspective on a critical beach volleyball skill needed to be successful on the beach. It was also interesting to get her thoughts on what it is going to take for her and her partner Emily Stockman to qualify for Tokyo. There is a 3 tournament bubble event coming up soon in Cancun Mexico that they are really looking forward to competing in. She likes the level of volleyball they are playing right now and are excited about their chances. The problem is that Alex and April have pretty much already taken one of the spots up for grabs and they have some hefty competition looking to take that last spot. Enjoy this fun interview.   Make sure to subscribe, give us 5 stars, and leave your comments.  Go to crossnetgame.com today to order your own CROSSNET. Make sure to use our promo code - GOLD at checkout for $20 off your purchase and be on the look out for this week's CROSSNET giveaway!  Feel free to email Ryan with questions and comments: ryan@crossnetgame.com Who knows, we might get your questions answered on the show!  Follow Ryan on Instagram - @ryanmillar9 Follow Kelley too! - @kelleykolinske

On today's show we go CROSSNET with AVP, FIVB Champion & US Olympic hopeful - Emily Stockman. Emily and I talk about a lot of things like her love for all things extreme. Growing up in Colorado Springs, CO and her love for the mountains. In fact she said that during her time off, she would rather be in the mountains over the beach. We also talk about her love for the indoor game and how much she misses playing indoor, where she excelled at Wichita State and multiple years playing professionally overseas. We go over what it is going to take for her and her long time partner to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo and what that experience would mean to her. It was a blast connecting with one of the best on the beach right now - Emily Stockman.   Make sure to subscribe, give us 5 stars, and leave your comments.  Go to crossnetgame.com today to order your own CROSSNET. Make sure to use our promo code - GOLD at checkout for $20 off your purchase and be on the look out for this week's CROSSNET giveaway!  Feel free to email Ryan with questions and comments: ryan@crossnetgame.com Who knows, we might get your questions answered on the show!  Follow Ryan on Instagram - @ryanmillar9 Follow Emily too! - @estock2

Emily Stockman, professional beach volleyball player, currently competing on the AVP tour, hops on to chat about the previous season, living & training during a pandemic and answers some "random facts" questions. You can follow her content @estock2 on social! Do us a HUGE favor to and like/subscribe/share this episode with your friends and family. As we co time to grow, the endless support continues to help! Happy Friday Y'all. Enjoy the episode! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/whatswrong/support

Emily Stockman is a professional beach volleyball player, a 2 time All-American, and a member of the US National Team competing in next year's Olympic Games. In this episode, we discuss her transition from indoor to beach volleyball and the struggles that came with that, fear and finding love for it, living to be the best you can be through speaking that into life, leading by example compared to leading with your words, recovery and nutrition, and wanting to be the best while still ensuring love is always present. This was an epic episode, and I'm so stoked to share it with you guys. Emily is a freakin' badass. Be sure to follow along in July for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Emily, we're all cheering you guys on. Keep killing it. Make sure to follow the show on Instagram @bornormade, and follow Michael at: Twitter: @MichaelChernow Instagram: @michaelchernow Facebook: @MichaelPChernow LinkedIn: @McChernow

Kelley Kolinske is an American Beach Volleyball Professional. An indoor and beach player at Pepperdine, Kelley is a two-time collegiate champion on the sand in 2012 and 2014. Along with Betsi Flint, they became the youngest team to win an AVP tournament. Her success continued with her current partner, Emily Stockman on the domestic and international scene, winning FIVB, NORCECA and AVP titles, as well as a fifth in the Pan-Am Games. Tune in, as we chat up early success with two amazing partners, not having to 'deal with your partners,' Bill Kolinske proposing to her on center court, her defining moment that made her know this was going to be her career, the comparison and contrast between preparedness vs improvising, her two favorite venues, "hearing" the crowd, treating 15-15 like it's 2-2, dealing with not competing during COVID, the next generation of female talent, taking a true shot at the Olympics, nutrition and athletics, and MORE!

This week AVP/FIVB standout and 2021 Tokyo Olympic hopeful, Emily Stockman “transitions” into the Viral Volley Podcast from a VolleyballMag.com interview. We delve into the last few months of news and events in this 2x All-American (indoor) from Wichita St. (aka, “The Shockers”), the landmark 2019 season, post-AVP Champions Cup series recap and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In addition, we touch on some of her off-court interests at Mira Costa High School, mountain biking and motocross!

