Good morning, beach volleyball fans,
When I was playing beach volleyball, I used to consider off-season a myth, a joke of a thing that people loved to talk about but nobody ever actually took serious. Now that I am no longer playing — and no, my brief interlude back onto the court at Pompano Beach is not me coming out of retirement — and am a coach, media person, and fan, well, we are into off-season mode. Christmas fireplaces dominate YouTube. Christmas music all day long. Reading the Grinch multiple times per day. Doing a power rankings of our neighbors’ Christmas decorations. Mariah Carey back from the dead.
It’s glorious.
Since there’s no real beach news until the inevitable partnership musical chairs begin, I suggest you give Lee Feinswog a follow at 900 Square Feet or Larry Hamel over at All Volleyball . They’re both covering indoor tirelessly, as they should — did you see that Texas A&M vs. Nebraska epic?!
But we do have SOME beach things happening, like Zach Schubert and his retirement chat on the pod this week.
The week in SANDCAST Studios
This week Zach Schubert and I cruised around Adelaide at the World Champs, talking his retirement, the wildness of an Olympic qualifying process, his love for Thomas Hodges, why the sport needs villains and characters, and a whole lot more. Fun one with one of the funnest guys in the sport.
You can:
Give us a follow on Spotify if you haven’t already.
That’s a (Spotify) Wrap!
One of the more genius things Spotify does is its annual Wrap, breaking down your favorite songs, genres, artists, playlists, etc. They do the same for podcast creators, too. A few notes from ours:
- Our audience grew by 193 percent this year on Spotify, a massive gain for us.
- Our top countries, in order, go: USA (no surprise), Canada, Germany, Norway, Switzerland.
- Fans listened to SANDCAST for longer than 97% of other shows. Preciate y’all.
- We received more comments than 98% of other shows. YouTube doesn’t do stuff like this, but my guess is we’d be even higher there. Preciate y’all.
- We were shared more than 94% of other shows. Preciate y’all.
- Our top episode? Troy Field, talking the evolution, challenges and future of beach volleyball.
News Around the Beach
- It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s December 1. Wild! Our most popular write-up, every year, without fail, is up: The 2025 Ultimate Beach Volleyball Gift Guide. Go get that beach volleyball enthusiast in your life some swag and equipment and merch and all the rest.
- Why did I play Pompano? To return to my glory as a player (LOL)? To win a ton of money? (bigger LOL). No. It was simple: To play with a good friend. My reflection from Pompano Beach, on the importance of play, which is one of the most read writeups on our site this year.
- Watch SANDCAST Episodes Early! Become a member of our YouTube Channel and you’ll get every piece of content days or weeks or, now, months, even, before anybody else.
- Coming up on Wednesday we have Marco Krattiger, another pod recorded from Adelaide, chatting all things resurgent Swiss beach volleyball, the toughest teams to score against, his 13-6 comeback in Stare Jablonki, and more.
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
