BounceBeach: How a 17-year-old high schooler created the most viral account in beach volleyball

BounceBeach: How a 17-year-old high schooler created the most viral account in beach volleyball

The idea began, like all viral ideas do, with something so blatantly obvious it had been overlooked by everyone. Parker Conley was the rare type of teenaged boy in Arizona who was obsessed with beach volleyball. It isn’t entirely unheard of. A handful of professionals hail from Arizona, and the sport has a small presence.

But it is rare, to be sure.

Conley sought any resource he could to learn the sport. Namely, YouTube. He’d watch anything he could find, no matter the era – old school Sinjin and Karch, all things Taylor Crabb, American or international, male or female. He’d see highlight after highlight, realizing, to his own subtle surprise, that there was no Instagram account that shared them. Other sports – basketball, primarily – have thousands of social media accounts dedicated almost exclusively to highlights, sharing clips that go viral, the type you’d see on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.

Beach volleyball had none of that.

“I thought,” Conley said on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, “I should do it.”

Thus, BounceBeach was born.

Maybe. He waffled between names for a bit, seeking something about beach volleyball and some kind of impressive play within the sport. Bouncing a ball is one of the more highlight-worthy plays – just ask Sean Rosenthal, who is still, 13 years later, asked about his “Vegas Line” – and the alliteration worked.

Conley created the Instagram account, pouring over film from The Hague four-star in 2019 as his first event, and began creating highlights.

“I posted six or seven videos, the quality was horrible, I had a huge watermark, you could hardly see the players,” Conley said, laughing at the memory of his first attempt. “I was like ‘I’m not letting those stay on my page.’”

Nevertheless, the social media world took notice. When a sport is starved for content, particularly highlights that players can use to market their own brand, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the highest of quality. As Conley perfected his craft, the momentum only increased, a snowball careening down the mountain.

Soon, the pros themselves, the same ones on which Conley had watched so many hours of film, began reaching out: Phil Dalhausser, Jake Gibb, Nick Lucena, Casey Patterson. Could Conley send over a few highlights they could use?

After sitting down for half an hour, processing the fact that it was, indeed, that Phil Dalhausser who had messaged him, Conley would reply: Of course he’d send over a highlight.

“I had no idea where it was going to go,” said Conley, who is 17 and enrolled in online classes both at a high school and Arizona State. “I’m still blown away by how many people are following it. I thought I would eventually hit the cap and I’d stop getting followers but I haven’t hit it.”

If anything, BounceBeach is only picking up speed, taking on a life of its own. It’s morphed into something of an online forum, a place to discuss the highlights, where the best players in the world can beat their chest or poke fun of others. It’s its own subculture, in a way. When Conley posted a video of John Hyden digging a ruthless swing from Taylor Crabb, putting the ensuing transition point away with a jumbo poke that tagged the back line, Crabb commented, in jest, “Who won?”

This ignited a string of amusing comments and debates, becoming its own chat room.

“As I started growing, it’s been cool to see how the pros interact with it,” Conley said. “That was my goal, originally: to have my name known, build a brand for myself in a way. Having it be a forum in a way where pros will talk about highlights has been kind of surreal.”

In less than a year and a half, Conley has amassed nearly 40,000 followers. More than that, he’s created something that virtually every beach volleyball player and fan turns to when seeking highlights. He tapped the latent gold mine of content, becoming essentially the exclusive source of viral clips. The FIVB took note, asking Conley to edit some highlights for them as well, joining the growing list of players.

It’s become almost a competition among players to get their highlights featured on BounceBeach, which has become beach volleyball’s version of SportsCenter.

“It’s been crazy, surreal to see people say ‘I got on BounceBeach!’ I never expected that,” Conley said. “It’s insane. It almost has become something on its own, where people consider it a brand. When I started, I was just posting highlights for the fun of it.”

He’s still having fun with it. Still digging through YouTube, discovering gems with barely any views.

“I’m like ‘How has nobody ever seen this?’” Conley said.

With him, and BounceBeach, now everybody can.

Jaksot(500)

Mark Bucknam, and the making of AVP Uncovered

Mark Bucknam, and the making of AVP Uncovered

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Mark Bucknam, the producer of the upcoming and highly anticipated beach volleyball docuseries, AVP Uncovered. It debuts on Thursday night on the AVP Uncovered YouTube Channel, so be sure to check it out! On this episode, we chatted about: How AVP Uncovered wound up following Kristen Nuss, Taryn Kloth, Jake Gibb, and Zana Muno How Bucknam convinced his two business partners to follow the AVP around for a month with no promise of a return on their investment How the AVP Uncovered idea was born – and the many changes it underwent prior to the finished product The fascinating lives of beach volleyball players off the court And a whole lot more. ENJOY! *** NEW BOOK ALERT!!! Travis Mewhirter and Kent Steffes just published a seminal work on the history of beach volleyball in their new book, Kings of Summer: The Rise of Beach Volleyball. Check it out on Amazon!! https://www.amazon.com/Kings-Summer-rise-beach-volleyball/dp/B0B3JHFKM7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WGJFWHPBGPQ2&keywords=kings+of+summer+book&qid=1658922972&sprefix=kings+of+summer+book%2Caps%2C1328&sr=8-1 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

27 Heinä 20221h 9min

Sarah Sponcil and Terese Cannon: The AVP Champions who have built the perfect team

Sarah Sponcil and Terese Cannon: The AVP Champions who have built the perfect team

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter is a special one, as it features a pair of first time AVP CHAMPS in Sarah Sponcil and Terese Cannon, who won every match en route to their first career AVP titles in Hermosa Beach. It was an absolute blast to have both of them back on, and on for the first time as a team. We had a lot to chat about on the episode, including: - Winning AVP Hermosa Beach - What the post-Olympic downtime looked for Sarah Sponcil, and how she came back even better - The pressure Terese felt when Sponcil asked her to play, and how she’s delivered - The importance of a five-week road trip through Europe And, as always, a ton 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

20 Heinä 20221h 17min

Mid-season Mailbag: How is Bally’s and the AVP doing in year one?