On Tuesday morning, what seemed to be the inevitable alas became a reality: The 2020 Olympic Games were postponed, to sometime in 2021. For some, it’s heartbreaking. “I can understand why other people are devastated,” said Sarah Sponcil, who is third in the Olympic race with Kelly Claes. “They waited literally four years and now they have to wait five.” Notice that Sponcil said “others” when mentioning those who are devastated. For some, the Olympic postponement is devastating. For others, it’s a blessing not even in disguise: It’s just a blessing. This week on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, we discussed, among a number of covid-19-related topics – is there anything else to discuss at this point, anyway? – how each team in the Olympic race could benefit or set them back from the postponement. We dug into how, depending on the FIVB schedule and any changes the IOC makes regarding the qualification process, the postponement could put additional teams in the race. Here’s a team by team breakdown of the impact the postponement could have.   Women April Ross, Alix Klineman U.S.A. rank: 1 Points: 8,760 This one is difficult to pin down whether it hurts or benefits. On the one hand, Ross and Klineman were coming off their best season together, with five AVP finals in five tournaments and three wins on the world tour. They could have continued that upwards trajectory all the way to Tokyo. On the other hand, it gives Klineman another year to develop on the beach, which she has done at such a rate you’d be forgiven to think she hasn’t been playing on the AVP her entire volleyball career. It’s a bit neutral for these two, who are still all but a lock to go to Tokyo, no matter what year the Games are held. They didn’t seem to be in a hurry to play this year as it was, as they decided not to play in the Cancun four-star that was eventually cancelled, so perhaps this will be a good rest period to heal up the nagging injuries that build up. Until then, you can find Ross going viral with what has become the April Ross Challenge.   Kerri Walsh Jennings, Brooke Sweat U.S.A. rank: 2 Points: 6,960 The immediate reaction when thinking of these two is that it would have to negatively impact them. But the more one would think about it, the more that might not be entirely accurate. Yes, Walsh Jennings and Sweat are on the older side of the athletic spectrum, at 41 and 33 years old, respectively. Yes, they have quite a list of injuries and surgeries on the ledger. But Sponcil said it best: “Kerri is a machine,” she said on Tuesday. “She’s just going to keep going all out.” If there is one athlete in the world who can take this and benefit from it, it might be Walsh Jennings, whose three gold medals and five Olympic appearances did not come by accident. That, and she gets time at home, with her family, when she would otherwise be circumnavigating the world.   Sarah Sponcil, Kelly Claes U.S.A. rank: 3 Points: 6,640 There are two teams that I really don’t see any downside to this: Sponcil and Claes, and Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman. For these two, it’s all upside. “Everyone’s been asking how we feel about it and I feel great because the last year I’ve just been like ‘Ok, let’s get as many points as we can, let’s pass Kerri, it’s crunch time,’” Sponcil said. “It would have been crunch time right now and now I have the time to process the opportunity I have in front of me. I’m trying my hardest to slow down and be like ‘Whoa this is an amazing opportunity having another year to get experience, to slow down a little bit, and take it all in.’ It’s the best thing for our team and for me personally.” It gives them more time to develop, both as players and professionals, and it allows them, as Sponcil mentioned, to finally slow down. Catch a breath. Sleep for a change. Sponcil has been competing at a breakneck pace for the previous few years, going from UCLA to the AVP then back to UCLA straight into the Olympic race. A break could be just what she needed. It could be exactly what the team needed.   Kelley Larsen, Emily Stockman U.S.A. rank: 4 Points: 6,080 It is positively bananas that the fourth-ranked U.S. team is also the seventh-ranked team on the planet. America is deep. When you’re as good as Stockman and Larsen are, and you’re behind in the race, time and more events are what you need, and time and hopefully more events is what they’ll get. If they have a dozen more events to climb the ladder and take the second American spot, as they could, depending when the FIVB reschedules its laundry list of postponed events, they could very well do so. Their win in Warsaw proved they can compete with any team in the world. They just need some more time to do so. Now, they might have that time.   Men Taylor Crabb, Jake Gibb U.S.A. rank: 1 Points: 6,680 It is hard to imagine how another year added to Gibb’s career would be a positive for these two, but it’s also hard to imagine how Gibb played some of his best volleyball at age 43 as he did in 2019. He, like Phil Dalhausser and John Hyden, have hoarded a gallon from the fountain of youth and just continue to defy athletic norms. For Crabb, it’s just another year to get better. With his trajectory the way it is – a sharp incline upwards – the postponement isn’t going to do any harm. Perhaps this will be a useful rest period for Gibb, a bit of a sabbatical before one final charge in 2021.   Tri Bourne, Trevor Crabb U.S.A. rank: 2 Points: 6,360 Like Sponcil and Claes, and Larsen and Stockman, this is another team where it’s almost only upside. They held a slim lead over Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena for the second spot, slim enough where it was basically a tie. But now Bourne and Crabb have another year to dial in their team dynamic, which both admit they’re only just beginning to figure out. Bourne can dial in his world-class blocking again, while both can dig into the nuances of defense and different roles in transition. It’s inconvenient for anyone to have to wait another year, but as this is this only team where age is not a factor at all, there isn’t much downside to the postponement for Bourne and Crabb.   Phil Dalhausser, Nick Lucena U.S.A. rank: 3 Points: 5,840 It is impossible to say how this will impact Dalhausser and Lucena. Dalhausser has readily admitted that Tokyo was it for him. Then it was onto family time and working at his new facility in Orlando, Fla. This news obviously pushes that timeline back. Like Walsh Jennings, though, it could just mean more time at home with their families for what could be the remainder of the year. They live close enough to one another that practicing won’t be a burden. If there isn’t another meaningful event until, say, August, maybe later, that’s another five months at home they otherwise wouldn’t have had. It could be exactly what they need, or it could be difficult to sustain the motivation needed to make an Olympic push for another year and a half. Time will only tell. And time is exactly what we have in abundance.

