Caitlin Ledoux: Just doux you

It’s a wonder how Caitlin Ledoux did it, given that she operates with the same 24 hours a day, the same seven days a week, as the rest of us.

There she was, working full-time at Lululemon. There she was, coaching two or three club teams and a high school team.

There she was, playing full-time professional beach volleyball, making three quarterfinals and her first career Sunday in Hermosa Beach, capping the year as the AVP’s Most Improved player.

“I worked a lot,” she said on SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “Literally seven days a week coaching for four hours a day. That’s what I mean. I was overworked, I was exhausted, my body was struggling to keep up with what I was doing mentally, physically, everything. I just needed to hit that reset button.”

On the court, 2017 had been her most successful year. Off it, it had been both mentally and physically debilitating, something that didn’t go unnoticed by her partner for the final three tournaments, Maria Clara Salgado.

“She knew I was struggling here with my nutrition and my workouts and my working, I had been working a ton. It was too much. She said ‘Come down to Brazil, let’s see what works for you, because what you’ve been doing isn’t really working. Let’s put the reset button on and see if it works.’”

And so, for three months of the “off-season,” Ledoux went to Brazil, getting reps six days a week from four different coaches. She switched her weight routine, swapping out Olympic lifting for more functional movements. She overhauled her nutrition.

“It was the first time I’ve ever felt like a professional athlete,” said Ledoux, who has been playing professionally since she first qualified on the AVP in 2012. “That was career changing. It was amazing.”

Indeed, it seems it has been career-changing. This year, Ledoux has arguably the best case to again take home the AVP’s Most Improved Player, making the quarterfinals in New York with Salgado before getting the call of a lifetime, from perhaps the most dominant female player in the game today: April Ross.

"It was pretty funny because in New York she texted me and said 'Hey I need a practice partner for these days, can you practice with me?' And I had never played or practiced with her so I was stoked to practice with her for two days," Ledoux said. "And I was in the car with my mom and she texted me and I said 'Mom! Guess what just happened?' And she said 'April asked you to play.' And I said 'Yes!' It was awesome."

With Ross playing behind her block, Ledoux made her first final, which may be the match of the year on the AVP thus far, a 21-19, 19-21, 16-18 loss to Emily Day and Betsi Flint. Two weeks later she did it again with Geena Urango, making her third career Sunday and second straight losing once more to Day and Flint in the finals, 17-21, 21-16, 7-15.

Another three weeks after that, in Hermosa, Ledoux was back on a Sunday, falling in three to Ross and Alix Klineman, 14-21, 21-18, 9-15.

“A lot of it is just personal growth about myself and having the right support system around myself the last year and a half,” Ledoux said of her blink-and-you-missed-it rise. “Having that support system and the coaches and helping you figure out what you need to do, I’d say that honestly is the biggest thing.”

What you need to do. It’s a simple concept for Ledoux. Identify what your goal is. Figure out the next step.

Just do.

Olympics, she knew, has been her goal since she was a little girl. How would one get into the Olympics?

Travel. A lot. With no promises of a return anytime soon. So there her and Irene Pollock went, jet-setting across the world, beginning in Russia of 2014. Over the next three years, they went to 16 FIVBs in 10 different countries, qualifying in some, whiffing on others, taking every risk they could, because there were goals to reach and one ladder to get there.

Just go.

“It was hard, but the same time it wasn’t,” Ledoux said. “Irene and I had the same goal and that’s to make the Olympics and we knew that was what we needed to do. We needed to just drown ourselves in all the experience of traveling and losing and having to play these single elimination matches to get that experience. I look back on that year and it was a very draining year but I also learned a lot.

“When you look at the end game: what’s your goal? I had to do it. It’s a no-brainer.”

And sure, it may have been rough for a while. There may have been a learning curve on how to travel internationally, particularly when doing so in, say South Africa.

The investment is beginning to see returns, dividends in the form of a bronze medal (in China with Sarah Sponcil), a silver (in Australia with Jace Pardon) and a gold (in Thailand with Emily Stockman).

“I think there’s probably a more responsible way to do it than the way I did it,” Ledoux said of climbing the ranks of the FIVB. “But I’ve really enjoyed my life the last five years of just doing it and saying yes to a bunch of experiences. One of the cool things about this career is I look back on the last five years and all of the crazy memories I have of going to all of these places and a lot of times I had fun because we lost out super early and we didn’t know how to book flights yet so we’d book our flight home a week or week and a half in these places and we lost on the first day and now we have a week in South Africa and it’s ‘What do we do?’

“I look back on these last five years and I wouldn’t change anything. If you’re looking to just start, I would say set your goal and jump in.”

Episoder(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 Des 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 Des 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 Des 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 Des 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 Des 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 Nov 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 Nov 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 Nov 20201h 19min

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