Arnaud Gauthier-Rat: Pushing France Beach Volleyball to Unprecedented Heights

Welcome back to SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. On this episode, we brought in yet another Olympian – and a rookie who is not a real rookie on the beach, TJ DeFalco. DeFalco competed in his first Olympics in Tokyo, making a name for himself with an absurd ability to hit the back row quick set, then got the coolest of calls: Nick Lucena wanted to play the Manhattan Beach Open with him. And so it was that DeFalco played his first AVP since 2016. On this episode we discuss: How it felt for TJ to get back on the beach after nearly five years off it His first Olympic experience in Tokyo How Reid Priddy forever altered the trajectory of his career How eight words and a phone call from Matt Fuerbringer got him to partner with Nick Lucena   And, as always, much, much more.   ENJOY!   We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/merchandise/ 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  Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/

8 Sep 202146min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features the most recent winners of the AVP Manhattan Beach Open: Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb.  Bourne and Crabb made a huge comeback to beat Chaim Schalk and Theo Brunner in the semifinals before beating Casey Patterson and Chase Budinger in the finals. It marked Crabb's second Manhattan Beach Open win and Bourne's first.  On this episode, we discuss: - How it feels for Bourne to alas win the Manhattan Open after two losses in the finals - How the second win was just as sweet for Trevor Crabb, who won his first with Reid Priddy in 2019 - The mental focus Bourne found in the semifinals, when he and Crabb went down 16-12 to up 19-16.  - Trevor now being 2-0 when he guarantees victory And so, so much more.  ENJOY! *** We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/merchandise/ 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  Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/   SHOOTS!

1 Sep 202157min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features the newest elite blocker on the AVP Tour: Taryn Kloth.  Kloth pulled off the virtually unprecedented in winning the first AVP event of her career alongside wunderkind Kristen Nuss, and in Manhattan Beach, the two claimed fifth, losing only to April Ross and Alix Klineman and Sarah Sponcil and Kelly Claes.  On this episode, we discuss: - How Kloth was able to manage the nerves of her first AVP main draw and win the whole thing, beating three Olympians in the process - Kloth's path to beach volleyball, from frigid South Dakota to hot and humid Louisiana - How a street sign was all she needed to turn down big offers indoors to pursue beach volleyball full-time - The mindset she has, and why choosing the difficult path is always the path for her And, as always, much, much more.  ENJOY!   *** 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    Be sure to check out some of the coolest beach volleyball gear in the country at Vollis Beach! Recently partnered with LuLu Lemon, Vollis is offering high quality, good looking apparel, and you can get it at a discount using Travisfans to get 15 percent off! https://www.vollisgear.com/   SHOOTS!

25 Aug 20211h 1min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, finally brings the hosts back together, in person, for the first time in a few months. Here they discuss Tri Bourne's recent wild ride into the Olympics, and how he thrived during them, finishing with the highest hitting percentage of the entire Olympic Games.  On this episode, we discuss: - When Bourne got the call, sitting in a Dairy Queen with his daughter, from Jake Gibb, asking him to come to Tokyo - The weird vibe at the Olympics, with all the strange occurrences that had happened, from Taylor Crabb testing positive to Phil Dalhausser and Jake Gibb being forced to quarantine - Tri's energy, and how he was able to perk the team up more than a bit - What's next for Bourne, and how everything has changed, yet nothing has changed at all *** 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! 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 https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball SHOOTS!

18 Aug 20211h 16min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is a rare throwback episode, a replay from the fifth podcast we ever did: With April Ross.  The reason we're re-airing this one, and not recording a new one, is because it's just so damn good, and to hear what April Ross had to say in November of 2017, and then compare it to what happened four years later, is nothing short of incredible. Every word she said back then in Tri Bourne's kitchen came true. To the word. Honestly, it's one of the best episodes we've ever recorded, and it aged far finer than the wine we shared that night.  If you missed this episode before, please listen to it now. We discuss: - April's crossroads at the end of 2017: To continue pursuing the international game, or to simplify, play AVPs, and begin her exit.  - Her mindset, and her commitment to small, daily improvements, and how she finds -- or tries to -- balance in life.  - The critical importance of introspection throughout her career - Why she chose Alix Klineman, and why she thought, four years ago, Klineman was her only option to win a gold medal in Tokyo *** 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! 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 https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball SHOOTS!

11 Aug 20211h 48min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features a voice you will all likely recognize, and that's the voice of Lewie Lett, who does the color commentary for virtually every major FIVB tournament and has also been a prominent voice throughout the Tokyo Olympic Games, commentating on everything from beach volleyball to indoor volleyball to -- yes -- ping pong and skateboarding. On this episode, we cover: - Lewie's wild ride at the Tokyo Olympics, and how he can possibly keep up with a schedule that often includes four matches in a single day - How a guy from England turned into one of the most passionate men in the sport of beach volleyball - His ability to always, always, always keep things positive - His thoughts and takeaways on the upset-filled Tokyo Olympic beach volleyball - And, as always, much, much more. ENJOY! *** 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! 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 https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball SHOOTS!

4 Aug 202149min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with (OLYMPIAN!!) Tri Bourne and (not Olympian) Travis Mewhirter is a unique one. Again, we are turning to fan questions, as Mewhirter and our popular new cohost, Savvy Simo, a phenomenal player in her own right, discuss the Tokyo Olympics. We go over virtually everything in Tokyo: - Tri Bourne's strange ride thus far, from a family vacation in Las Vegas to winning now TWO Olympic matches and ensuring a berth into the single-elimination phases. - Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil's all-college battle vs. Latvia's Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka - Is everything pointing towards a gold medal match of April Ross and Alix Klineman vs. Canada's Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan? - What will the rest of Phil Dalhausser's last dance look like? That, and much, much more from the Tokyo Olympic beach volleyball action. ENJOY! *** 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 SHOOTS!

28 Juli 202151min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter is our monthly fan-question episode, though we didn't actually take any specific fan questions, as all of them centered on two topics only: Who is going to win the Olympics? What is Bally's purchase of AVP going to do for the sport of beach volleyball? Now, before we begin: Savvy Simo and Mewhirter recorded this episode late Tuesday night. We were aware that Taylor Crabb had tested positive for COVID, and that Tri Bourne was on a flight bound for Tokyo. However, at the time, the information wasn't public, and, per Bourne's request, SANDCAST was not going to be the one to break that news. So we didn't chat about it, and we're still hoping Crabb can get a negative test in time to compete. That said, what we do discuss on this episode includes: - Bally's purchase of the AVP, and the potential upside a casino with deep pockets can bring to the sport of beach volleyball - Why April Ross and Alix Klineman are the favorites to win gold in Tokyo - Why Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Samba, and not Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, are the favorites to win gold in Tokyo - Much more on the Olympic Games - The exciting AVP Next Gold event in Atlantic City - And, as always, much, much more. ENJOY! *** 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 This episode is also brought to you by Chasing Gold, a new non-profit founded by Matt Callahan and SANDCAST host Travis Mewhirter, aimed at funding aspiring Olympians to relieve the financial burden of traveling around the world. Read more and donate today at www.chasinggold.org! SHOOTS!

21 Juli 202141min