In this Episode I speak with Pro Beach Volleyball Player, Emily Stockman! I had such a fun time getting to know Emily and hearing her story. I ask her about the possibility of the Olympics being cancelled and how she deals with the distraction of it. We then talk about the other sport she had a passion for growing up,her College and Pro career in Indoor Vollleyball,how Beach Volleyball came about for her and how that transition and adjustment was for her,how she and her partner in crime Kelley Larsen became teammates,the importance of teamwork,her mentality during matches and so much more. Emily then takes on My Questions of Torture and Awesomeness! Im so thankful for Emily for speaking with me and thankful for my Peeps. Now sit back,relax,and enjoy the show!

A GARAGE IN AN UNKNOWN LOCATION – It was all wrong. Mykel Jenkins is all about the soundtrack of not just sports, but life. He wants it to be beautiful, and when something is done right, it doesn’t just look beautiful, it sounds beautiful. It’s a symphony, with violins and cellos and tubas, all working in perfect harmony. And here was Tri Bourne, “thundering in here with his heavy feet, ‘Boom! Boom!’” Jenkins said on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “And I was like ‘Oh, my God, he’s going to break my self-made floor.’” Jenkins looked at John Hyden, the only beach volleyball player he was training at the time, and asked him what in the world he was doing. Hyden was 40 at the time, and he was bringing Jenkins a project? “Just look,” Hyden, fresh off a split with Sean Scott, with whom he had a wildly successful partnership, told him. Jenkins saw some things in the 22-year-old Bourne, yes. But it was maybe one out of every three jumps. Hyden wasn’t going to be beating Phil Dalhausser with this kid. Bourne had been walking out of the gym when he heard that. The PG version of this story reads that Bourne simply disagreed with that sentiment, and if you’d like the R-rated one, you can listen to the podcast. Either way, “once he did that,” Jenkins recalled, “I turned to Johnny and said ‘That’s the dude.’ From that point on, I knew.” And Jenkins had his second beach volleyball player as a client. He’s a difficult guy to track down, Jenkins. He is at once well-known and a secret in beach volleyball circles, and he likes it that way. He joked – maybe – that he was breaking protocol by having a podcast in his garage, the location of which we’re just going to keep secret because it seems that’s what Jenkins would like. Jenkins is responsible, in large part, for Hyden’s unprecedented longevity and Bourne’s blink-and-you-missed-it rise from 22-year-old kid who was barely qualifying to, in the span of a single season, a regular finalist. Initially the trainer for Hyden’s wife, Robin, Jenkins was “always inquisitive about an Olympic athlete with his notoriety and skill set,” he said. “And she’d talk about how certain things were hurting him and I’d mention a few things I’d do. As fate would have it, he got into a few situations where they were nagging him so she talked him to coming to see her ‘actor friend.’” Yes, the ‘actor friend’ is Jenkins. He’s acted in 17 movies and had a 13-week contract on General Hospital as Officer Byron Murphy. He’s currently in post-production on two of his own films where he’s producing, directing, and starring. You might say he’s a man who wears many hats, though here Jenkins will shrug and say that no, it’s all one hat. It’s all art. Jenkins is here to make something beautiful, be it on the big screen or on the beach. “The next time you watch an average athlete, listen to the sound of the game and listen to how sloppy it is,” Jenkins said. “It’s like somebody with a drumset who doesn’t know what they’re doing. Then go watch someone special and close your eyes and listen to the way that music plays in your ear. You don’t realize it because you’re caught up in what you see. The soundtrack of that – if you took the soundtrack off Rocky, you’re not watching it. It’s like [Floyd] Mayweather: There’s a sweet science. If the music is beautiful – that’s how I know you guys are playing well.” Which is why he hated Bourne’s thunderous feet that first afternoon in the gym. There was nothing beautiful about his boom booming all over the gym. While Hyden was flitting over the mats, fast and soft, Bourne was providing an unwelcome percussion to the concert. But then five months passed, and when Jenkins closed his eyes, listening to his team work out, he couldn’t tell who was who. “I knew we were onto something,” he said. And he was right. Bourne would pile up accolade after accolade: AVP Rookie of the Year, AVP Most Improved, FIVB Top Rookie, AVP Best Offensive Player. He and Hyden would win the AVP Team of the Year in 2015 and make nine finals from 2012-2016. They qualified for the 2016 Olympics but, because of the country quota allowing only two teams per country to compete, were left off, despite finishing the year ranked fifth in the world. Jenkins joked that Bourne needed a plight. While Hyden had “worked in oblivion” for ten years on the beach before reaching the top, Bourne had been plucked to it. And then that plight came, in the form of an autoimmune disease that sidelined Bourne for the better part of two seasons. Recalling that moment, Jenkins paused, fighting tears. And it is there that you can see why he only trains a select few, why he won’t take dozens of players and train them as he has Bourne and Hyden and, now, Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman.   “I don’t like heartbreak. I like Hollywood endings,” he said. “So if I don’t see a Hollywood ending, I’m not participating. I like champagne.” Which is why his list of players he trains includes three – Bourne, Stockman and Larsen – who are contending for the 2020 Olympics, and another, Traci Callahan, who is on her way up the ladder.   “Once you see something special, God takes over,” Jenkins said. “If I don’t see you in the movie, you’re not going to be on the set. But if I do, we’re going to see it through, until we’re going to be on the big screen. I want to build characters who can handle any situation, and then watch them handle it. That’s captivating to me.” His workouts leave anyone who’s allowed to try them heaving. Stockman, one of the fittest women on tour, said that his workouts kick her ass. Larsen said this past season was the best shape she’s ever been in. “You’re never comfortable,” Bourne said. “So you’re whole gym session is all about finding your music, your flow state.” Jenkins wants you to find your music among chaos. When he’s watching Bourne or Larsen or Stockman on Amazon Prime, “I turn the volume down, and I watch,” he said. “And I know when to turn it up, because I can see the violins lining up and the tubas because you can hear the beauty of the game.”

