SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter

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!

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!

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!

 

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!

Three gold medals of wisdom with Misty May-Treanor

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!

Three years of unbelievable growth, change in three years of SANDCAST

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!

Julia Scoles: Finding peace amid life's biggest decisions

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!

 

Avery Drost: Becoming beach volleyball's ultimate utility man

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!

Jordan Cheng: Making a career out of "Once in a lifetime opportunities"

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!

Answering beach volleyball's questions in a year with no shortage of them

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!