Mike Lambert: The consummate teammate, still shining the spotlight on his partners

Mike Lambert: The consummate teammate, still shining the spotlight on his partners

After a few minutes of cordial catching up and introductions, Mike Lambert paused, sitting in his office in Lucca, Italy, and wondered, on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: “What should we talk about?”

The conversation would be wide-ranging, covering a vast canvas of topics. Midway through, however, it became comically evident what Lambert didn’t want to talk about: himself.

It is vintage Lambert. Though he may be nearly a decade since he last appeared in an AVP tournament, he is still very much the same man who, in his Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame write up – he was inducted in 2018 – was described as “a favorite of both fans and his fellow tour professionals, often bringing his guitar to the beach to play songs in-between matches and charming with an infectious smile. You would have to search far and wide to find someone with anything bad to say about Mike Lambert.”

And, for that matter, you would likely have to search farther and wider to find a time Lambert said anything bad about anyone else.

When he first posed the question of what we should discuss on the podcast, he immediately answered his own prompt: “Stein,” he said, referring to Stein Metzger, his childhood friend and partner for the 2006 season. “Let’s talk about that guy.”

And then, unprompted, he sang the UCLA coach’s praises.

“He was super special because he was so competitive, even back in the day,” Lambert said. “I think he would say that he’s not the most talented player, but he just wants to win more than the other guy. There’s so many memories of him, younger, and then in college and when he turned pro where he just wanted it more than the other player. That’s a fun guy to be partnered with. You get into battle and the trash talk starts going and he’s not going anywhere. He’s not backing down. He wants more of it.”

He talked Metzger. He marveled at the discipline of John Hyden, with whom Lambert played on the 1996 and 2000 Olympic teams. Lambert, a Hawai’i native, complimented Bourne’s mother, Katy, a teacher on the Island.

“Such a stud,” he said of the woman known for her penchant for excelling in long-distance events.

Mostly, though, Lambert wanted to talk about Karch Kiraly. It was only Lambert’s second full-time year on the beach when he got the call from Kiraly, who by then was considered the greatest to ever play the game. Kiraly was in his early 40s, Lambert coming off a successful indoor career to win, improbably, both Rookie of the Year and Best Offensive Player in the same AVP season in 2002.

Given that, “I thought I had played at a pretty high level,” Lambert said. “I had played in two Olympics and played against the best in the world indoor and on the beach but there are few people that are mentally just on a different level and they’ll never drop their game whether it’s practice or a game against a scrub team or a qualifier team or if he’s on center court against the best team. [Kiraly] keeps his level there. He never drops no matter who’s on the other side of the court or if he’s tired or where the sun is or what the wind is or this or that. He was always immovable. There were times where I was tired but I’d say ‘Look at my guy! He’s not tired so I’m gonna keep going.’ He was always there. Constant, just the north star. It was crazy.”

To watch Lambert and Kiraly compete together – YouTube has plenty of fantastic match replays if you’d like to do so – is to witness exactly why Lambert is quick to praise others and slow to credit himself. If you were to only watch their celebrations, you’d never know who scored the point, who made the highlight, who put down the block or the big swing.

When the ball hit the sand, they wouldn’t find the camera, or the crowd, but each other.

That’s the point.

There were occasions where Kiraly – 148-time winner, three-time Olympic gold medalist Karch Kiraly – would bow down to Lambert following a block. Dishing all the credit. Building up his teammate.

“Any chance he had to throw the spotlight on me he did,” Lambert said. “It was because ‘Lambo did this’ and ‘Lambo started stuffing balls!’ He was always trying to put his partner in the spotlight. Not long ago, he asked me what he did well as a teammate, and I said he was always giving me props for everything we did, and not trying to take the spotlight from his teammate. When you do that, all of a sudden, I’m puffing out my chest, like ‘Yeah! I am the guy stuffing balls!’ And then I get more confident and become even more of what he wants. It’s almost like he’s feeding that. He was really good at that. He was really good at letting go of a great play and a terrible play because it was all about being in the moment. He had the same routine, whether he did something great or something terrible he’d either celebrate and move on or think about it and move on. He was always ready for the next play, which was super cool.

“If you make a great play on the court, there’s a finite amount of seconds where you’ve got this crazy energy and what do you do with it? Do you keep it all or do you go to your guy, stare him in the eye and go ‘Ahhh!’ and share that moment. That stokes the other guy’s fire and it can become contagious. Anytime we did something great, we right away tried to share that with each other. That’s what you miss. I’m never out here going ‘Yeah! I did a sale! Whooo! Let’s do another one!’”

Perhaps Lambert is not beating his chest, whooping after a successful digital marketing campaign. But he’s still the consummate teammate, dishing credit, building up those around him.

Making sure to talk only the best of everyone who has partnered with Mike Lambert.

