Mailbag: Who are the top five blockers and defenders in the world? More fan questions

Mailbag: Who are the top five blockers and defenders in the world? More fan questions

Typically, I’d be a bit neurotic by now. Short on sleep. Distracted. Mind ping-ponging back and forth, looking at the draw, then looking again – did it change did it change?

This, of course, is not the typical pre-AVP Huntington Beach qualifier eve. This is just a Wednesday like any other in the off-season: no events on the foreseeable horizon. Nothing specific to train for.

Sleep comes easy.

In such a strangely uncertain sports world, Tri and I opened up SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, to fan questions, and we did our best to answer, or at least opine, on them. A few I’ve written our responses to. Because nobody wants to read 3,000 words of me answering questions, you can find our answers to the rest on our episode.

Question one: Who are some younger players to watch out for (not obvious ones like Eric Beranek, etc.) Where do you think the season will begin? Where have you been training? (and we know you have, wink)

This is always such a difficult list for the men, because there really aren’t many youngsters who would willingly commit to beach over indoor. Kawika Shoji discussed that very thing last week on SANDCAST, and the list of reasons is nearly endless, with financial security being the most obvious. However, there are a handful. Miles Partain is the obvious candidate here. At just 18 years old and still in high school, he already has a fifth-place AVP finish to his name, at AVP Chicago with Paul Lotman. He made the final three AVP main draws of the season – Manhattan, Chicago, Hawai’i – and trained the entire off-season under coach Tyler Hildebrand and our top national teams. He’s a can’t-miss up-and-comer.

The women, meanwhile, are nearly endless. Peruse the top two courts at any of the top 15 or so college programs and you have AVP main draw talents. The names I’ll point you to, however, are these: Savvy Simo and Abby Van Winkle (UCLA), Alaina Chacon and Molly McBain (Florida State), Haley Harward (USC), Brook Bauer and Deahna Kraft (Pepperdine), Julia Scoles and Morgan Martin (Hawai’i), Delaynie Maple and Megan Kraft (committed to USC), Torrey Van Winden (Cal Poly), Reka Orsi Toth and Iya Lindahl (LMU), Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Carly Perales (Stetson), Dani Alvarez (TCU), Kristen Nuss and Claire Coppola (LSU), Mima Mirkovic (Cal).

Of the bunch, my breakout selection would be Simo, UCLA’s dynamic court one defender and unquestioned leader of the team I would have bet a fair amount of American dollars to win the National Championship. She has all the potential to become this year’s version of a Sarah Sponcil, who made the finals in her first AVP event, or Zana Muno, another Bruin who made an AVP semifinal in her rookie season.

Question two: Should the AVP start a Dino Division for players post 50 who still want to compete 3-4 times per year? Golf has masters, AVP has dino?

I thought this question was hysterical in the best of ways. Idealistically, this sounds great. Who wouldn’t want to watch Tim Hovland yap with Sinjin Smith, while the always-quiet Mike Dodd digs balls and Randy Stoklos yells about how he was the first person to ever hand set? I’m game. But it is, let’s all be honest here, a bit quixotic. The AVP does well enough to put on eight events for the best, most explosive players in the world, and when compared to the major sports, there’s a niche market at best.

Would there really be a market for old men with big mouths and small verticals?

The dino is such a great event because it’s the only one – and it’s given a shot of life with younger players such as Tayor Crabb to help carry their older counterparts. It’s fun, competitive, and a little heartwarming.

Golf’s Champions Tour works because guys like Tom Watson and Fred Couples can still compete at close to the same level they could when they were in their primes. There’s no impact on their bodies, and the level of play is still astonishingly high. Watson, for example, finished second at The Open Championship in 2009, losing in a four-hole playoff, 26 years after his most recent major win, when he was 60 years old.

I have no doubt that Sinjin can still ball. But could he get out there with Stoklos and take Jake Gibb and Crabb to three sets in the finals of the Manhattan Beach Open? Doubtful.

I think p1440 nailed an older-aged event when they hosted a four-on-four match featuring two legends and two current pros on either team. There’s certainly a market and space for something whimsical like that to happen a few times per year.

