Hector Gutierrez is building another college beach southeast power at TCU

Hector Gutierrez is building another college beach southeast power at TCU

Hector Guitierrez sat outside of his home in Fort Worth, Texas, a purple TCU sweatshirt protecting him from a cool breeze, and hat shading him from the sun.

“You never know,” he said on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, “what life can bring you, right?”

Currently, everyone in the world, no matter location or industry or title, can empathize. This time of year is typically a critical period for Guitierrez at TCU, a burgeoning college beach program that was 11-4 and ranked No. 15 in the country when the season was cancelled due to Covid-19. Odd as these times are for the world, it is almost more confounding to Guitierrez that he is here at all, in Fort Worth, Texas, coaching a college beach volleyball team.

A native of the Canary Islands, Guitierrez was raised primarily in Tenerife, Spain, which has become one of the most popular off-season training sites in the world for European beach volleyball teams. Guitierrez’s own professional journey was a precocious one. Debuting on the professional scene at the age of 17, Guitierrez competed for the C.V Orotava team that, in 2004, finished second in the FEV Spanish Volleyball League. He played indoors all over Europe, and in the summer, he’d return to the island and play beach. Fun as it was to be a professional athlete, getting paid to travel, compete, play volleyball all day long, Guitierrez knew his own limits.

“When I was playing, around 27 or 28, it was an ‘I’m kind of done’ type of thing,” he said with a laugh. For some players, the transition to coaching is an arduous one. Jose Loiola, a member of the Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame and winner of 55 events in his career, struggled mightily, saying that “you have to kill the player inside.”

Guitierrez chuckled at that notion.

“I was a good player,” he said, “but I wasn’t at the level of Jose Loiola.”

The coach in him was already more alive than the player.

He volunteered to help a few indoor players competing in Switzerland transition to the beach, building from there. He coached indoor in Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Germany, which led to an up-and-coming German beach team, Karla Borger and Britta Buthe, taking him on as their coach. In 2012, they’d take a silver medal at the World Championships, finishing the season ranked No. 11 in the world.

National teams took note. Slovakia hired Guitierrez, who helped Dominika Nestracova and Natalia Dubovcova to a bronze at the Stavanger Grand Slam. The U.S., too, brought Guitierrez on board, where he oversaw Brittany Hochevar and Heather McGuire and Hochevar and Jen Fopma.

By then, the college game had begun building momentum, and Guitierrez accepted an offer to assist Florida State, a rising power in the southeast. But the Seminoles had already proven themselves. While Guitierrez certainly helped a great deal as they took second at the 2016 NCAA Championships, “it was already an established program,” Guitierrez said. “You’re going to Nationals all the time. You’re trying to win a National Championship.”

TCU was not Florida State. Not yet, anyway.

When Guitierrez received word, on Nov. 9, 2016, that he had been hired as the head coach of the beach volleyball program, it had only been in existence for one year. The Frogs hadn’t won a single match.

“It’s a challenge but there’s a side of it that it belongs to me and my staff: We built this,” Guitierrez said. “We’re moving this train in the right direction.”

There is no arguing that. The next season, Guitierrez’s first, the Frogs finished 18-7. In two of the next three, TCU produced 18 wins. Midway through the 2020 season, TCU, with quality wins over South Carolina and Arizona, was making a case – still an outside case, but a case nonetheless – for an East Region bid to the NCAA Championships, which would have been the first in school history.

“We’re in a good situation but we need to catch up soon because we don’t want to be at the back of the train,” he said. “You need to be realistic with what we have and what we can build. I’m a really competitive coach and I want to build up quick. We’re accomplishing that right now.”

Guitierrez will get two of his seniors back for one more year. He’ll also return 11 others from the 2020 team, including freshman Daniela Alvarez, who had made an immediate presence on court one partnered with LSU transfer Olivia Beyer.

The Frogs have come a long way from 0-11 five years ago, just as Guitierrez has come a long way from the Canary Islands and much of Europe.

“There’s a special moment in coaching where they players begin to trust what I see,” he said. “That’s the ultimate goal as a coach: If I can get you to trust me, we’re going to do great things.”

Jaksot(500)

Melissa Humana-Paredes, Brandie Wilkerson and the complete overhaul of Canada's top team

Melissa Humana-Paredes, Brandie Wilkerson and the complete overhaul of Canada's top team

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes, one of the best beach volleyball teams in the world coming off a silver medal at the season-opening Doha Elite16 – a tournament in which they alas vanquished Brazilians Ana Patricia Silva and Duda Lisboa. We chat all about Doha, as well as Their first year together as partners, and the various lessons they learned Why, in spite of 10 tournaments without a finish worse than fifth in 2023, their coach, Marcio Sicoli, scrapped everything and started anew in 2024. The importance of continuous improvement and embracing the unknown The joys of working with high-performance sports psychologist Michael Gervais, a two-time guest on the show Their approach to the upcoming Olympics in Paris, and the value of the journey and the joy they bring to the sport. And, as always, so much more. Such a joy to sit down with Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson. 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 SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  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 Huhti 20241h 20min

Miles Partain, Andy Benesh, and the mindset shift that changed everything

Miles Partain, Andy Benesh, and the mindset shift that changed everything

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features one of the best and brightest teams in all of beach volleyball: Miles Partain and Andy Benesh. This is, honestly, maybe the best, most insightful, most vulnerable episode we’ve ever done, and I cannot recommend it enough. Miles Partain and Andy Benesh chat about: Their experiences and growth as professional beach volleyball players. They reflect on key moments in their careers, such as their first podium finish in Ostrava and the impact of certain matches – like wins over Anders Mol and Christian Sorum -- on their season. Their unique playing style of jump setting and optioning, and how it has evolved over time. Miles Partain’s struggles mentally, to the point that he viewed himself as a loser, and the revelations he’s had this off-season to completely shift the narrative he was telling himself The role of faith and belief in shaping confidence and manifesting success. The importance of learning from both wins and losses and the value of patience and growth over time. Such a good one. Cannot recommend it enough. 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 SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  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 Huhti 20241h 31min