Jaksot(500)

Ian Capp, And The Rise of Men's College Beach Volleyball

Ian Capp, And The Rise of Men's College Beach Volleyball

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Ian Capp, the head coach of the MEN’S BEACH VOLLEYBALL TEAM at Stevenson University in, of all places, northern Maryland. Yes, we put men’s beach volleyball in all caps --  no pun intended – because most people don’t even know men’s beach volleyball exists at the collegiate level. But it does! Sort of. It’s an AVCA sport with a legitimate National Championship, and Capp won Stevenson’s first National Championship this fall, upsetting powerhouse Webber in the finals in Huntsville. We chat all about that, and a whole lot more, including: Why in the world did the Athletics Department at Stevenson University, a small school in northern Maryland, launch a men’s beach volleyball program? How Ian Capp stumbled into the position as the head coach at Stevenson What it meant to win that National Championship this fall How he attempts to recruit young men to play beach volleyball for a DIII program in Maryland And so, so, so much more. What an episode this is! SHOOTS! *** Unlock your peak athleticism with Root and Fruit Nutrition and the Genomic Edge. Stop leaving yourself vulnerable to data breaches and brokers. Go to my sponsor https://aura.com/sandcast to get a 60-day free trial and see if any of your data has been exposed  WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCASTVB. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  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.  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/

29 Tammi 20251h 29min

Melissa Humana-Paredes, Gabby Bourne, And The Weight of An Olympic Silver Medal

Melissa Humana-Paredes, Gabby Bourne, And The Weight of An Olympic Silver Medal

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Melissa Humana-Paredes, who won an Olympic silver medal – Canada’s first on the women’s side – with Brandie Wilkerson in Paris this summer. It has been quite the whirlwind of a fall and winter for Humana-Paredes, who went straight into the inaugural AVP League for the Palm Beach Passion and then competed in the Beach Pro Tour Finals. Having had time to reflect, Humana-Paredes, Bourne and Pod Mama Gabby Bourne chat about: The pursuit of a gold medal at an Olympic Games, and the ever-existential question: Was it all worth it? How different – if at all – Mel’s life would be if she and Wilkerson won gold as opposed to silver The highs and lows of having a life revolving around competition How finding happiness should not be contingent on external achievements. And much, much more. Gabby absolutely shines in her debut as a guest-host (and soon to be mother of two! Such a good episode! SHOOTS! *** Unlock your peak athleticism with Root and Fruit Nutrition and the Genomic Edge. Stop leaving yourself vulnerable to data breaches and brokers. Go to my sponsor https://aura.com/sandcast to get a 14-day free trial and see if any of your data has been exposed  WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  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.  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/

22 Tammi 20251h 21min

Marlie Monserez: Building The PVF And Atlanta Vibe From The Ground Up

Marlie Monserez: Building The PVF And Atlanta Vibe From The Ground Up

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Marlie Monserez, who is currently in her second year with the upstart indoor volleyball league, the PVF (Professional Volleyball Federation). Monserez was a standout at the University of Florida before transferring to UCLA to play beach volleyball under Stein Metzger. On this episode, we: Explore her unique journey through volleyball, including her transition from indoor to beach volleyball, her decision to join the PVF and Athletes Unlimited, and her experiences at UCLA. How Marlie Monserez navigated the transfer portal, and the wild wild west dynamic of that landscape Why returning to beach volleyball was the best thing she could have done for her indoor career Her first year with the Atlanta Vibe and the PVF, which was successful both as an individual and a team And much, much more. SHOOTS! *** Unlock your peak athleticism with Root and Fruit Nutrition and the Genomic Edge. Stop leaving yourself vulnerable to data breaches and brokers. Go to my sponsor https://aura.com/sandcast to get a 14-day free trial and see if any of your data has been exposed  WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  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.  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/

17 Tammi 202559min

SANDCAST Greatest Hits: Zana Muno: Beach volleyball’s hustling, diving, gritty ’chic farmer’

SANDCAST Greatest Hits: Zana Muno: Beach volleyball’s hustling, diving, gritty ’chic farmer’

Welcome to SANDCAST Greatest Hits! Given that our podcast, hosted by Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is on its eighth year, and we have accumulated more viewers and listeners every year – 52% of our listeners discovered us in 2024 alone – we wanted to rewind and replay the best of the best from our podcast history. So, throughout 2025, once a month we will be replaying one of our most-listened-to episodes, beginning with our most popular of all-time: Zana Muno. This episode was recorded in January of 2022, and so much has happened since including, of course, Zana Muno retiring from beach volleyball. It makes episodes like this that much more intriguing to listen to, to see where the players were at then vs. where they are now. If you’re a longtime listener, enjoy the replay, and if you’re new, well, enjoy the most popular episode we’ve ever done! SHOOTS! PHOTO: Mark Rigney *** WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  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.  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/

