SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter11 Maalis 2020

Melissa Humana-Paredes is gritting up

The lead was gone, momentum completely flipped, and Melissa Humana-Paredes was, in her own words, crapping her pants.

That’s what she said to her partner after their 14-10 lead in the third set of the World Championship semifinals had disappeared. Nobody wants to be in that situation. Nobody asks to miss on four match points of the game’s biggest stage. And yet it was perhaps the most critical moment of the partnership for the team that would finish the 2019 season ranked No. 1 in the world.

“Fourteen-fourteen was a really pivotal moment for Sarah and I because they had gotten three straight aces,” Humana-Paredes said on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “They weren’t even rallies. She had gotten an ace down the sideline, ace down the seam, it was ‘Wow.’ There was no time to think about anything, but she was able to see where I was mentally and she was able to relate to me and say ‘I’m a little nervous too. This is not ideal.’ Vulnerability is a beautiful thing and is such a necessary thing in beach volleyball. We’re out there and our weaknesses are exposed. There’s no one else to come in for you. You gotta figure it out, just you and your partner, so in that moment, when you express that vulnerability to your partner, and she shows up for you, she’s like ‘You know what, me too, but you got this.’

“She turned to me and she said ‘They’re going to serve you. You’re going to pass it, I’m going to set you, and you’re going to side out, because that’s what you can do.’ I was like ‘Wow, she’s really confident in you. Step up to the plate Mel.’ That was a turning point for us to grit up.”

Humana-Paredes and Pavan would go on to win that semifinal over Switzerland’s Nina Betschart and Tanja Huberli, 19-17 in the third set, which would precede a 23-21, 23-21 epic of a final victory over April Ross and Alix Klineman.

It became a theme for the season for the Canadians: When things were tight, when they were down, they just found a way to win. They “gritted up,” and in doing so, they only, oh, qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, became the first Canadian team to hold a World Champion title, cemented themselves on the Manhattan Beach Pier. They win gold on the road again in Vienna and at home in Edmonton. They finished their season fittingly: On a high, with a first in Hawai’i.

All because, Humana-Paredes said, they found the ability to “grit up.”

“Heading into World Champs, we weren’t feeling our best,” Humana-Paredes said. “We were coming off a couple rough finishes in Warsaw and Ostrava and we weren’t playing super clean ball. Even in the World Champs, even in pool play, they were gnarly, gritty games. We easily could have lost them. Even some games in our playoffs, we easily could have lost them, but we really, really were working hard, and were gritty and were resilient. I think that’s what the 2019 season was: full on grit and heart. It was like that for every tournament. Nothing came easy, and we just worked for it. We’re going into this season with that same mentality.”

They’ll need it, too. This year, like no other, Humana-Paredes and Pavan will be the team everyone is looking to knock down. They’ve had the metaphorical target on their back before, following the brilliant 2017 season that finished with them ranked second in the world.

“We were still in that period while having these new standards and expectations that everyone else was also having of us and to be honest I don’t think we handled it very well,” Humana-Paredes said of the 2018 season. “It was a bit of a roller coaster. We did win some tournaments. We won the Commonwealth Games, we won Gstaad, we won China, but we also had a couple uncharacteristic finishes. We had a couple seventeenths, and it was a huge roller coaster. We sat down at the end of the year and looked at what we accomplished and it was a lot better than it felt. We felt like we dropped the ball but when we looked back at our results we weren’t far from the goals we had set for ourselves. When you’re in it, you can be so hard on yourself and you don’t recognize what you’re accomplishing along the way. When you reflect back on the season, maybe we were too hard on ourselves, because look at what we did. So we took that mindset into this last season in 2019 which was probably our best season.”

It may, in fact, be the most accomplished single season in Canadian beach history. In four months, Humana-Paredes and Pavan will have the opportunity to continue authoring history for the Canadian federation. They know the impact winning an Olympic medal would have on the Canadian beach community. They’ve seen it before, after World Champs, when dozens of girls reached out to let them know that they were the reason they were picking up beach.

“We saw how it affected Canada and how they really took notice, and beach volleyball started to grow,” Humana-Paredes said. “We saw how it affected the growing generation in Canada for beach volleyball, which is ultimately what we want to do. We want to inspire the next generation, and the amount of messages we got from parents and kids saying ‘I want to start playing beach volleyball because of this’ who had never been in the sport and now want to take it up, that just makes it so much more valuable.