Mid-season Mailbag: How is Bally’s and the AVP doing in year one?

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter and, in this case, Savvy Simo, features our always-popular fan questions. It's been a wild year, with both the AVP and Volleyball World under new management, new systems, new content delivery, new everything. We had a lot of questions, and a lot to chat about. Which is what we did, answering: - What are our thoughts on the new AVP tier system? - How has the AVP and Volleyball World been run so far? - Any update on April Ross and Alix Klineman? - What happened to the United States at the World Championships? And a wholeeeee lot 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

13 Heinä 20221h 18min

Tri Bourne: After a bittersweet World Championships: ’Jesus, what am I doing?’

Tri Bourne: After a bittersweet World Championships: ’Jesus, what am I doing?’

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features the host himself, as Tri Bourne is, alas, after five weeks on the road, back in the United States. For now. Bourne and Trevor Crabb hit the road hard, playing in a Challenger in Turkey, Elite 16s in Ostrava and Jurmala, before slipping into World Championships, where they took ninth after forfeiting due to COVID. Now Bourne’s back, and we recapped everything, chatting: Those five weeks on the road A strangely empty World Championships, and the dull vibe on the World Tour this year Bourne’s thoughts on the AVP’s new three-tiered system Why he often considers retirement – and why he always comes back 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

6 Heinä 20221h 9min

Deahna Kraft only knows one speed: All in or nothing at all

Deahna Kraft only knows one speed: All in or nothing at all

Deahna Kraft is an AVP rookie and one of dozens upon dozens of enormous talents coming out of the NCAA beach game. A four-year starter at Pepperdine, Kraft graduated as an All-American before doing a graduate year at Wisconsin as a defensive specialist. Now back on the beach, Kraft made her first AVP main draw in Muskegon, Michigan, with Allie Wheeler, where they finished third, losing only to Brazilians Larissa and Lili Maestrini. That finish guaranteed them a main draw berth into the AVP Pro Series in Hermosa Beach next week. On this episode, we chat about: Her childhood, split between Hawai’i and Seattle, and how beach volleyball became involved Improving from a walk-on to a scholarship athlete on court one for Pepperdine Her big finish in Muskegon, and how she pulled herself out of a mental rut just in time The differences in competing on the beach in college and indoors for a major program And, as always, 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

29 Kesä 20221h 13min

Anders Mol, Christian Sorum, and the rise of the greatest team in beach volleyball

Anders Mol, Christian Sorum, and the rise of the greatest team in beach volleyball

Anders Mol and Christian Sorum are the No. 1 ranked beach volleyball team in the world and quite possibly the greatest team in the history of beach volleyball. Let the debate rage on.  With last weekend's victory at the Beach Volleyball World Championships, Mol and Sorum are currently holding the titles of: World Champions, Olympic Gold Medalists, European Champions (4x), and World Tour Finals Champions. It's absurd, honestly.  This is not a new episode with the Beach Volley Vikings. This is a blast from the past, when we had Mol and Sorum on SANDCAST when they were just beginning their run to the top of the world in 2018 -- a run that has yet to stop or even slow.  Enjoy this re-run with Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, where we chat about: - Norway's TopVolley Academy - How the 2007 World Championships in Stavanger inspired them - What it's been like to rise to the top of the world - Staying humble through all the success (and they're still SO HUMBLE!) 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

22 Kesä 20221h 6min

Megan Kraft, the 19-year-old making beach volleyball success look easy

Megan Kraft, the 19-year-old making beach volleyball success look easy

Megan Kraft is just 19 years old, yet is already a World Champion, AVP main draw player – she recently finished a career-high third in New Orleans with Emily Stockman – and is preparing to make a run at the Paris Olympic Games with Stockman. How does a 19-year-old college sophomore, who has already won a pair of National Championships at USC, find herself in that position? By making it look easy. Such a fun chat on SANDCAST with Kraft and Savvy Simo. On this episode, we chat about: The transition from the NCAA season and going directly into both the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, and the AVP How she and Emily Stockman became a team Competing on the biggest stages in the sport, from NCAA Championships to AVP Sundays to medal matches representing the United States What the rest of this year looks like for her and Stockman 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

15 Kesä 20221h 8min

Mark Burik and Brandon Joyner want you to get Better at Beach

Mark Burik and Brandon Joyner want you to get Better at Beach

Mark Burik and Brandon Joyner are the founders of one of the coolest companies in all of beach volleyball:  @Better at Beach Volleyball . Together, they may have touched more lives in the world of beach volleyball than any two individuals, coaching, creating online programs and classes, running camps across the country, from Salt Lake City to St. Petersburg, Florida. Their work is allowing others to get Better at Beach, while also just improving the entire community as they go. On this episode, Mewhirter, Burik, and Joyner chat about: - How Better at Beach successfully rebranded from VolleyCamp Hermosa - What Burik has learned in becoming a full-time entrepreneur, and why he can't go back to a typical job - How Brandon Joyner, a Virginia Beach guy, left his steady job as a teacher and moved to California to work with Better at Beach - How awesome it has been to see Better at Beach explode across the country, in every beach volleyball nook and cranny there is ENJOY!! *** Like our content? Leave us a tip :) We don't charge a subscription fee, so everything is much appreciated: https://motivated-author-4500.ck.page/products/sandcast-tip-jar 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

8 Kesä 20221h 25min

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