There was a time – a very brief time in the middle of a jet-setting, globe-trotting season – where Kelley Larsen had the correct count of how many tournaments she and Emily Stockman had played at that point in the year. “We did count at one point,” Larsen, an Olympic hopeful with Stockman, said on SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “We did a certain amount in a row, we did – what was it? – ten back to back in a row. Ten in a row. I think that was our longest stretch. I don’t know how many tournaments it was this year. I think I lost count halfway through.” It’s easy to do when you’ve had a year like Larsen and Stockman. The official count, at the moment, with two more tournaments to play, is 19 tournaments in all – five AVP, 13 FIVB, one NORCECA. It has included competition in 13 countries, with a third trip to China coming up next week and a first to Mexico a week after that.   “LAX is our home,” Larsen said, laughing. “It was a lot of travel this year. We were gone six or seven weeks straight at one point and then before and after that we would be at a tournament overseas then come back for a tournament, be home for a few days, and we’d be back and forth. So ever since May, we’ve been gone the majority of the time.” They knew they were getting themselves into this, Larsen and Stockman. When they both broke it off with their respective partners prior to the onset of the Tokyo race, they knew that international volleyball was the priority, that the Olympics were the goal, and that being anywhere from moderately to severely jet lagged would be the new default. “I knew her work ethic was already incredible,” Stockman, a Colorado native, said. “Every time I was in the gym she was there, so I knew she was working hard. But to sit down and be like ‘Our goals all align,’ that was huge for me.” For the most part, everything has seemed to align for Stockman and Larsen this season, both on the court and off. On the court, they won an enormously valuable silver medal at the Warsaw Four-Star and then followed it up with a win at AVP Seattle, Stockman’s first AVP victory. Off the court, their quiet yet warm, independent but caring personalities meshed perfectly. During downtime on the road, Stockman would wander for a good coffee shop; Larsen would take a walk. At home, Stockman retreats to the mountains, Larsen, somehow, still to the beach. And then they’re back at it, on the beach with coach Evie Matthews or in the gym with their new trainer, an ass-kicking, no-nonsense man recommended by Matthews.  “There’s a lot of teams that sort of started breaking down a little bit and we felt good throughout the year,” Larsen said. “I think a lot of that is due to what we were doing in the gym, just conditioning wise. And all of our training was specific to you and to volleyball. Every movement we do in the gym is very related to volleyball and has a purpose for why we’re doing it. “His workouts are killer. You get your butt kicked and you don’t lift a single weight. It’s bizarre. It’s definitely helped us conditioning wise in matches this year.” They have but a few matches left, in China for an upcoming Three-Star in Qinzhou and then a Four-Star in Chetumal, Mexico. Then Stockman will take to the mountains, Larsen to the beach and planning her wedding with Manhattan Beach semifinalist Bill Kolinske. And then, before they know it, season will begin again. And they’ll be back on planes, back to their passports getting tattooed regularly, back in their new home-away-from-home: LAX. “We’re like the Brazilians now,” Stockman said. “Just nonstop.”