Until then, keep the Dino the great, annual event that it is.

Question 3: Will there be a new BVB book (got my copy signed by Tri in Hamburg)?

Yes. Maybe. I can’t tell you for sure. But all I can say is that there could, potentially, be a possibility of an upcoming beach volleyball book to be released in early summer.

Question 4: Rate your top 5 male defenders/blockers internationally.

This was such a fun one to discuss. Everybody keeps talking about how much parity there is on the world tour, and with good reason. Attempting to nail down the top five defenders is, to me, like trying to rank my favorite golf courses in Myrtle Beach – they’re all the best courses.

The top five blockers came a little easier. We decided on:

  1. Anders Mol, Norway
  2. Oleg Stoyanovskiy, Russia
  3. Phil Dalhausser, United States
  4. Alison Cerutti, Brazil
  5. Evandro Goncalves, Brazil

Honorable mentions included: Paolo Nicolai, Italy; Michal Bryl, Poland; Jake Gibb, United States; Tri Bourne, United States; Julius Thole, Germany.

The defenders weren’t so clear-cut. It’s impossible to rank them because they’re all playing behind blockers of varying sizes and abilities. But we wound up pinning it down to:

  1. Taylor Crabb, United States (we are prepared to duke it out from six feet away with those who disagree)
  2. Christian Sorum, Norway
  3. Clemens Wickler, Germany
  4. Viacheslav Krasilnikov, Russia
  5. Grzegorz Fijalek, Poland

Honorable mentions included: Alvaro Filho, Brazil; Bruno Schmidt, Brazil; Adrian Carambula, Italy; Nick Lucena, United States; Daniele Lupo, Italy.

Jaksot(500)

Finn Taylor, Volleyball World CEO, is out to build a legacy in beach volleyball

Finn Taylor, Volleyball World CEO, is out to build a legacy in beach volleyball

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. We brought in Finn Taylor, the new CEO at Volleyball World, and we chatted all things volleyball. If you’re wondering what the new world International Volleyball will look like, and how Taylor plans on finally capitalizing on the massive untapped market of beach volleyball, this is an absolute must-listen. On this episode, we discuss: The first steps Taylor took when he accepted the job as CEO of Volleyball World How he plans on CHARGING FOR ADMISSION (clap clap clap) at events A new plan for scheduling events and building traditions at each site The necessary feedback, and how Volleyball World is listening, from the players And so, so, so much more. ENJOY! *** 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/ This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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 Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/ SHOOTS!

15 Joulu 202152min

Taylor Sander: ‘We‘re going to put on a show‘

Taylor Sander: ‘We‘re going to put on a show‘

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features probably our most-asked-for guest of the 2021 year: Indoor sensation, and new beach convert, Taylor Sander. For the past decade or so, Sander has been one of the best outside hitters in the United States, a four-time All-American at BYU, Olympic bronze medalist in 2016, and a member of the 2021 Tokyo Olympic team. Now, he’s a beach guy, teaming up with Taylor Crabb to make a push for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on the beach. In this episode, we discuss: What in the world beach volleyball players do in the off-season months, when Sander would normally be playing indoors overseas How his transition to beach began, and a surprising text from Taylor Crabb His beach volleyball debut in Itapema, Brazil, where he and Crabb finished ninth The improvements he’s seeking to make during the off-season And, as always, much, much more. ENJOY! *** 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/ This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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 Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/ SHOOTS!

8 Joulu 202155min

Mailbag! Partner news, Taylor Sander‘s debut, off-season training, AVP Uncovered, best players to watch

Mailbag! Partner news, Taylor Sander‘s debut, off-season training, AVP Uncovered, best players to watch

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is our monthly fan question episode, featuring our favorite former UCLA Bruin and up and coming AVP star, Savvy Simo.  Off-season is officially upon us, and most of the questions we answered are of the off-season variety: - Any partnership news on the AVP or Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour? - Can you break down Taylor Sander's beach debut in Itapema?  - What do we think of the upcoming AVP Uncovered documentary? - What does off-season training look like for you?  And, as always, much, much more.  If you have any fan questions, please reach out: sandcastpodcast@gmail.com ENJOY! *** 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/ This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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 Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/ SHOOTS!

