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

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

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features one of the greatest of all time, if not the greatest of all time, in Misty May-Treanor.  It was such a blast having May-Treanor on the show, one of the best we've had yet -- no surprise there. On the episode, we discuss: - What her life looks like today, as a retired athlete and current mother of three  - Her even-keel mindset and ability to stay calm on the biggest stages in sport - What her training regimen looked like both in season and during off-season - How she built her brand on immersing herself amid the crowd -- literally -- and being physically present and available  - Her and Kerri Walsh Jennings' partnership, and how they built the most dominant duo in beach volleyball history This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the BEST beach volleyballs in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20 to get 20 percent off all Wilson products.  Also be sure to give us a subscribe on our YouTube channel! A follow would go a long way as Tri Bourne and I build our podcast.  SHOOTS!

4 Nov 20201h 16min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features the hosts, Bourne and Mewhirter, as well as a new voice on the show, Savvy Simo, as we celebrate our three year anniversary of doing the podcast.  On this episode, we recap the long and short three-year journey we've been on, and answer a wide variety of fan questions, such as... - How would you rank the top 10 men's teams right now going into the Olympics in 2021? Norway still #1?   - How would you rank Taylor within the group of top 5 defenders and why? - What is the direction that USAV is headed with Tyler Hildebrand going back to Nebraska?  - Seems like the players would love more chances to play and you’ve seen first hand how into beach/sand volleyball places that don’t actually have beaches can be (Cincinnati) plus you’ve seen the indoor sand facilities. So what’s your take on playing sand indoors during the winter months? - You’ve done a great job of interviewing the players and giving a bit more depth to the game from this fan’s perspective. You asked for some questions. You’ll undoubtedly get the most [surprising, best, worst, hilarious, .. etc], but I’m curious if you see the growth and acceptance of the game changing? Are you more or less positive looking forward? And what about existing and potential sponsors - how do you see that world now? Many, many more. Thanks, as always, for listening to the show! If you want to drop us a review in iTunes, we'd appreciate it.  And, as always, thanks to Wilson Volleyball for sponsoring the show! If you want 20 percent off the best balls in the game, check out Wilson using our discount code SANDCAST-20 for 20 percent off! SHOOTS!

28 Okt 20201h 11min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Julia Scoles, a phenomenal indoor player at the University of North Carolina who transferred to Hawai'i to play beach after a series of concussions. After an incredibly successful stint as a Bow, Scoles transferred to USC, where, a year later, she is still waiting to make her debut as a Trojan.  On this episode, we discuss: - Scoles' path from Carolina to Hawai'i to USC - Her steep learning curve on the beach - Winning her first tournament at the Waupaca Boatride with Hailey Harward - How she has found peace amid all these momentous life decisions, and the stress of going from the East Coast to halfway around the world to Hawai'i  - Her five-year plan as a professional volleyball player after she graduates from USC As always, this episode is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the best balls in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20 to get 20 percent off all Wilson products!  We would also LOVE it if you checked out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, which can be bought on Amazon. And, if you've already read it, drop us a review! It only helps spread the beach love :) SHOOTS!

21 Okt 202050min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter is with Avery Drost, a longtime pro who has been competing on the AVP Tour for 10 years.  On this episode, we discuss: - Drost winning the Hyden Beach AVP Next with Miles Partain - Just how good the 18-year-old Partain is becoming - Drost finding the best practice regimen and weight lifting schedule for his body - Finding the right playing weight - His goals when it comes to beach volleyball - Transitioning to a right-side defender with Ryan Doherty - His overall confusion -- in a good way -- over what position to play, given his ability to thrive all over the court This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the best beach volleyballs in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20, for 20 percent off!  We'd love it if you checked out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, on Amazon, and we'd really love it if you dropped us a review as well! It goes a long way.  SHOOTS!

14 Okt 202057min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is with Jordan Cheng, the coach of Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil, the 10th-ranked team in the world and No. 3 in the American Olympic race.  On this episode, we discuss: - Cheng's career as a coach, how his intentions to play professionally were constantly derailed by "once in a lifetime" coaching opportunities at Pepperdine, under Marv Dunphy, USA Volleyball under John Speraw, UCI, Reid Priddy and, now, Sponcil and Claes - How Cheng, 28 years old at the time, came to be the coach for Priddy, one of the best volleyball players of all time - His coaching philosophy: "I don't want to be a JV version of Jose Loiola. I want to be a varsity version of myself." - How he came to coach Claes and Sponcil - The importance of pursuing something bigger than beach volleyball 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!

7 Okt 202050min

On this episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, we answer fan questions in our "season ending" episode, even if there wasn't much of a season in the first place. Some of those questions include: - What's this secret event Tri has been training for? - Who are some of the younger players, other than Andy Benesh and Eric Beranek, we should be looking out for? - Is Miles Partain the real deal or what? - What beach players are getting out of the game after this year? - If you could change one thing about the Olympic qualifying process, what would it be? - What do you think the 2021 season will look like? We answer a few more as well. Enjoy! SHOOTS!

30 Sep 20201h 2min

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