With one, final Jeremy Casebeer – or Uncle Jer Bear, as he was known at Lake Sammamish – swing in Seattle, the AVP officially reached the midpoint of the 2019 season. It has, by any measure, been a rollicking success. Every event has been home to packed stadiums and sold out VIP areas and flowing beer gardens. Most importantly, it’s been home to excellent beach volleyball. Upsets have become the norm this season, a sign that the field, on both the men’s and the women’s side, is deepening. Qualifier teams have upset the one seed in the men and the women. Three different teams have won a men’s title and three different have won a women’s title. Two of those victors on the women’s end – Karissa Cook and Jace Pardon, Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman – have been new winners, while one, Uncle Jer Bear and Chaim Schalk, has been a first-timer for the men. It’s made for a fun season to watch for fans, one in which new faces are emerging, older ones are being pushed, and people are coming out in droves to see it. On SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, the hosts break down the mid-season AVP awards.   MVP Men’s: Taylor Crabb Few have ever looked so indifferent when being introduced in an AVP final. Yet there Taylor Crabb sits, legs crossed, paying attention to seemingly everything but his name being called to play an AVP final. Such is the state of mind when you expect to be there, and it’s easy to see why Crabb does, indeed, expect to be there. Crabb and Gibb won the first two events of the season, in Huntington Beach and Austin, making it three straight when dating it back to Chicago of 2018. In the past two seasons, they’ve made eight finals in 10 events, not including the Hawai’i Invitational. Much of this is due, yes, to Gibb, but Crabb is playing at a level unmatchedon the AVP this season.   In the running: Phil Dalhausser, Nick Lucena, Jake Gibb, Jeremy Casebeer   Women’s: April Ross In discussing Ross, Bourne wondered when the last time the 37-year-old wasn’t only the best player in the country, but in the world. She has played two AVPs this season and won both. Her and Alix Klineman have played six FIVBs and won two. As with Crabb, much of the credit goes to Klineman’s 6-foot-4 presence at the net, but Ross is the engine, fueled by a serve that has earned her FIVB’s Best Server five times since 2013, and an all-around game that has awarded her four AVP MVP’s since the same year.   In the running: Alix Kineman, Sarah Sponcil, Betsi Flint, Emily Day     Rookie of the Year Men’s: Paul Lotman Of the many skills, both tangible and not, you cannot teach in beach volleyball, one is this: Being an Olympian. Lotman has that distinction, and it’s beginning to show, as his indoor game translates to the beach. A year ago, Lotman showed glimpses of his beach potential in a titanic serve and the physicality that earned him a spot on the 2012 Olympic team. But there were a few skills that needed grooming. Consider them groomed. Lotman and Gabe Ospina have qualified for three straight events, all small draws, and became just the second 16-seed to beat a one in AVP history, topping Gibb and Crabb in Austin. They don’t seem to be slowing, either. Now, with enough points to likely get them straight into Hermosa and Manhattan, they won’t have qualifier legs, but fresh ones prepared to make a move deeper into main.   In the running: Gabe Ospina, Kyle Friend, David Lee     Women’s: Terese Cannon Truth be told, I don’t know whether Cannon is still, technically, considered a rookie, because she’s made a handful of main draws prior to this season. But if she’s eligible, Cannon has a runaway case for Rookie of the Year. She took third in Austin – she skipped Huntington Beach for NCAA Championships – to begin the year and has taken a ninth and seventh since. Her and Irene Pollock have enough points where they’ll be in main draw for the remainder of the year, making Cannon the early, and heavy, favorite to win.   In the running: Kim Hildreth, Sarah Schermerhorn, Falyn Fonoimoana, Emily Hartong     Breakthrough Athlete Men’s: Troy Field Field’s rise on the AVP, both as a player and personality, has been meteoric. He has gone, in the span of two years, as that qualifier guy wearing a pink hat who could jump really high to a bona fide contender to winning AVPs. In four events this season, he and Tim Bomgren have made three Sundays, including a final, Field’s first, in New York City. With Hermosa and Manhattan expected to be a tad watered down, with teams skipping for Olympic qualifiers, odds are that Field and Bomgren will be back in the finals soon enough.   In the running: Tim Bomgren, Chase Budinger, Jeremy Casebeer, Chaim Schalk     Women’s: Jace Pardon A few weeks prior to Huntington Beach, Pardon wasn’t sure who she was going to play with. She had popped around with a few different partners in 2018, never really finding a consistent rhythm with any, one player. Then Karissa Cook freed up, and the rest, you could say, is history in the making. They took a fifth in Huntington, and then worked their way through the contender’s bracket in Austin to claim their first AVP titles. Far from one-hit wonders, they made another quarterfinal in New York and then a second Sunday in Seattle.   In the running: Karissa Cook, Emily Stockman, Sarah Sponcil, Irene Pollock

Kim DiCello was never a bad teammate, same as she has never been a bad co-worker, a bad wife, a bad anything, really. But she did have her moments where “I was this intense, fierce competitor,” she said on SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “Not angry, but a little feisty. Without meaning to, I probably gave a couple stare-downs here and there, just having that fierceness, that edge.” She didn’t think it would change when her son, Luca, would be born. She’d still be the same person. Same interests. Same passions. Same competitive, feisty spirit. “After having the baby, oh my gosh, this flipped,” she said. “All of a sudden I have this softness, this sweetness, this tenderness that I had no idea was in me. I don’t think anything else could have pulled it out other than having a baby. All of a sudden there’s this gentleness, this patience, this calmness. “I firmly believe those qualities make me a better person and in being a better person I can leverage those to being a better teammate and an athlete and competing at a higher level. I think it’s going to require reworking and figuring out how these pieces all work together now.” The timing of DiCello’s words couldn’t be better. Her focus on being a teammate, in a sport that is often viewed as an individual pursuit, seems an anachronism. The women’s side, after just two AVP tournaments this season, has been shaken up and shuffled and thrown into a blender, spitting out dozens of new teams, products of former ones that weren’t entirely unsuccessful but left something to be desired. DiCello was one of them, having split, not by choice, with Katie Spieler after two finishes. Which isn’t to say that all of those breakups didn’t have their fair and justifiable reasons. Spieler, for