10 Tammi 20251h 10min

Alexis Durish: Taking FSU Beach Volleyball to "A Whole 'Nother Level"

Alexis Durish: Taking FSU Beach Volleyball to "A Whole 'Nother Level"

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter is the debut of our FSU Beach Volleyball studios! Fittingly enough, it features one of Florida State's best players in Alexis Durish, a junior who is coming off a NORCECA gold medal and set to continue building on a record of 60-11 in two years in Tallahassee. In this episode, we chat about: The explosion of juniors beach volleyball, even since Durish, just 20, was a junior Why this fall was so different at Florida State, in a good way, even if it did mean “sucking” The learning curve of NCAA beach volleyball players Why California is no longer mandatory for beach volleyball players to pursue a career in the sport And much, much more. SHOOTS! *** WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  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.  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/

8 Tammi 20251h 1min

The 2024 Beach Pro Tour Player Awards

The 2024 Beach Pro Tour Player Awards

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is the annual Beach Pro Tour Awards Show. As with the 2023 Awards, all of these are 100 percent player voted, with a month-long nomination process, and then a two-week final voting process. Some of the winners might surprise you, some will not. This episode delivers awards in the following categories: Team of the Year Most Valuable Beach Volleyball Player of the Year Best Offensive Player Best Defensive Player Best Server Best Blocker Most Improved Rookie of the Year Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Man of the Year Event of the Year SHOOTS! *** Use code SANDCAST for 10% off The Genomic Edge Program now through December 31st! https://root-and-fruit-nutrition.mykajabi.com/the-genomic-edge-program WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Love the insights from this episode? Make sure you never miss a beat with Chatpods! Whether you're commuting, working out, or just on the go, Chatpods lets you capture and summarize key takeaways effortlessly. Save time, stay organized, and keep your thoughts at your fingertips. Download Chatpods directly from App Store or Google Play and use it to listen to this podcast today! https://www.chatpods.com/?fr=TravisMewhirter   Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  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.  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/

1 Tammi 202544min

Tri Bourne, Evan Cory, and The Biggest New Partnership in Beach Volleyball

Tri Bourne, Evan Cory, and The Biggest New Partnership in Beach Volleyball

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter (and Savvy Simo in this case) features the host himself, Bourne, with his NEW PARTNER: Evan Cory. That’s right: Tri Bourne and Evan Cory are partnering up for the 2025 beach volleyball season. They talk about that, of course, as well as: Cory’s recent season with Alison, and all that he learned Why the AVP League is a significant focus for American beach volleyball players this season World Championships in Australia, and that being the Big Goal for Tri Bourne and Evan Cory Winning bringing a sense of relief and validation to all that hard work The importance of celebrating milestones, like Cory’s win in Haikou And so, so much more. GOLD MINE OF AN EPISODE!! *** Use code SANDCAST for 10% off The Genomic Edge Program now through December 31st! https://root-and-fruit-nutrition.mykajabi.com/the-genomic-edge-program WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Love the insights from this episode? Make sure you never miss a beat with Chatpods! Whether you're commuting, working out, or just on the go, Chatpods lets you capture and summarize key takeaways effortlessly. Save time, stay organized, and keep your thoughts at your fingertips. Download Chatpods directly from App Store or Google Play and use it to listen to this podcast today! https://www.chatpods.com/?fr=TravisMewhirter   Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  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.  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/

24 Joulu 20241h 11min

The Bello Brothers: Becoming The Fastest-Rising Team in Beach Volleyball

The Bello Brothers: Becoming The Fastest-Rising Team in Beach Volleyball

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features co-host Kyle Friend and our good friends, Javier Bello and Joaquin Bello, better known, of course, as the Bello Brothers. And they are one of the fastest-rising teams on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, beginning in Challenge qualifiers, ending at the Doha Beach Pro Tour Finals, stunning Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, winning a gold medal at the Rio Elite16 – it’s A LOT. We chatted about all of that, as well as: Why Joaquin doesn’t think this year’s success has been sudden at all How in the world the Bello Brothers have gotten so good training in England Why qualifying at the Rio Elite16 was actually a better feeling than beating Anders Mol and Christian Sorum…or winning gold in the whole event Why, hilariously, Joquin was more scared of Travis Mewhirter at the net than Anders Mol And much, much more. SHOOTS! *** Use code SANDCAST for 10% off The Genomic Edge Program now through December 31st! https://root-and-fruit-nutrition.mykajabi.com/the-genomic-edge-program WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Love the insights from this episode? Make sure you never miss a beat with Chatpods! Whether you're commuting, working out, or just on the go, Chatpods lets you capture and summarize key takeaways effortlessly. Save time, stay organized, and keep your thoughts at your fingertips. Download Chatpods directly from App Store or Google Play and use it to listen to this podcast today! https://www.chatpods.com/?fr=TravisMewhirter   Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  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.  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/

18 Joulu 20241h 18min

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