Christian Hartford is changing the culture at USA Volleyball

Christian Hartford is changing the culture at USA Volleyball

Alex Brouwer sought the source of the voice. The one that perpetually stood out from among 13,000 screaming Germans at the World Championships in Hamburg. The one that was always heard by any player competing against an American team.

When he found the bearded face of Christian Hartford, the Dutchman pumped a fist and said “Let’s go U.S.A.!”

That is but a brief but encompassing glimpse into the enthusiasm that Hartford has brought into the gym at USA Volleyball.

“We’ll be on the bike, and he’s always screaming at you,” Tri Bourne said on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter.

Never is Hartford screaming in a negative light. He’s not a Navy commander, barking orders. He’s lifting up, encouraging, pushing, to the point that even someone like Alex Brouwer, the defender on the Netherlands’ top team and a former World Champ, can buy in.

“I remember my first couple months, Trevor [Crabb] was like ‘Who the hell is this guy? He never shuts up!’” Hartford recalled, laughing. “That was my job. I want to make that weight room the most positive, engaging environment possible. That doesn’t mean we’re going to have full out conversations of how your wife and kids are doing or your boyfriend or girlfriend. But when you walk through the door, I’m going to greet you. When you’re in there training, I’m going to engage and music is going to be blasting.”

Hartford knows, both from personal experience as an elite athlete himself and from half a decade of training college teams, it’s not a one-size-fits all approach. His day might consist of working with 44-year-old Jake Gibb in the morning on the sand, shifting to helping 23-year-old Sarah Sponcil in the afternoon and prescribing a weight program for indoor convert David Lee in the evening.

“We always talk about individualization and how you’re going to be able to do this program because as beach volleyball players, you’re all going to need certain characteristics,” said Hartford, who walked on to Wake Forest as a quarterback and received his masters from Northwestern. “Athlete A may get it a lot differently than Athlete B but also Athlete C might have a much different strength in their game that needs to be focused on than Athlete B. So you have to take into account all these individualizations.”

In that sense, it is perhaps Hartford’s greatest strength that, prior to USA Volleyball, he had little to no experience on the beach, but was an expert in virtually every other sport. As a quarterback at Wake Forest, he knew how to train football players. As a strength and conditioning coach at Northwestern, he worked with 115 athletes across a wide variety of disciplines. At Maryland, he helped with gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, wrestling, softball, and indoor volleyball.

All of that switching made his ability to pick up a new sport, reverting back to a beginner’s mindset, that much easier. He didn’t walk onto the beach proclaiming to know everything. Instead, he acknowledged he knew little. He asked questions, attaining his own unofficial Beach Volleyball Certification through coaches like Rich Lambourne, Jen Kessy, Jose Loiola and Tyler Hildebrand.

“Being around all these different sports as the strength coach, you don’t have any other choice but to learn everything about that sport,” Hartford said. “Diving in headfirst into whatever sport you’re working with and being at practice and asking coaches questions, watching film, going to competitions to see the environment and just the pure nature of each sport, I think that type of diversity in my coaching background helped me a ton with the transition to the beach.”

Most athletic performance coaches would be able to do that, in some form or other. Some might take longer. Some might pick it up as quickly as Hartford, who is immensely popular among the athletes, has. But what separates Hartford from the other candidates who sought the job is that he brings more than an ability to prescribe a quality training regimen.

For the first time in Bourne’s memory, there’s a tangible culture being set at USA Volleyball.

“When I got here I asked Tyler Hildebrand ‘What are we trying to create here, culture wise? What environment are we trying to create?’” Hartford said. “We were striving for a new culture.”

He acknowledges that it won’t be akin to a college team, that he’ll be working with Gibb and Bourne at the same time, despite them both vying for the same spot in the Tokyo Olympics. But still, you can find Chaim Schalk and Sponcil competing in Spikeball contests in the weight room. Athletes cheering their fellow athletes in pull-up contests. Others pushing one another on the assault bike.

“Try training 18 gymnasts at 5 in the afternoon after practice,” Hartford said. “You need as much positive energy as you can in that moment so I’m used to creating that and that’s always been a part of my mission is to create the most positive, productive training environment possible.

“To be in this environment where we have 25-30 athletes, it’s been incredible to build all of those relationships. Whenever you’re able to do that, you’re able to dive a lot deeper into the training process and thought process of what you’re doing. You’re also able to get a little more creative with your process as well. A huge piece has been being able to watch and talk to and see every single athlete as an individual perform and see what that person needs from a strength and conditioning side to get better. For me to be working with a specialized crew in a much smaller volume, it’s been a blessing because now I can see them practice, see them live, see how they jump, see how they swing and also talk to their coaches. You can really dive a lot deeper into these training programs.”