instance, is going to Brittany Howard, a close friend and roommate, who became available after a split with Kelly Reeves, with whom she played for a year and a half. Howard, at 24 and still relatively new to the beach game, has all the upside in the world. It’s easy to see the logic behind Spieler’s move, just as it’s typically easier to see the logic behind any partnership move. DiCello just thinks that sometimes these moves come too quick, that beach is a world of instant gratification rather than longterm gains in terms of partnerships. “I really love the team dynamic in our sport,” DiCello said. “The value I get out of the experience of being on a team is so great, and it can be frustrating and challenging but I welcome those frustrations and challenges because through them you develop these really strong connections with the people you compete with. And I’m still really close with Lane [Carico] and Emily [Stockman] and Kendra [Van Zwieten], the partners I’ve competed with the last few years. “It’s a relationship that’s different from the relationships you’ll have with anyone else because you battle together and you’ve been through those good times and bad times and they’ve seen you at your best and they’ve seen you at your worst. “I want this in all areas in my life. I want to bring out the best in my husband. I want to bring out the best in my little boy. Doing it on the volleyball court is just another space where I get to do that.” It’s possible that this mindset is a large reason why DiCello has been able to succeed with such a variety of partners. With Carico, who is also a new mother, she finished 13th but also made four semifinals. With Stockman, she finished 17th but also made a final. With Van Zwieten, she finished ninth and fifth twice but also won her first AVP and made at least the semifinals in seven others. The lows often precede the highs, so long as you can stick it out long enough to see the final product.  

Dane Selznick has seen it all. Seen every last one of beach volleyball’s many evolutions. He was there when players competed for little more than pride and maybe – maybe – a free dinner. He was there when two men named David Wilk and Craig Masuoka formed a promotional company named Event Concepts and began hauling in the Millers and Cuervos of the world and throwing legitimate prize money into tournaments. He was there when the AVP Tour was founded, in 1984, and when it collapsed, and when it formed again, and when it collapsed once more, to be revived in its current iteration under Donald Sun. He’s seen both the golden era, financially, when 10 players once banked more than $100,000 in prize money alone, and he’s seen the most dominant era, when Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Misty May-Treanor once rattled off 112 straight wins and three consecutive gold medals from 2004-2012. And now he is witness once more to the latest permutation in professional beach volleyball, the upstart event series, p1440, founded by Walsh-Jennings and her husband, Casey, and former college teammate Dave Mays. In March, Selznick, who had been a tournament director for the California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA), founding the Gene Selznick Invitational, an eponymous nod to his father, was hired as p1440’s Director of Competition and Sport. “About a year ago, Kerri approached me and said ‘Dane I have a project I’d love for you to be a part of,’” Selznick said on SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “She gave me a little bit of background, I brought it to the head staff at CBVA, got their opinion to see if it would be a good fit, and here we are. Everything’s moved along pretty quickly.” Blindingly fast may be a more apt description. P1440 has announced dates for four events in its inaugural season, one of which will be an Olympic qualifier in Las Vegas, while the other three are partnered with the FIVB as international exhibitions. They’ve announced a lengthy list of sponsors that includes ROKA (eyewear), Alsa Energy (water), RX (protein bars), Brand X (strength and conditioning programs), AcuSpike (volleyball training), NormaTec (recovery), among a host of others. They’ve formed a developmental training program, replete with an armada of the finest coaches in the world, and a partnership with the CBVA, the pipeline from which many of the top players in the country cut their teeth, and where p1440 is now hosting what’s known as “satellite qualifiers,” allowing players to compete locally, weeks prior to the event itself, for a spot in the main draw. “They looked at our [CBVA] schedule extensively, and they were trying to select those certain events that they felt fit the mold to be a qualifying point-getter for the players,” Selznick said. “There are specific tournaments that we have that award you p1440 points. The qualifying satellites are enticing for the players because it gives them something more than playing in a tournament. Now they’re playing for a main draw spot in tournaments that offer high level competition, a lot more prize money – you’re guaranteed more money just getting into the tournament. I think being an alternative tour to what we’ve got going on, as long as it’s not conflicting, I see no problem with it, because it really gives players a lot more opportunities to make money.” More opportunities has been the theme of the past few months. In 2018, the AVP put on eight open events, one of which was partnered with the FIVB in Huntington Beach, before adding invitationals in Hawai’i and Huntington Beach. The upstart King of the Court series hosted another handful, to go along with upwards of 40 FIVBs of varying levels. And now there’s p1440, adding events at the end of September (San Jose), mid-October (Las Vegas), end of November and early December (San Diego) and mid-December (Huntington Beach), with events on the horizon in Texas, Florida and Los Angeles. “It seems like a pretty exciting time right now for the sport in general,” Tri Bourne said. “It’s cool, I think the sport is gaining a lot of momentum right now. There’s a lot of people like yourself and p1440 and AVP and King of the Court and FIVB and CBVA that are all kind of creating opportunities in their own way. I think it’s great. It seems like the sport is gaining some momentum.” That next opportunity begins Thursday, with the San Jose on-site qualifier, and extends through the weekend, in a domestic event that features the top two teams in the world of each gender – Norwegians Anders Mol and Christian Sorum and Brazilians Carolina Salgado and Maria Antonelli – as well as a host of the best talent in the United States – Sean Rosenthal and Chase Budinger, Jeremy Casebeer and Reid Priddy, Billy Allen and Theo Brunner, Chaim Schalk and Piotr Marciniak, Walsh-Jennings, Nicole Branagh and Lauren Fendrick, Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman, Caitlin Ledoux and Geena Urango. “It’s just great to have more opportunity,” Selznick said. “Bottom line. Every entity should take care of its athletes. It’s like the Olympic Games, the athletes are No. 1.”

