Stafford Slick: Beach volleyball's Viking duck hunter

Stafford Slick: Beach volleyball's Viking duck hunter

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."

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BEDLAM ENSUES: Nobody Is Safe At The Beach Volleyball World Championships

BEDLAM ENSUES: Nobody Is Safe At The Beach Volleyball World Championships

Welcome back to SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, where Travis is back breaking down all things Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide, Australia. The round of 32 is over, and in this episode, we highlight: - The huge and shocking upset delivered to Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft by Martina Maixnerova and Kylie Neuschaeferova - The not so huge but still unexpected upset of Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier over Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot - The still less huge but still unexpected upsets of Chaim Schalk and James Shaw over Nicolas Capogrosso and Tomas Capogrosso, and Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg of USA Volleyball over Zoe Verge-Depre and Anouk Verge-Depre - The ALMOST upsets, but not quite, as Thamela and Victoria survive Lezana Placette and Alexia Richard, Evandro and Arthur survive Ben O'Dea and Brad Fuller, and Anders Mol and Christian Sorum survive Sam Schachter and Jonathan Pickett - The Cinderella run of Melanie Paul and Lea Kunst amidst a thriving German federation, who will also see Louisa Lippmann and Linda Bock, and Sandra Ittlinger and Anna Grune in the round of 16 - The Big Game hunter who is Valentina Gottardi, as the Italian blocker and Reka Orsi Toth knocked out Germany's top pair in Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Muller - Poland's brutal draw of David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig in the first round - Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner continuing their World Championships title defense - Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen careering at the perfect time with a fourth straight sweep SHEW! We'll be back again tomorrow! SHOOTS! *** WE'VE GOT MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Get 10 PERCENT OFF VBTV using our discount code, SANDCAST10 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/ Our medical timeout was brought to you by SHIELD Athletic Tape. If you’re an athlete, coach, or just train hard, you know that staying healthy is easier said than done— it’s about staying supported. That’s where SHIELD comes in. SHIELD is a U.S.-based athletic tape company built by athletes, for athletes. Whether it’s rigid tape for serious support, kinesiology tape with true 4-way stretch for maximum mobility, or turf tape to fight off burns on the field — SHIELD’s got you covered. They even make recovery wraps for post-session cooldowns and inflammation control. And because it’s all made right here in the U.S., you’re getting elite quality and fast delivery —they are truly not cutting corners. Try SHIELD today — support that actually performs. Check them out at shieldhealthandfitness.com and use code SANDCAST for a discount. Tape smarter. Train harder. SHIELD up.

19 Marras 38min

Chaos Begins! World Champs Playoffs Set to Bring Madness in Adelaide

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18 Marras 31min

Favorites, Contenders and Dark Horses: The FINAL World Champs Preview

Favorites, Contenders and Dark Horses: The FINAL World Champs Preview

Kyle Friend and Travis Mewhirter break down all things Beach Volleyball World Champs here in Adelaide, Australia, going over the favorites, contenders, and dark horses for each gender. Favorites: Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher, Duda and Ana Patricia, Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan. Contenders: Linda Bock and Louisa Lippmann, Anouk Verge-Depre and Zoe Verge-Depre, Remi Bassereau and Calvin Aye, Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers Dark Horses: Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno, Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon, Andre and Renato, Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger SHOOTS! *** Our medical timeout was brought to you by SHIELD Athletic Tape. If you’re an athlete, coach, or just train hard, you know that staying healthy is easier said than done— it’s about staying supported. That’s where SHIELD comes in. SHIELD is a U.S.-based athletic tape company built by athletes, for athletes. Whether it’s rigid tape for serious support, kinesiology tape with true 4-way stretch for maximum mobility, or turf tape to fight off burns on the field — SHIELD’s got you covered. They even make recovery wraps for post-session cooldowns and inflammation control. And because it’s all made right here in the U.S., you’re getting elite quality and fast delivery —they are truly not cutting corners. Try SHIELD today — support that actually performs. Check them out at shieldhealthandfitness.com and use code SANDCAST for a discount. Tape smarter. Train harder. SHIELD up.

13 Marras 27min

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Brian Lewis: The Evolution, Future, and Current State of Volleyball | SANDCAST

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Beach Volleyball World Championships: Women's Pool Breakdown and Preview

Beach Volleyball World Championships: Women's Pool Breakdown and Preview

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29 Loka 44min

Beach Volleyball World Championships: Men's Pool Breakdown and Preview

Beach Volleyball World Championships: Men's Pool Breakdown and Preview

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22 Loka 53min

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15 Loka 1h 3min

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