JD Hamilton: The remarkable story of an AVP dream eight years in the making

JD Hamilton has had one of the most extraordinary journeys onto the AVP Tour of anyone who has qualified in recent memory. Long one of the nation’s top grassroots players, winning every kind of tournament in any sort of format in any state or city or town you can imagine, one major feat eluded Hamilton: Qualifying on the AVP Tour.

In Virginia Beach with Travis Mewhirter, he alas did it, qualifying for the Hermosa Beach Pro Series. We recorded this episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, before Hermosa, so some of this may seem outdated, but we actually think it’s a sweet look back at his mindset before the event. We chatted about that, as well as:

• What these last eight years of trying and failing and trying and failing have been like
• The sweet moment when he alas qualified in Virginia
• His road dog summer of 2017 with Christian Honer, when he made the final round of the qualifier over and over and over again – yet never qualified
• Hunting and fishing and all manner of amazing outdoorsy things

And goodness, so much more.

ENJOY!

PHOTO CREDS: Ken Delgado!

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Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter have a NEW BOOK! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you’re reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon!

A huge shoutout to our new sponsor, Goodr! Making the best shades on the beach, for the easy price of $25! Goodr makes $25 active sunglasses that don’t slip, don’t bounce, and are 100% Polarized! If you want to support the show and pick up a pair, goodr is giving SANDCAST listeners FREE SHIPPING on your first order! You can go to goodr.com/SANDCAST and use code SANDCAST to get FREE shipping. goodr offers a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee and 100% Satisfaction. Find your pair at goodr.com/SANDCAST and use code SANDCAST to get FREE shipping.

We have a new -- but temporary -- sponsor with the Saucedwear Tournament, a $17,000 open with $5k to the winners down in Navarre Beach, Fla., where Travis Mewhirter first learned to play. Registration ends on July 14, and players can sign up at saucedwear.com! 

We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Stay healthy with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter and get your greens today! https://athleticgreens.com/partner/d35ctoffer-strength/en?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=sandcast_d35ct__a3172__o27&utm_term=cac__a3172__o27&utm_content=sport__a3172__o27

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

SHOOTS!