Marcio Sicoli loves what he does: Coaching to Olympic medals, living vicariously through his players

Marcio Sicoli loves what he does: Coaching to Olympic medals, living vicariously through his players

It was 2005 when Tatiana Minello and Mimi Amaral needed a coach. Not just any coach. The natives of Rio de Janeiro were making the move to the AVP. They needed someone who could speak English.

“You speak English!” they said to Marcio Sicoli. “Let’s use you!”

The United States didn’t know it at the time, but one of the most successful beach volleyball coaches of this generation was about to cross its borders.

Sicoli was more than just a 25-year-old who both knew his way around the beach and could speak English. Already, he had an Olympic silver medal, having coached Shelda Kelly Bruno Bede and Adriana Brandao Behar to a silver at the Athens Games. That would seem young, by American standards, to have risen to the top of any kind of hierarchy, be it in sports or business, at that age. It is not so in Brazil.

“I was really involved in playing and at an early age, it was ‘Do you want to play or do you want to coach?’” Sicoli recalled on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter.

Sicoli took stock of his frame: 5-foot-11. Not short, but also not the fast track to developing as an elite player in the perpetually deepening Brazilian pipeline.

“Playing,” he said, “wasn’t an option.”

He took his father’s advice and enrolled in the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, setting for the indoor team but turning his focus mainly to his degree in Physical Education. He graduated in 2001, the same year he achieved a Level II certification in Brazilian Beach Volleyball, becoming the youngest to hold that title.

“I knew, early on, that I was a personal person,” he said. “I wouldn’t be talking to machines, I wouldn’t be talking to computers. I didn’t like that. I knew that. It was natural. In college, my sophomore year, I was playing on a team and I got an internship with PE at a high school and that was it. It’s that passion: To be with people, and drive through other peoples’ success. That’s what coaching is. If you see a process and you see something really cool happening that is not with you but someone else, and when that happens, great, and you move onto the next one.”

In 2007, his next move wasn’t an easy one. As it goes when you achieve certain levels of success, offers became coming in. Holly McPeak was one of the many to take note of Sicoli’s talents as a coach. The three-time Olympian offered him a full-time job, in the United States, to coach her and Logan Tom. She’d set him up with indoor contacts so he could make money during the off-season months.

Here Sicoli was, with a “job for life” as a PE teacher in Rio, a wife and family in Brazil – and an incredible offer in the United States.

“I talked to my dad and he looked at me and said ‘Worst case scenario, you’re coming back and I’ll be here for you,’” Sicoli recalled. “I said ‘Ok, let’s do it.’”

McPeak and Tom fizzled, but the indoor contact McPeak set Sicoli up with was Tim Jensen, then an assistant coach at Pepperdine.

“Twelve years later,” he said, smiling his cherubic smile.

Twelve years later, Sicoli is living a life that would have been difficult to imagine as a PE teacher in Rio. He’s an American citizen now, something he takes immense pride in, and though you are not likely to get him to talk politics, he will tell you that he’s thrilled to vote in the upcoming election. He has remarried, with an infant, Max, and another on the way. He has coached in two more Olympics, winning gold with Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor in London and bronze with Walsh Jennings and April Ross in 2016. He was promoted to head coach at Pepperdine in 2019, when Nina Matthies retired after an astonishing 35 years, one of the most successful individuals in the game.

Sicoli has never talked to machines. He does not sit in front of computers all day long. He’s doing what he has always been enamored with: Working with people, building relationships, thriving on the success of those he helps.

“I love what I do,” he said. “I don’t want to go anywhere. Hopefully I can do 20 more years then I can retire to the beachfront.”

Jaksot(500)

Answering the final fan questions in The Year Without Volleyball

Answering the final fan questions in The Year Without Volleyball

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter is fueled by you, the listeners, as Bourne and Mewhirter, with UCLA star defender Savvy Simo, answer your fan questions.  If you want your questions answered, or just want to chat, send us an email: sandcastpodcast@gmail.com.  On this episode, we discuss: - What can fans do to support the game, players, and help increase prize money? - If Tri wanted to teach blocking, where would he start and how would he progress? - How do you get over a bad offensive stretch/feeling like you can't get around a blocker? - Can you make a list of eligible women's blockers for the 2021 season? Asking for a friend Those, and many more.  Thanks, as always, for listening to SANDCAST, which recently topped the charts for the most listened-to volleyball podcast in six countries! Your support means the world, and we hope you have the MERRIEST OF CHRISTMASES and HAPPIEST OF NEW YEARS! If you're looking for last-minute Christmas ideas, we know the perfect gifts for the beach volleyball fans in your family. Check out Wilson volleyball, and use our discount code, Sandcast-20, to get 20 PERCENT OFF!  And, if you're looking for a legit backpack, our guys at Kamena Outdoor make the absolute best backpacks on the beach, with more than 17 years of tweaking and modifying to make it the perfect, long-lasting backpack you need. Use our discount code DIGME to get another 20 PERCENT OFF! Thanks, as always, to you, the listeners. Y'all are the real MVPs.  SHOOTS!