Jaksot(500)

Can the USA win back to back golds? Women's Olympic Indoor Volleyball Preview

Can the USA win back to back golds? Women's Olympic Indoor Volleyball Preview

This women's Olympic indoor volleyball preview is sponsored by BetOnline! Finally we have a betting sponsor y'all! Use our specific link to sign up and SANDCAST gets a $70 bonus! https://www.betonline.ag/?btag=l2Q0kqrs0suk3WqdcAbDv2Nd7ZgqdRLk&affid=111149 *** We are breaking out all the stops for our coverage of the Paris Olympic Games, subbing out the Road to Paris for the Paris Pod, or the Olympic Outlook -- your choice! We're bringing in indoor volleyball expert Matt Prosser to break down the men's and women’s Olympic indoor volleyball preview. - How can the USA win back to back gold medals after winning their first in Tokyo in 2021? - Does Italy, the odds-on favorite, have what it takes to win gold? - Where do Turkey and Brazil stand in terms of likelihood to make the podium? - Does Poland have a Cinderella run in it? That and more, as the Olympic Games are less than two weeks away! *** Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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

19 Heinä 202427min

Zoe Verge-Depre and Esmee Bobner: Qualifying for the Paris Olympics by Doing it Their Own Way

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This Olympic episode is sponsored by BetOnline! Finally we have a betting sponsor y'all! Use our specific link to sign up and SANDCAST gets a $70 bonus! https://www.betonline.ag/?btag=l2Q0kqrs0suk3WqdcAbDv2Nd7ZgqdRLk&affid=111149   *** This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Zoe Verge-Depre and Esmee Bobner, one of the fastest rising teams in beach volleyball and Switzerland’s No. 2 team heading into the Paris Olympic Games. We recorded this episode with Kyle Friend as a co-host in Gstaad, home of Verge-Depre and Bobner and home to one of the most epic events on the volleyball calendar. We chat about: Their rapid rise up through the ranks and into the Olympic Games Why they never felt confident throughout the entire Olympic race What it was like for Zoe to race against her sister, Anouk Verge-Depre, for the final spot in Paris Why “doing you” even when it comes with making mistakes, is the best way to learn and grow on the Beach Pro Tour That, and so much more. Super fun chat with Zoe and Esmee! SHOOTS! *** Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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

17 Heinä 202440min

MEN'S OLYMPIC INDOOR VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW AND BETTING GUIDE: Can Anybody Stop Italy?

MEN'S OLYMPIC INDOOR VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW AND BETTING GUIDE: Can Anybody Stop Italy?

This men's Olympic indoor volleyball preview is sponsored by BetOnline! Finally we have a betting sponsor y'all! Use our specific link to sign up and SANDCAST gets a $70 bonus! https://www.betonline.ag/?btag=l2Q0kqrs0suk3WqdcAbDv2Nd7ZgqdRLk&affid=111149 *** We are breaking out all the stops for our coverage of the Paris Olympic Games, subbing out the Road to Paris for the Paris Pod, or the Olympic Outlook -- your choice! We're bringing in indoor volleyball expert Matt Prosser to break down the men's Olympic indoor volleyball preview. - Can anybody stop Italy? - Can France repeat as Olympic champs, riding the high of a VNL victory? - What does the United States need to do to get back on the podium and atone for the disastrous performance at the Tokyo Olympic Games? - Does Poland have a shot at winning gold at the Paris Olympics? That and more, as the Olympic Games are less than two weeks away! *** Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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

15 Heinä 202444min

George Wanderley: Brazil's Top Defender in Search of an Olympic Podium

George Wanderley: Brazil's Top Defender in Search of an Olympic Podium

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features George Wanderley, one of the best defenders in the world who will be competing in his first Olympic Games later this summer with Andre Loyola. George is the owner of two youth World Championships with Arthur Mariano, a World Championship bronze medal, and five medals in the 2024 season alone, tied for most in the world with Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig. Such a fun chat with George on his balcony in Gstaad, in which we cover: What it was like growing up around Ricardo Santos, Emanuel Rego, Alison Cerruti, Bruno Schmidt, and the other legends of the game Why he wishes more young talent hit World Tour earlier, as he did when he was just a teenager How he and Andre Loyola maximize their play on the court by being best friends (and literal best men) off of it His prime mental state prior to a match And so, so much more. Absolute blast with George! SHOOTS! *** Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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

