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

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is with one of the greatest players of all-time, with 123 victories, including four at the Manhattan Beach Open.  More than that, Stoklos, along with his partner, Sinjin Smith, is one of the most influential individuals in beach history, instrumental in pushing beach volleyball worldwide. Without Stoklos and Smith, it's possible the sport would not currently be in the Olympic Games.  On this episode, we cover a lot of ground, including: - Stoklos' upbringing with his father, Rudy, a Polish immigrant who escaped a concentration camp in Nazi Germany.  - Winning the Manhattan Beach Open at age 20 with the legendary Jim Menges - How he and Sinjin Smith partnered, both of them turning down an offer from Karch Kiraly to do so  - Stoklos' and Sinjin's epic 11-year partnership, in which they won more tournaments (115) than any team in beach volleyball history - Their push for the FIVB, and international volleyball - An incredible story from Ipanema, where he and Smith were dubbed the Kings of Rio - So much more. Honestly, just listen. It's amazing. You'll love it.  SHOOTS!

23 Sep 20201h 33min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is with the legendary, and ageless, John Hyden. At 47 years young, Hyden is still one of the best defenders in the United States, with his own beach facility just outside Nashville, Tennessee. On this episode, we discuss: - Hyden’s transition from an indoor Olympian to a beach volleyball player grinding in qualifiers - Hustling side jobs, like hanging Christmas lights, putting in synthetic turf putting greens, and almost getting attacked by a dog, until he turned the financial corner in beach. - Building his team and system, beginning with Brad Keenan in 2007 - Why he and Sean Scott were so dominant - Coaching up a young Tri – or Tree – Bourne, on volleyball and far more - Launching his new facility in Nashville - The final act of his playing career, and how much juice the young man has left in him This episode is, as always, brought to you by Wilson Volleyball. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20, to get 20 percent off the best balls in the game! SHOOTS!

16 Sep 20201h 12min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Canadians Grant O'Gorman and Ben Saxton, who are the second-ranked Canadian team in the race for Tokyo 2021.  More than pushing for Tokyo, however, they -- and especially O'Gorman -- are pushing for men's health awareness, as O'Gorman was diagnosed with, and beat, testicular cancer.  On this episode, we cover: - O'Gorman discovering his testicular cancer, beginning in Hamburg, Germany, at the World Champs - How the coronavirus may have actually saved his life - How O'Gorman and Saxton became partners, and O'Gorman's brief stint living in a van  - Saxton's new mindset of not focusing on the Olympics, but simply trying to be the best he can be, every year - The upcoming King of the Court event, the first time either has competed in the format - The rise of Canadian volleyball, particularly the women's side This episode, of course, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, the best balls in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20, to get 20 percent off! SHOOTS!

9 Sep 202040min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is with Livingstone "LT" Treumann, who has established one of the best unofficial beach volleyball training centers in the United States.  On this episode, we cover: - Treumann's days growing up in Brazil, and how a white lie turned into a career in volleyball - Training with the best in the world, including Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego, as a teenager in Brazil - His decision to pursue a career in the garbage business over moving to Santa Monica - Getting back into coaching beach volleyball - How he helped Bill Kolinske and Eric Beranek to a career-high third place finish at the 2019 Manhattan Beach Open - How he established third street in Hermosa Beach as the training grounds for some of the best players in the country - What he's currently doing in Florida with Beranek and Andy Benesh for the next three months This episode, per usual, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, who makes the best balls in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20 to get 20 percent off all purchases!

2 Sep 202054min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Adrian Carambula. Nicknamed Mr. Skyball for his towering, spinning serve, Carambula is one of the best players in Italy and in the race to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics with Enrico Rossi.  On this episode, we cover: - Carambula's move from Uruguay to the United States, and how he discovered volleyball on the shores of South Beach, Miami.  - His rise up the ranks in beach volleyball in the U.S., and how he began utilizing a creative, never-before-seen playing style - His tryout with the Italian Federation - The long list of adversity he had to overcome to convince the Italian Federation to give him a shot at playing with Alex Ranghieri - His breakthrough tournament in Porec, Croatia, where he and Ranghieri would take bronze, putting to rest all of the doubts the Federation had about him - Finding his new partner, Enrico Rossi, and where his career is headed from here.  Thanks as always for listening to SANDCAST! This episode is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball ! Use our discount code, Sandcast-20, to get 20 percent off all Wilson products.  Tri and I would love it if you guys ordered a copy of our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, which is filled with lessons from the pros on this podcast.  SHOOTS!

26 Aug 20201h 17min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Traci Callahan, who has been competing on the AVP Tour since 2010, with a brief break in the 2015-2017 seasons.  We talk a lot about that break, as well as: - A journey down the Camino de Santiago, and how it inspired her to get back into beach volleyball - Her time as a coach, yoga instructor, bee farmer, organic farmer, and others in between her stints as a professional beach volleyball player - Why she got back into beach volleyball - The struggles of returning to the sport, which included switching positions, not being able to find a partner, and, you know, Covid - Her newfound dedication to the sport, and what it has taken to get back to the top level As always, this episode is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20, to get 20 percent off! We would LOVE it, if you checked out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes! If you like the show, we know you'd love the book, which is packed with some of the best lessons from our guests on the show.  Thanks as always for listening.  SHOOTS!

19 Aug 202059min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is with Wilco Nijland, the CEO of SportWorx, based in Utretcht, Netherlands, and the creator of the wildly popular King of the Court Series. On this episode of the podcast, we discuss: - How Wilco was able, despite all the Covid precautions, to hold a King of the Court - Innovative ideas in the sport of beach volleyball, such as having the first serve of the Dutch Tour in 2020 coincide with the sunrise -- at 5:24 a.m. on July 1, the first day professional sport was allowed - The high-speed format for King of the Court, and how it has attracted a much-sought after demographic: The 18-34 year olds. - The relationships Nijland has been able to build with the FIVB and AVP, working alongside both in the past three years - The idea for Skyboxes -- skyboxes! -- in beach volleyball As always, this episode is brought to you by our good friends at Wilson Volleyball. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20, to get 20 percent off all Wilson products!  And, of course, make sure to check out our new book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, which you can get on Amazon!

12 Aug 202058min

On this episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, we bring on host Tri Bourne, who just won his first AVP tournament in five years!  Since launching this podcast, Bourne has battled -- is still battling -- an autoimmune disease, enrolled in acting classes, hosting classes, improv classes, begun reading books regularly, authored a book of his own, and is back in the winners circle on the AVP Tour.  He speaks a lot on leveling up on this show. He certainly has himself.  On this episode, we discuss: - The AVP Champions Cup Series, from week one to week three, culminating in his win - Trevor Crabb hilariously guaranteeing a win at the Porsche Cup, for no explicable reason - Reminiscing to when Bourne was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, when he had to have the conversation if he was ever going to play again - Bouncing back from a brutal first set loss to Chaim Schalk and Chase Budinger - What the next few weeks will look like for Bourne and Crabb Thanks, as always, for listening to the show. Be sure to give a shout to our sponsor, Wilson Volleyball, for making the show happen! Use our discount code, Sandcast-20 to get 20 PERCENT OFF! Also, we published a book! It's called Volleyball for Milkshakes, and we'd love it if you bought a copy, or dropped a review. Every little bit helps your favorite podcast :)

5 Aug 20201h 4min