“It helped put things in perspective when we were feeling so low. When we got results that we were disappointed with and feeling those emotions, seeing what we had done goes beyond a week after week result. We want to leave a legacy in the sport for ourselves and I think that’s what we usually have to come back to when we’re in the thick of it because sometimes we get carried away with the result and the performance and we need to realize that we’re still making an impact and that is ultimately what we want to do.”

For now, they’ll work on their Olympic seeding. They’ll clean up the small fixes they need to make.

They will, just as they did last year, “grit up.”

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Chris Meade: CROSSNET, the million-dollar (literally) idea beach volleyball didn't know it needed

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Chris Meade, one of three founders of the four-way volleyball game, CROSSNET, that has exploded since its founding in 2017. In this episode, we discuss: How the idea of CROSSNET was hatched, in a 4 a.m. brainstorming session with the founders Convincing a manufacturer to take a chance on three kids with $15,000 in their savings accounts Taking the leap to leave a six-figure job at Uber to launching your own company How CROSSNET has gotten into thousands of schools and is now being retailed in major stores such as Wal Mart The impact it has had on the sport of volleyball The next steps for CROSSNET, including getting it into Canada, Australia, and, yes, swimming pools Thanks as always for listening to SANDCAST, the No. 1 beach volleyball podcast in the world. This episode is, as always, brought to you by Wilson Volleyball. They make the best beach volleyballs in the game, hands down, and we’d love it if you could support them. Head over to Wison and use our discount code, Sandcast-20, to receive 20 percent off all purchases! Yes, we do get a kickback, but we see it as a win-win – you get a discount on the best balls in the game, we get a little extra love! We would also love it if you could check out our new YouTube channel! Bourne and Mewhirter are expanding the podcast, adding extra episodes and features on YouTube, so check us out and make sure to subscribe to get the latest updates! If you haven’t seen it yet, our book, Volleyball For Milkshakes, is for sale on Amazon! If you are a fan of the show, you’ll be a fan of this book, as it adds lessons and stories from our guests in a fictional tale based around the Outrigger Canoe Club, where Bourne learned how to play the game! Thank y’all so much for supporting the show. We couldn’t do it without you. SHOOTS!

18 Marras 202042min

Nick Lucena isn't ready for the life of the retired dad just yet

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Nick Lucena, one of the top defenders on the AVP and FIVB tours of his generation. In this episode, we discuss: What this year has looked like for Lucena, which began in Doha and ended in a wild trip to Australia Playing a fun, no-block tournament with Taylor Crabb Why he and Phil Dalhausser decided to split-block in the AVP Chicago tournament in 2018 What motivates Lucena, who is 41 years old, to continue playing The competitive streak that has kept him at the top of his game since his early 20s The four-week expedited training schedule he and Dalhausser undertook to prepare for the AVP Champions Cup How crazy the U.S. will look without Dalhausser and Jake Gibb in the game after this season This episode is, as always, brought to you by Wilson volleyball. They make the best balls in the game, and you can get 20 percent off by using our discount code, Sandcast-20. Be sure to check out our new book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, on Amazon and, if you're feeling extra magnanimous, drop us a review! It goes a long way. Thanks as always for listening! SHOOTS!

11 Marras 20201h 19min

Three gold medals of wisdom with Misty May-Treanor

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features one of the greatest of all time, if not the greatest of all time, in Misty May-Treanor. It was such a blast having May-Treanor on the show, one of the best we've had yet -- no surprise there. On the episode, we discuss: - What her life looks like today, as a retired athlete and current mother of three - Her even-keel mindset and ability to stay calm on the biggest stages in sport - What her training regimen looked like both in season and during off-season - How she built her brand on immersing herself amid the crowd -- literally -- and being physically present and available - Her and Kerri Walsh Jennings' partnership, and how they built the most dominant duo in beach volleyball history This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the BEST beach volleyballs in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20 to get 20 percent off all Wilson products. Also be sure to give us a subscribe on our YouTube channel! A follow would go a long way as Tri Bourne and I build our podcast. SHOOTS!

