Nicole and Megan McNamara are taking on the world

Nicole and Megan McNamara are taking on the world

You could have seen this path a long time ago, had you been paying close enough attention. When Nicole and Megan McNamara, identical twins from Vancouver, Canada, were on the same indoor team. One set, the other hit. Four others were on the court, sure, but “she would set me every ball,” Megan said, as the two broke out in fits of laughter. “And our coach was like ‘You gotta give other people some love.’”

Not really, actually. There was beach, too. Nobody else to set. Nobody else to hit.

Just the twins.

Even in a quasi-team environment at UCLA, where they ushered in a new, small ball, fast movement offense that is becoming vogue in the college game, it was still just the McNamaras on court one. They could win and the Bruins could lose, or vice versa, which, Megan admitted, “is bizarre. It’s a bizarre feeling.”

“You can win your match but then UCLA loses and you’re happy, then you’re bummed or vice versa,” Nicole said. “You’re all pissed about your loss but the team’s all stoked.”

It was a bizarre and perfect four years in Westwood. Two National Championships. One of the most successful partnerships the game has seen in its nascent stages at the collegiate level. Now it’s back to their roots: Just the two of them. No scheduled practices with Stein Metzger and the crew. No team nutritionist or personal trainers or world class weight facilities.

Just Megan and Nicole, taking on the world.

That’s where they are right now, actually. Out in the world. Itapema, Brazil, specifically. Thousands of miles from home, whether that home be considered Vancouver or Westwood at this point. Recipients of the wild card, they’re straight into main draw, an excellent welcome to the tour gift from the FIVB, which is suddenly becoming replete with Canadians playing at a world-class level.

Two different Canadian teams – Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan, Brandie Wilkerson and Heather Bansley – held the top spot in the world at one point last season. The McNamaras are already high enough in the world ranks that they’ve earned a spot in the World Championships during the last week of June and first of July, in Hamburg, Germany.

“Our main goal for the summer was going to be to qualify for some of the bigger tournaments, and also to get settled with our new life in Toronto,” Nicole said. “Those were our main focuses so even qualifying for World Championships was amazing. We wouldn’t have expected that. If you would have told us that last year, we wouldn’t have believed you. It’s unbelievable.”

What’s unbelievable now will be the standard soon enough. It would have been unbelievable, when they were freshmen Bruins, to conceive of a time when a school not named USC would win back-to-back national titles. Now that’s the new standard.

It would have been unbelievable, when they were pre-teens, watching Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May Treanor, to conceive of a time when they’d not only be competing at their level, but pushing them. Now, after taking Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat to three in Mexico in October, that’s the new standard.

So they’ll continue setting standards, blowing past expectations, making the unbelievable quite real quite regularly. And they’ll do so, as they’ve always done so, together.

“If it’s just the two of us out somewhere in the world we just need to lean on each other a little more,” Megan said. “I think that kind of helps because we were kind of cushioned at UCLA with all the support, and also knowing that our two through fives have our back. Knowing we’ve invested a lot of time, money, it helps us come together.”

Jaksot(500)

Beach Access: Italian Stars Are Born, Norway's Gone GOAT Hunting in Hamburg

Beach Access: Italian Stars Are Born, Norway's Gone GOAT Hunting in Hamburg

Welcome back to Beach Access, where Kyle Friend and Travis Mewhirter covered the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Hamburg Elite. They chat about: - Italians Reka Orsi Toth and Valentina Gottardi winning a shocking gold medal, the first Elite win in Italian women's history - Norway's Anders Mol and Christian Sorum going GOAT hunting, now one win closer to catching Ricardo and Emanuel for most all time - What's up with Sweden's David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig - Linda Bock, the can't miss new German defender And much more! 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. SHOOTS!

1 Syys 202530min

Kerri Pottharst: The Australian GOAT Living Her Best Life

Kerri Pottharst: The Australian GOAT Living Her Best Life

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Kerri Pottharst, one of the greatest beach volleyball players of all time and certainly Australia's GOAT. We shot this episode in Gstaad, on July 4 weekend, and we chat all aspects of Pottharst's career, from her multiple Olympics to where she is now as one of the key commentators on VBTV. Chapters with Kerri Pottharst 00:00 Introduction to Australian Beach Volleyball 03:01 The Growth of Australian Volleyball 05:57 The Evolution of Beach Volleyball 09:09 Mindset and Mental Preparation in Sports 11:58 The Importance of Enjoyment in Sports 14:54 Lessons from Competing at the Highest Level 17:47 The Role of Coaches and Mentors 21:00 The Impact of Social Media on Sports 24:05 Reflections on Olympic Experiences 26:52 The Future of Beach Volleyball 30:06 Conclusion and Final Thoughts 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/