It’s a wonder how Caitlin Ledoux did it, given that she operates with the same 24 hours a day, the same seven days a week, as the rest of us. There she was, working full-time at Lululemon. There she was, coaching two or three club teams and a high school team. There she was, playing full-time professional beach volleyball, making three quarterfinals and her first career Sunday in Hermosa Beach, capping the year as the AVP’s Most Improved player. “I worked a lot,” she said on SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “Literally seven days a week coaching for four hours a day. That’s what I mean. I was overworked, I was exhausted, my body was struggling to keep up with what I was doing mentally, physically, everything. I just needed to hit that reset button.” On the court, 2017 had been her most successful year. Off it, it had been both mentally and physically debilitating, something that didn’t go unnoticed by her partner for the final three tournaments, Maria Clara Salgado. “She knew I was struggling here with my nutrition and my workouts and my working, I had been working a ton. It was too much. She said ‘Come down to Brazil, let’s see what works for you, because what you’ve been doing isn’t really working. Let’s put the reset button on and see if it works.’” And so, for three months of the “off-season,” Ledoux went to Brazil, getting reps six days a week from four different coaches. She switched her weight routine, swapping out Olympic lifting for more functional movements. She overhauled her nutrition. “It was the first time I’ve ever felt like a professional athlete,” said Ledoux, who has been playing professionally since she first qualified on the AVP in 2012. “That was career changing. It was amazing.” Indeed, it seems it has been career-changing. This year, Ledoux has arguably the best case to again take home the AVP’s Most Improved Player, making the quarterfinals in New York with Salgado before getting the call of a lifetime, from perhaps the most dominant female player in the game today: April Ross. "It was pretty funny because in New York she texted me and said 'Hey I need a practice partner for these days, can you practice with me?' And I had never played or practiced with her so I was stoked to practice with her for two days," Ledoux said. "And I was in the car with my mom and she texted me and I said 'Mom! Guess what just happened?' And she said 'April asked you to play.' And I said 'Yes!' It was awesome."  With Ross playing behind her block, Ledoux made her first final, which may be the match of the year on the AVP thus far, a 21-19, 19-21, 16-18 loss to Emily Day and Betsi Flint. Two weeks later she did it again with Geena Urango, making her third career Sunday and second straight losing once more to Day and Flint in the finals, 17-21, 21-16, 7-15. Another three weeks after that, in Hermosa, Ledoux was back on a Sunday, falling in three to Ross and Alix Klineman, 14-21, 21-18, 9-15. “A lot of it is just personal growth about myself and having the right support system around myself the last year and a half,” Ledoux said of her blink-and-you-missed-it rise. “Having that support system and the coaches and helping you figure out what you need to do, I’d say that honestly is the biggest thing.” What you need to do. It’s a simple concept for Ledoux. Identify what your goal is. Figure out the next step. Just do. Olympics, she knew, has been her goal since she was a little girl. How would one get into the Olympics? Travel. A lot. With no promises of a return anytime soon. So there her and Irene Pollock went, jet-setting across the world, beginning in Russia of 2014. Over the next three years, they went to 16 FIVBs in 10 different countries, qualifying in some, whiffing on others, taking every risk they could, because there were goals to reach and one ladder to get there. Just go. “It was hard, but the same time it wasn’t,” Ledoux said. “Irene and I had the same goal and that’s to make the Olympics and we knew that was what we needed to do. We needed to just drown ourselves in all the experience of traveling and losing and having to play these single elimination matches to get that experience. I look back on that year and it was a very draining year but I also learned a lot. “When you look at the end game: what’s your goal? I had to do it. It’s a no-brainer.” And sure, it may have been rough for a while. There may have been a learning curve on how to travel internationally, particularly when doing so in, say South Africa. The investment is beginning to see returns, dividends in the form of a bronze medal (in China with Sarah Sponcil), a silver (in Australia with Jace Pardon) and a gold (in Thailand with Emily Stockman). “I think there’s probably a more responsible way to do it than the way I did it,” Ledoux said of climbing the ranks of the FIVB. “But I’ve really enjoyed my life the last five years of just doing it and saying yes to a bunch of experiences. One of the cool things about this career is I look back on the last five years and all of the crazy memories I have of going to all of these places and a lot of times I had fun because we lost out super early and we didn’t know how to book flights yet so we’d book our flight home a week or week and a half in these places and we lost on the first day and now we have a week in South Africa and it’s ‘What do we do?’ “I look back on these last five years and I wouldn’t change anything. If you’re looking to just start, I would say set your goal and jump in.”