Road to Paris: Brazil mens' race winds down while USA men, Canadian women heat up

Road to Paris: Brazil mens' race winds down while USA men, Canadian women heat up

Welcome back to the Road to Paris, where Travis Mewhirter breaks down the race to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. This episode follows the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Recife Challenge and Saquarema Challenge, covering: - How Evandro Goncalves and Arthur Mariano just delivered the knockout punch to Pedro Salgado and Guto Carvalhaes - Sophie Bukovec and Heather Bansley making a surge up the rankings, contending for the second Canadian spot - Laura Ludwig and Louisa Lippmann's massive silver medal - Chase Budinger and Miles Evans now neck and neck with Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner And a whole lot more. So fun being in Brazil then getting to chat about it. 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 SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  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

1 Huhti 202427min

Tim Brewster, Kyle Friend, and the most unique partnership in beach volleyball

Tim Brewster, Kyle Friend, and the most unique partnership in beach volleyball

In this episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, we have one of the most unique teams on the AVP and Beach Pro Tours in Tim Brewster and Kyle Friend. What makes them unique? They are, as far as we know, the only male partners who are also dating, making for a fascinating dynamic on and off the court. We get into that, as well as: Their recent NORCECA win, and the pros and cons of competing in NORCECAs vs. Beach Pro Tour Futures events The uncertainty of the AVP rankings, and the high-stakes nature of having only three events on the 2024 schedule They also touch on the dynamics of their on-court and off-court relationship and the growth they have experienced together. Tim Brewster's transition and growth as a player, from fringe qualifier talent to taking top-fives regularly on the AVP. And a whole lot more. Such a fun chat with Tim and Kyle! 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 SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  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

27 Maalis 20241h 21min

Sophie Bukovec, and the invaluable lessons from a "not exactly seamless" three years

Sophie Bukovec, and the invaluable lessons from a "not exactly seamless" three years

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Sophie Bukovec, one of the top players in Canada and a silver medalist at the 2022 Beach Volleyball World Championships. The last three years haven’t been, as Bukovec says, “exactly seamless,” with three partners in as many seasons, but like when most things don’t go to plan, Bukovec came away with a bounty of lessons, and a new perspective on life, both as a player and not. We chat all about that, as well as: What happened with her and Sarah Pavan after just three (decent) tournaments How she managed to get Heather Bansley out of retirement Heather Bansley’s impact on Volleyball Canada Why Sophie Bukovec is modeling the player she wants to be off the player she’s currently playing with it, and the peace that comes with And a whole lot more. Fun one with Sophie! SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  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

20 Maalis 20241h 11min

Sam Schachter, Dan Dearing, and the New Culture of Canada's Top Team

Sam Schachter, Dan Dearing, and the New Culture of Canada's Top Team

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features our annual Spring-is-here episode with our neighbors up North: Sam Schachter and Dan Dearing. Per usual, they dropped by Hermosa Beach for a month for a pre-season training camp, gearing up for a final push at the 2024 Paris Olympics. On this episode, we chatted about: What lessons Sam Schachter and Dan Dearing learned from a very full 2023 season The new standards of their coach, Srdjan Veckov, and why he was actually mad when Sam Schachter and Dan Dearing beat Miles Partain and Andy Benesh last December The new culture of their team, and why Dan Dearing is now gladly puking after conditioning (well…kind of gladly) The thin margins between victory and defeat at the Challenge and Elite16 level And much more. NOTE: Dan’s mic got unplugged and his audio is absolutely terrible. Our streak of mostly decent audio is back to zero. Apologies for the gaffe and we appreciate your patience, as always. SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  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

13 Maalis 20241h 28min

Road to Paris: Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot Just Did That

Road to Paris: Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot Just Did That

This episode of The Road to Paris, Travis Mewhirter’s breakdown of the Olympic Beach Volleyball race to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, follows the season-opening Doha Elite16, where Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot won a shocking gold (not shocking that they won, but shocking in how they did it), Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova took a critical fourth, Laura Ludwig and Louisa Lippmann made the most of their wild card, and Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner continued tacking onto their lead. On this episode, Travis chats about: Why Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot are now nearly a lock to qualify for Paris, despite having only eight finishes Why those 100 percent probabilities for Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova were on the money Chase Budinger and Miles Evans’ awesome, but also discouraging, finish in Doha (and a shout-out by Brandon Walker and Mark Titus at Barstool Sports) Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Mader jumping into the No. 2 Swiss spot for the first time And a little bit of everything in between. What a fun start to the year, and only more to come. SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  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

11 Maalis 202420min

Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth set out to "rewrite the script." They've done that and more

Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth set out to "rewrite the script." They've done that and more

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features an annual fan-favorite: Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth. In for a month-long training camp in California, Nuss and Kloth are perhaps the most unique team in the sport, and maybe the most unique pair USA Volleyball has ever had. Living in Louisiana? Five-foot-6 defender? A blocker from South Dakota? And they’re…No. 2 in the world? How does that happen? We chat all about it, as well as: The moment they realized they had qualified for the Olympics How they feel like veterans already, and it’s just year three What led to their breakthrough season in 2023, one in which they won seven medals in 12 events. What makes them so special as a team, the secret sauce that is TKN And so much more. AWESOME CONVERSATION with two of the best people (and players) in the sport. SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  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

6 Maalis 20241h 15min

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