4 Marras 20201h 16min

Three years of unbelievable growth, change in three years of SANDCAST

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features the hosts, Bourne and Mewhirter, as well as a new voice on the show, Savvy Simo, as we celebrate our three year anniversary of doing the podcast. On this episode, we recap the long and short three-year journey we've been on, and answer a wide variety of fan questions, such as... - How would you rank the top 10 men's teams right now going into the Olympics in 2021? Norway still #1? - How would you rank Taylor within the group of top 5 defenders and why? - What is the direction that USAV is headed with Tyler Hildebrand going back to Nebraska? - Seems like the players would love more chances to play and you’ve seen first hand how into beach/sand volleyball places that don’t actually have beaches can be (Cincinnati) plus you’ve seen the indoor sand facilities. So what’s your take on playing sand indoors during the winter months? - You’ve done a great job of interviewing the players and giving a bit more depth to the game from this fan’s perspective. You asked for some questions. You’ll undoubtedly get the most [surprising, best, worst, hilarious, .. etc], but I’m curious if you see the growth and acceptance of the game changing? Are you more or less positive looking forward? And what about existing and potential sponsors - how do you see that world now? Many, many more. Thanks, as always, for listening to the show! If you want to drop us a review in iTunes, we'd appreciate it. And, as always, thanks to Wilson Volleyball for sponsoring the show! If you want 20 percent off the best balls in the game, check out Wilson using our discount code SANDCAST-20 for 20 percent off! SHOOTS!

28 Loka 20201h 11min

Julia Scoles: Finding peace amid life's biggest decisions

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Julia Scoles, a phenomenal indoor player at the University of North Carolina who transferred to Hawai'i to play beach after a series of concussions. After an incredibly successful stint as a Bow, Scoles transferred to USC, where, a year later, she is still waiting to make her debut as a Trojan. On this episode, we discuss: - Scoles' path from Carolina to Hawai'i to USC - Her steep learning curve on the beach - Winning her first tournament at the Waupaca Boatride with Hailey Harward - How she has found peace amid all these momentous life decisions, and the stress of going from the East Coast to halfway around the world to Hawai'i - Her five-year plan as a professional volleyball player after she graduates from USC As always, this episode is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the best balls in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20 to get 20 percent off all Wilson products! We would also LOVE it if you checked out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, which can be bought on Amazon. And, if you've already read it, drop us a review! It only helps spread the beach love :) SHOOTS!

21 Loka 202050min

Avery Drost: Becoming beach volleyball's ultimate utility man

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter is with Avery Drost, a longtime pro who has been competing on the AVP Tour for 10 years. On this episode, we discuss: - Drost winning the Hyden Beach AVP Next with Miles Partain - Just how good the 18-year-old Partain is becoming - Drost finding the best practice regimen and weight lifting schedule for his body - Finding the right playing weight - His goals when it comes to beach volleyball - Transitioning to a right-side defender with Ryan Doherty - His overall confusion -- in a good way -- over what position to play, given his ability to thrive all over the court This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the best beach volleyballs in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20, for 20 percent off! We'd love it if you checked out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, on Amazon, and we'd really love it if you dropped us a review as well! It goes a long way. SHOOTS!

14 Loka 202057min

Jordan Cheng: Making a career out of "Once in a lifetime opportunities"

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is with Jordan Cheng, the coach of Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil, the 10th-ranked team in the world and No. 3 in the American Olympic race. On this episode, we discuss: - Cheng's career as a coach, how his intentions to play professionally were constantly derailed by "once in a lifetime" coaching opportunities at Pepperdine, under Marv Dunphy, USA Volleyball under John Speraw, UCI, Reid Priddy and, now, Sponcil and Claes - How Cheng, 28 years old at the time, came to be the coach for Priddy, one of the best volleyball players of all time - His coaching philosophy: "I don't want to be a JV version of Jose Loiola. I want to be a varsity version of myself." - How he came to coach Claes and Sponcil - The importance of pursuing something bigger than beach volleyball This episode is, as always, brought to you by Wilson volleyball. They make the best balls in the game, and you can get 20 percent off by using our discount code, Sandcast-20. Be sure to check out our new book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, on Amazon and, if you're feeling extra magnanimous, drop us a review! It goes a long way. Thanks as always for listening! SHOOTS!

7 Loka 202050min

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On this episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, we answer fan questions in our "season ending" episode, even if there wasn't much of a season in the first place. Some of those questions include: - What's this secret event Tri has been training for? - Who are some of the younger players, other than Andy Benesh and Eric Beranek, we should be looking out for? - Is Miles Partain the real deal or what? - What beach players are getting out of the game after this year? - If you could change one thing about the Olympic qualifying process, what would it be? - What do you think the 2021 season will look like? We answer a few more as well. Enjoy! SHOOTS!

30 Syys 20201h 2min

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