Troy Field was, in his own words, “terrified.” “Just so scared to mess up,” he said on SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, “to, you know, disappoint this incredible athlete.” It helped, then, that the incredible athlete in question during last week's Norceca qualifier was Reid Priddy, and few in volleyball understand what Field was going through more than Priddy. He's been to four Olympics. He's won a gold medal. He's won a bronze medal. In just a single year on the beach, he was one point away from making a final, in San Francisco. “He's got some pretty amazing wisdom to offer,” Field said. Priddy told the 24-year-old that nerves are good. Nerves mean you're excited, that you care. Focus on what you can control. Not passing or setting or swinging or serving. Just breathing. Which is exactly what Field did. “I'd see him take a deep breath, which reminded me to take a deep breath,” Field said. Simple. And effective. Priddy and Field opened with a three-set win over Adam Roberts and another up-and-comer, Spencer Sauter, which put them into the de facto finals – two teams come out of a Norceca qualifier, so the actual final match is of little consequence – against 2017 AVP Rookie of the Year Eric Zaun and veteran blocker Ed Ratledge. “It was just high level volleyball,” Field said. “Just side out after side out after side out. We battled, battled, battled and took the first set like 27-25. With all that momentum, we were able to figure out what they were doing and Zaun wasn't really hitting any balls and we were able to work our defense around that and we ended up winning like 21-16 or 21-15 or something like that… Reid was playing out of his mind, just making unbelievable defensive plays.” It didn't much matter that the two would lose the next match against Avery Drost and Chase Frishman. They were in, earning spots into a series of tournaments, two of which will be in Mexico, the final in Cuba. Those three tournaments, should the two choose to play in all of them – they are more than likely not, as the Cuba tournament will run too close to AVP/FIVB Huntington Beach in the first week of May – would add up to one more professional tournament than Field has played in his career. In 2017, he played in a pair of AVPs, failing to make it out of the Hermosa Beach qualifier before making it through in Manhattan Beach with Puerto Rican Orlando Irizarry. “It's pretty unreal,” he said. “I've never been the person to get super overly excited because I feel like the more you build it up you'll get disappointed. Everyone has been telling me to just enjoy the moment.” On the women's side, another newcomer, Brittany Howard, earned a bid as well. There's a better chance you've heard of Howard than Field. She competed for four years indoors at Stanford before doing a grad year on the beach for Pepperdine, though she was so rusty on the beach that she admitted to DiG Magazine that “I was terrible.” It's become apparent she's a quick learner. Playing with Kelly Reeves, the 2016 AVP Rookie of the Year, Howard beat Amanda Dowdy and Irene Pollock and then the new partnership of top-seeded Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman, earning their Norceca bid despite also losing the final match to Kim Smith and Mackenzie Ponnet. “I definitely kind of explored my options,” Reeves said on SANDCAST. “Brittany Howard was always someone I'd been watching from afar and I told her I'd love to get in the sand and try it out. We did and it just felt super comfortable, I don't know, the chemistry thing was big. We're definitely volleyball people and I definitely understood where she was as far as up-and-coming. Just the first time we stepped in the sand it was ‘Oh, this girl, she's got some game.'” Game enough to have qualified for the final three events of the AVP season, in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Chicago, respectively. Game enough to have actually beaten Reeves in Manhattan Beach. Game enough to have found her new partner for the 2018 season. Reeves played the majority of the 2017 season with Jen Fopma, though with Fopma pregnant, she had to find either a new blocker or a scrappy defender to play with in 2018. Enter Howard. “She just did some really funky stuff like ‘Ok I can work with that,'” Reeves recalled when she played Howard. “And then looking to next year, knowing Jen was out, I was like ‘Alright she's definitely someone I would want to play with.' As soon as we got in the sand, there was just this one play, she had this nice scoop, maybe a block pull move, and she dug it and I set her and she just crushed this ball and I was like ‘Ok she's got some game.'” They proved as much last week, and now they'll be taking two trips to Mexico though the third stop, in Cuba, is unlikely, for the same reasons as Field and Priddy will likely be skipping as well. There's Huntington, with more to prove, more to learn, a bigger platform on which to play. “We're both still new to the game,” Reeves said. “Grantred this is my third season but I'm still learning a ton and she's still learning a ton and it's fun to learn and grow with someone. We're hungry and eager to just get better and I think that's something I really like about our partnership.”