I had to appreciate the irony. Even after I had shared a very long, cathartic moment with the Pacific Ocean, staring into everything, staring into nothing; even after I had missed far too many blocks and hit a loopy line shot when I probably should have just hit the daggum ball, and then watched as Charlie Van Reese dug it easily and ripped a swing – another swing – right past my seam, sealing my fate in the AVP Hermosa Beach qualifier.
Even after that, I laughed to myself at the irony.
The tank top I had packed for the day to replace my roughly 40-pound, sweat-soaked shirt, was a gift from my girlfriend.
It read Hakuna Matata — no worries for the rest of your days.
It was perfect.
Read the rest of the story in VolleyballMag.com!

Author, journalist, podcast host, and broadcaster, Travis Mewhirter has written 4 number-one bestsellers — including Kings of Summer: The Rise of Beach Volleyball, alongside Olympic gold medalist Kent Steffes. He has also written award-winning features, including a package at the Northwest Florida Daily News that earned him Sports Writer of the Year, and a heartfelt story on the late Eric Zaun in Volleyball Magazine, which was an honorable mention in the 2020 Best American Sportswriting.
Following the passing of Eric Zaun, Mewhirter, alongside Jon Mesko and Katie Spieler, founded the Eric Zaun Award, which has raised more than 25 thousand to fund beach volleyball players.
Mewhirter now devotes most of his time to playing and covering beach volleyball, via his podcast: SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, as well as writing for Volleyball Magazine and commentating on Volleyball TV. Mewhirter and Bourne have written two books together: Volleyball for Milkshakes, and Playbook of Champions, both of which were number-one best-sellers.
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