10 Heinä 20241h 9min

Savvy Simo: Putting mental health at the forefront of professional sports

Savvy Simo: Putting mental health at the forefront of professional sports

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Savvy Simo. Long one of our co-hosts, Savvy is also a rising talent on the AVP Tour and the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. And she's thriving in spite of going through regular panic attacks that, in her words, make her "feel like I'm going to die." Including on the court at the recent Stare Jablonki Challenge, where she didn't sleep and had a panic attack in the middle of a match. Incredible vulnerability from Sav on this one, on which we chat about: Why she feels like she’s playing her best beach volleyball this season Her history of panic attacks, and how she felt as if she “was going to die” at the Stare Jablonki Challenge Why she now views her perpetual anxiety as a superpower How she has managed her anxiety and panic attacks up to this point And so, so much more. Really, really good episode with Sav. SHOOTS! *** Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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

3 Heinä 20241h 27min

Mark Paaluhi, and the revival of professional beach volleyball in Hermosa Beach

Mark Paaluhi, and the revival of professional beach volleyball in Hermosa Beach

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Mark Paaluhi, the man who is currently keeping professional beach volleyball alive in Hermosa Beach. How? By running a city-held Hermosa Beach Open. When the city and the AVP couldn’t come to terms on an event in 2024, Paaluhi stepped up and has since taken the reins. The 2024 Hermosa Beach Open will be held September 4-7 in Hermosa Beach, California. There will be a qualifier on September 4, while the main draw will be held on the 5, 6, and 7. Volleyball TV will be streaming the event. For more information and how to support, go to https://hermosa-open.com/ We chat all about that, as well as: Why Paaluhi decided to take on the monster task of putting on a major tournament How popcorn was his ultimate lightbulb moment What Hermosa Beach means to the beach volleyball community Why it will be an old school feel to this tournament, and why Paaluhi thinks that’s the way of the sport moving forward SHOOTS! *** Book your spot in Root and Fruit Nutrition's new Genomic Edge Program! Just 30 spots remain in a must-have competitive edge! Looking for the cleanest supplements in the business? Momentous has you covered. Use SANDCAST15 for 15 percent off.  Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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

26 Kesä 20241h 19min

Ben O'Dea, Brad Fuller: Putting New Zealand Volleyball Back on the Map

Ben O'Dea, Brad Fuller: Putting New Zealand Volleyball Back on the Map

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Ben O’Dea and Brad Fuller. They’re New Zealand’s top beach volleyball team, and will be competing in China this weekend for one last shot at an Olympic berth through the Asian Continental Cup. The O’Dea name has been synonymous with New Zealand beach volleyball for years, as Ben and his brother, Sam, were essentially the only ones doing it full-time. But with the return of Jason Lochhead, the federation pumped in more funding, and has been on a steady improvement ever since. We chat all about that, as well as: Why O’Dea and Fuller feel like they’re on the precipice of a major breakthrough Why both Fuller and O’Dea didn’t want to retire before partnering with the other one What an Olympic bid would mean to the New Zealand beach volleyball federation Why Jason Lochhead’s return was such a big deal And, as always, much, much more. SHOOTS! *** Book your spot in Root and Fruit Nutrition's new Genomic Edge Program! Just 30 spots remain in a must-have competitive edge! Looking for the cleanest supplements in the business? Momentous has you covered. Use SANDCAST15 for 15 percent off.  Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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

19 Kesä 20241h 31min

Road to Paris: France Goes CLUTCH Mode in Continental Cup, and the Netherlands Gets "Bizarre"

Road to Paris: France Goes CLUTCH Mode in Continental Cup, and the Netherlands Gets "Bizarre"

On this episode of the Road to Paris, Travis Mewhirter breaks down the European Continental Cup -- a fancy way of saying Olympic trial -- where France's Arnaud Gauthier-Rat and Teo Rotar, and Julien Lyneel and Remi Bassereau went absolute clutch mode and clinched a second Olympic spot for the French men. Meanwhile, four young Dutch women, Brecht Piersma and Wies Bekhuis, and Kirsten Broring and Emi van Driel, won the bid for the women...or so you might think. But a weird rule in the Netherlands has muddied things up a bit, and Mewhirter explains what in the world is happening (as best he can). Thanks as always to Producers 1 and 2, for you, the viewers. Happy Father's Day all! SHOOTS! *** Book your spot in Root and Fruit Nutrition's new Genomic Edge Program! Just 30 spots remain in a must-have competitive edge! Looking for the cleanest supplements in the business? Momentous has you covered. Use SANDCAST15 for 15 percent off.  Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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

17 Kesä 202415min

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