Good morning, beach volleyball fans,
I love America. I truly do.
But when given the choice of spending the Fourth of July at home, barbecuing my little heart out, watching fireworks, hanging with the wifey and kiddos, or spending it in Gstaad, I must confess…
I’m choosing Gstaad every dang time.
The place is magical, plain and simple. I’ll have a reflective write-up coming later this week on what makes the place so special, but words and photos and videos — I’ll also have a tour of Gstaad going up on our YouTube Channel by Tuesday — don’t do it justice. Gstaad must be on your bucket list, and it also must be crossed off said bucket list. There are no other options. I beg you: Book your tickets now. Reserve the hotel (the Huus is the greatest hotel in the whole wide world and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise).
Buy the ticket(s). Take the ride.
It’s worth it.
It was certainly worth it for Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher, who on Sunday became the first USA team to win back to back Gstaad titles since a couple no-names, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings, back in 2006-2007… when Nuss and Brasher were 10.
Meanwhile, Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan broke a three-year drought of winning Elites, Switzerland hopped on the podium for the first time in 13 years with a bronze for Anouk Verge-Derpe and Zoe Verge-Depre, Leona Kernen established herself as the real deal, shit does indeed make the best fertilizer, young Sweden set a new bar for youth talent on the Beach Pro Tour, and so much more is covered in my Gstaad recap and notebook.
Meanwhile, if you missed any of the coverage of Gstaad, here you go:
Meanwhile, back in Iowa….
The week in SANDCAST Studios
This past week featured a rare debut show on the pod, as Kylie DeBerg hopped in the studio with Tri Bourne to talk her most unlikely story, from a small town in Iowa to the top of professional beach volleyball:
More on Kylie DeBerg
As I mentioned: The conversation covered a lot.
News Around the Beach
- Troy Field and Evan Cory love playing volleyball on Fourth of July weekend. They’ve done it twice, and haven’t lost once, winning again at AVP Denver this past weekend.
- The MVP and the rookie. Geena Urango, the 2024 AVP League MVP, partnered with rookie Avery Jackson, and they won AVP Denver, in the first professional event of Jackson’s career.
- Alexis Durish, Audrey Koenig stay hot. Another weekend, another medal for FSU’s top pair, this time a bronze at a Futures in France.
- Waupaca up next. The final AVP Contender event of the year hits Wisconsin this week for the annual Waupaca Boatride. Volleyball Life will have brackets and scoring and such.
- World Champs update. I’ll have one on the SANDCAST website sometime this week, promise. Stay tuned.
- We now have an ad free tier for audio. Tired of listening to ads? I saw a bunch of comments on the ad frequency in Rogan podcasts, and figured I’d give our listeners an ad-free option. For 5 bucks a month, you no longer have to listen to ads, and you support the show. Win win. Here’s the link where you can become a patron.
- Watch SANDCAST Episodes Early! Become a member of our YouTube Channel and you’ll get every piece of content days before anybody else.
- Coming up on Wednesday we have our favorite troublemaker: Kent Steffes. Get your popcorn ready and your notebooks out for some lessons on sports biz, volleyball, winning, and so much more. Love every minute I can get with Uncle Kent.
Where You Can Follow The Pod
- We’re essentially working to become the new VolleyballMag. A big part of that is building a Facebook presence, so we’re building a page. Would be awesome if you could follow us there!
- Spotify, obviously. Linked below
Much Love to the sponsors
We’ve been with Wilson Volleyball since day one, and we love the products they make — the best ball on the market, hands down, no questions asked. Use our discount code: SANDCAST-20 for 20 PERCENT OFF.
Watch VBTV for 10 percent off using our discount code, SANDCAST10.
We’ve got SANDCAST merch! Get yourself some swag.
SANDCAST adds another year with AG1. One of our longest-running sponsors, AG1, is back on the pod for another year. We’ve re-signed with the brand, and have changed our model with them, to a fully affiliate-model. So if you want to stay healthy AND help the show, please order with this link, which comes with a full year of Vitamin D for FREE, as well as five totally FREE travel packs!
We’re officially partnered with Better at Beach! If you want to get Better at Beach, use our code SANDCAST for 10 percent off all of their products, from online classes to in-person camps and more.
Appreciate y’all for listening, reading, and loving the beach like we do.
Have a great week!
SHOOTS!
SANDCAST Team