30 Joulu 20201h 3min

Billy Allen: The prolific, deadpanning, self-deprecating AVP champion and author

Billy Allen: The prolific, deadpanning, self-deprecating AVP champion and author

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Billy Allen, one of our favorites on the show who recently published his third book, Dark Blood, which you can find on Amazon and anywhere books are sold.  In our conversation with Billy Allen, we discuss: - His recent move Idaho, the new beach volleyball hotbed (we kid) - His book, Dark Blood, and the year and a half that went into writing it - His plans for beach volleyball, and how he will still be pursuing a full-time international and domestic career on the FIVB and AVP tours - New Coach Your Brains Out projects with his longtime partner and fellow good guy, John Mayer - Much more Thanks, as always, for listening to SANDCAST, which recently topped the charts for the most listened-to volleyball podcast in six countries! Your support means the world, and we hope you have the MERRIEST OF CHRISTMASES!  If you're looking for last-minute Christmas ideas, we know the perfect gifts for the beach volleyball fans in your family. Check out Wilson volleyball, and use our discount code, Sandcast-20, to get 20 PERCENT OFF!  And, if you're looking for a legit backpack, our guys at Kamena Outdoor make the absolute best backpacks on the beach, with more than 17 years of tweaking and modifying to make it the perfect, long-lasting backpack you need. Use our discount code DIGME to get another 20 PERCENT OFF! Thanks, as always, to you, the listeners. Y'all are the real MVPs.  SHOOTS!

23 Joulu 202055min

Learning doesn't stop, with Pri Lima

Learning doesn't stop, with Pri Lima

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features longtime beach volleyball professional, and seven-time NVL champion Pri Lima.  Lima is one of the ultimate good people in the sport of beach volleyball, a topic we'll get into a lot on the show. Along with her career, which spanned from Brazil to Louisiana to Florida and California, we discuss: - Her current role in the sport as a coach and mentor, expanding her club, Optimum Beach, to franchises in New York, Tennessee, and several locations in Florida.  - What it was like in her prime on the AVP Tour, at the peak of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings' powers, and how most players "were playing for fifth." - How the Brazilian Tour operates, and her experience on it, competing -- and beating -- with players like Maria Antonelli, Carolina Salgado, Taiana Lima.  - How the good people of Lafayette, Louisana made her professional career possible - The value of being a lifelong learner 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! This episode is also brought to you by Kamena Outdoor! Dave Kamena is a longtime beach volleyball enthusiast and has perfected his outdoor backpack over the previous 17 YEARS! It makes a great Christmas present, or just a great present for yourself. Head over to Kamena Outdoor to get your backpack today! 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!

16 Joulu 20201h 3min

Karch Kiraly, and the hunger to pursue mastery

Karch Kiraly, and the hunger to pursue mastery

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features the GOAT, Karch Kiraly. Currently the coach of the U.S. Women's National Team, Kiraly has won three gold medals and could very well win another as a coach in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.  This podcast is absolute GOLD -- pun fully intended. We cover the full range of topics, including: - Kiraly's upbringing, and how competing against grown men at 11 years old galvanized his pursuit of finding answers to win, and quickly - His difficult decision to give up beach to compete on the United States National Team, which resulted in his first gold medal at the 1984 Olympics - His wildly successful partnership with Kent Steffes - How he has been able to adapt at every evolution the game, indoor or beach, and remain at the top - SO MUCH MORE If there's one episode y'all should listen to, it should be no surprise that this is the one. Share it out, tell your friends and fellow volleyball fans.  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! This episode is also brought to you by Kamena Outdoor! Dave Kamena is a longtime beach volleyball enthusiast and has perfected his outdoor backpack over the previous 17 YEARS! It makes a great Christmas present, or just a great present for yourself. Head over to Kamena Outdoor to get your backpack today! 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!

9 Joulu 20201h 10min

Angie Akers: Beach volleyball's running, kickboxing Olympic coach

Angie Akers: Beach volleyball's running, kickboxing Olympic coach

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Angie Akers, the AVP and FIVB Rookie of the Year as a player and the new coach of April Ross and Alix Klineman.  On this episode, we discuss: - Akers' itinerant journey into beach volleyball, from road running to working for the Lehman Brothers to kickboxing to the beach - Her experience coaching for the Netherlands for the previous six years - How she fell into a training group with John Speraw, Jeff Nygaard, and John Hyden as her first training partners - Compiling an accomplished beach career despite not playing beach volleyball until she was 26 - How she became April Ross and Alix Klineman's new coach - A fun training camp to Brazil, and what's next for the A-Team 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! This episode is also brought to you by Kamena Outdoor! Dave Kamena is a longtime beach volleyball enthusiast and has perfected his outdoor backpack over the previous 17 YEARS! It makes a great Christmas present, or just a great present for yourself. Head over to Kamena Outdoor to get your backpack today! 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!

2 Joulu 20201h 4min

Mailbag: How does off-season training differ from in-season? Other fan questions

Mailbag: How does off-season training differ from in-season? Other fan questions

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features fan question host Savvy Simo, who asked a wide variety of fan questions for the show.  On this episode, Bourne, Mewhirter, and Simo discuss: - What guest did we learn the most from? - How does off-season training differ from in-season training in beach volleyball? - Why is cornhole and drone racing on ESPN but not beach volleyball? - What are the financials of an up-and-comer in beach volleyball?  - What are the best ways to learn the Xs and Os of beach volleyball? And much, much more.  Thank you, as always, for watching the show, and thank you all for your fan questions! To submit a question, either each out to us on Instagram (@trammew, @tribourne) or our email, sandcastpodcast@gmail.com.  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!

25 Marras 20201h 10min

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

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

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

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