27 Elo 20251h 2min

Hector Gutierrez: The Man Who Finally Stole The NCAA Beach Title From California

Hector Gutierrez: The Man Who Finally Stole The NCAA Beach Title From California

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Hector Gutierrez, the head coach of the TCU Beach Volleyball team who recently won the first NCAA Championship outside of California. We chat a whole lot about that win, as well as: - How he was able to build a program around Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno - How he was able to lure Sarah Sponcil as his new assistant coach - What it was like, winning his first NCAA Championship, and the first outside of California - Why Gulf Shores presented more pressure than the Olympic Games (no joke) SUCH A FUN ONE with Hector. Love this guy 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/

20 Elo 20251h 13min

BEACH ACCESS: Canada's Queens, Beach Volleyball's Kings On Top In Montreal

BEACH ACCESS: Canada's Queens, Beach Volleyball's Kings On Top In Montreal

Welcome back to Beach Access, presented by SHIELD, where Travis Mewhirter and Kyle Friend recap all things Beach Volleyball wherever they are in the world. This weekend, they were in Montreal for the Beach Pro Tour Elite, where Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson successfully defended their gold medal in 2023, as did Anders Mol and Christian Sorum.  They chat all about that, as well as: - What an incredible event the promoter put on and why we hope it continues - The return of Ana Patricia Silva and Duda Lisboa - Another f****** Sweden team is quickly becoming a problem on the Beach Pro Tour in Jacob Holting-Nilsson and Elmer Andersson - Teams making the biggest moves in the World Champs race, including Germany's Lui Wust and Paul Henning 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.

18 Elo 202525min

Mailbag Reunion! Tri's Retirement and Future, Thoughts on the AVP, Indoor Players on The Beach

Mailbag Reunion! Tri's Retirement and Future, Thoughts on the AVP, Indoor Players on The Beach

This is our first mailbag episode of the year -- and maybe the last, depending on Tri Bourne's and Travis Mewhirter's schedules. They catch up in a little reunion episode, chatting Tri's retirement, amongst a host of other topics in a wide ranging episode that gets looooose in the best of ways. We answer questions on: - Tri Bourne's impending retirement - What's going to happen with the podcast - The difference between refs on the AVP and FIVB - The NCAA players with the best chances of becoming world-class professionals - And we just catch up. It was really, really nice.  ENJOY! 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/

13 Elo 20251h 29min

Gary Green: How to Coach The New Generation of Athletes In an Attention Deprived World

Gary Green: How to Coach The New Generation of Athletes In an Attention Deprived World

This episode of SANDCAST features Gary Green, who might be the most fascinating guest we've ever had on the podcast. He's the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at the University of Georgia who has given talks to hundreds of teams and works with Kirby Smart and the Georgia football team. What's that got to do with volleyball? Well, everything, as Green is a master of human behavior, and in particular this young generation of athletes, whose brains are becoming Tik-Tokified. Enjoy this masterclass from the master professor himself (We know Travis Mewhirter did). 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/

6 Elo 20251h 2min

Kristen Nuss, Taryn Brasher: The Glitch In The Beach Volleyball System

Kristen Nuss, Taryn Brasher: The Glitch In The Beach Volleyball System

This episode of SANDCAST is a Gstaad special! Shot from the Beach Pro Tour Gstaad Elite, Travis Mewhirter and Kyle Friend sit down with Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher to chat all things beach volleyball, from their journey to veterans of the sport and number one in the world to the Olympic Games. We cover: - How they have become veterans on the Beach Pro Tour now - What they have done to maintain the youthful joy for which they are so known - Their experience at the Paris Olympic Games, and its lasting effects - Their new merch line and all things TKN Beach Volleyball 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/

30 Heinä 202557min

Tri Bourne: The Retirement Of The Man Who Was Bourne On The Beach

Tri Bourne: The Retirement Of The Man Who Was Bourne On The Beach

This episode of SANDCAST is a heartfelt one, one in which Tri Bourne and his wife, Gabby, the Pod Mama herself, chat about Bourne's retirement from the world of professional beach volleyball. It's a reflective episode, as Bourne and Gabby talk about: - Bourne's wild journey, filled with the highest of highs, and perpetual health issues that robbed him of a fully healthy season since 2016 - Why he is deciding to retire now, at still a relatively young age in a sport that allows for longevity - Why he isn't sure, and doesn't need to be sure, about what's next in his life - The emotional weight of the decision to retire when he still has plenty of game left in him And so, so much more 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/

23 Heinä 20251h 22min

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