1 Joulu 20211h 9min

Javier Bello and Joaquin Bello are putting England beach volleyball on the map

Javier Bello and Joaquin Bello are putting England beach volleyball on the map

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Javier Bello and Joaquin Bello, the No. 1 beach volleyball team in England. The brothers, who are 21 years old and fraternal twins, are the back-to-back defending National Champions in England, who finished the season with two gold medals and a bronze. On this episode, we discuss: How a team from England even gets into beach volleyball in the first place Their move from Madrid to London Why Karch Kiraly played such an important role in their dedication to beach volleyball Turning their season around after losing in eight straight three set matches The future of England beach volleyball And, as always, much, much more. ENJOY! *** 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/ This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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 Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/ SHOOTS!

24 Marras 202153min

The Road Dog life of Logan Webber

The Road Dog life of Logan Webber

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features one of the greatest road dogs in the game right now: Logan Webber. This past year, Webber enjoyed the finest season of his career, winning AVP Next Golds in New Orleans, Waupaca, and Seaside, made main draws in Manhattan Beach and Chicago, and finished the season with a victory at the Laguna Beach Open. On this episode, we discuss: - The nomadic life Logan Webber is living, and why that’s helped him improve at such a fast rate - His breakthrough victory at the AVP Next Gold in New Orleans with Evan Cory - Why 2021 was such a successful season for him - The value of playing dozens of tournaments a season And, as always, much, much more. ENJOY! *** 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/ This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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 Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/ SHOOTS!

17 Marras 20211h 8min

Terese Cannon‘s extraordinary beach life is only just beginning

Terese Cannon‘s extraordinary beach life is only just beginning

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features two-time USC National Champion and rising professional player Terese Cannon. Cannon’s journey is a unique one, even in a sport replete with unique journeys. Raised in Rochester, New York, Cannon played minimally on the beach growing up. But a weird freshman season indoors at Georgetown led her to reaching out to Anna Collier, which resulted in a walk-on spot at USC, and, well, the rest is currently Cannon’s history in the making. On this episode, we discuss: Cannon finishing a volatile season, in which she lost in six straight country quotas, with a cherry on top: Main draw in the Itapema four-star The life-changing experience that was the Cancun Bubble How grateful she is for the life journey she’s on, traveling the world, playing volleyball The ability to learn from losses And, as always, much, much more. ENJOY! *** 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/ This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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  Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/ SHOOTS!

10 Marras 20211h 9min

Raise Your Game, with high-performance coach Alan Stein

Raise Your Game, with high-performance coach Alan Stein

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features high-performance coach Alan Stein. If you're looking to improve at any area of your life -- beach volleyball, basketball, investing, parenting, ANYTHING -- this is a gold mine of information.  Stein, a former basketball teammate of Adam Roberts' at Elon University, is the author of the book, Raise Your Game, and its principles are invaluable. We discuss many of them on the podcast, along with: - How working with Kobe Bryant, and his ability to "never get bored with the basics" changed Stein's life - The value of doing work in "the unseen hours" that results in championships - The tricky balance of focusing on recovery vs. getting extra reps - Why confidence must be earned And so, so much more.  ENJOY! *** 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/ This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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  Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/ SHOOTS!

3 Marras 20211h 6min

Finding Mastery, on and off the court, with Michael Gervais

Finding Mastery, on and off the court, with Michael Gervais

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is an ABSOLUTE GOLD MINE, featuring sport and high performance psychologist Michael Gervais.  Gervais is one of the most respected sports psychologists in the world, and has worked alongside athletes such as Felix Baumgartner -- who jumped out of a balloon and through the stratosphere -- to Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks to April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings. He is a master of his craft, and this episode is an absolute must-listen.  On this episode, we discuss: - The importance of the mental aspect of sport, and how critical it is to make time for it - How Gervais has always felt the swell of mental training coming, and now it's hitting - Why Gervais' life mission is to help people live in the present more often, and how he's helping them accomplish that - Why we need extreme athletes And so, so, so much more.  ENJOY!! *** 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/ This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball 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  Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/ SHOOTS!

27 Loka 20211h 7min

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