by Dave Williams
Beach volleyball players from Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach are posed to fill three of the eight positions on the U.S. beach volleyballs teams going to the London Olympics in August.
Kerry Walsh of Hermosa Beach and partner Misty May have already been named to represent the U.S. The two are hoping to win a third consecutive gold medal. They won gold in both the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Lauren Fendrick of Redondo Beach, and her partner of Brooke Hanson are also Olympic prospects. But they must catch up to Jen Kessy and April Ross who are leading in points on the FIVB tour, which determines the Olympic team selections.
On the men’s side 2008 Olympic gold medalist Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers have already secured the first team position. The two top contenders for the second team are Sean Rosenthal of Redondo Beach and Jake Gibb, and Matt Fuerbringer of Hermosa Beach and Nick Lucena.
Domestic tours on track
Two years after the professional domestic tour was thrown into disarray by the bankruptcy of the AVP, the domestic competition has regained its footing. The NVL, Wide Open and Cuervo Series have agreed to coordinate their schedules, allowing players to compete for prize money on all three tours.
The cooperation between the tours reflects the efforts of the newly formed Beach Assembly, which is operating under the direction of USA Volleyball, the sport’s national governing body. The Beach Assembly will have two seats on the USAV board of directors. The Beach Assembly is the final piece of USA Volleyball’s reorganization plan, which began in October 2008.
The USA Beach office in Hermosa Beach is developing athletes and coaches through its High Performance programs and coaching certification, or B-CAP program. Local businesses have been enlisted to help with the program. The Yard gym has been designated the “Official Training Center of USA Beach Volleyball” and has facilitated new relationships for the sport with Cybex, Neurotopia. the newly Hermosa Beach My Fit Foods is assisting with nutritional programs.
The highlight of this year’s second annual High Performance Program will be the High Performance Championships in Hermosa Beach over the weekend of July 18-22, on the South side of the Hermosa Beach Pier. Athletes from across the country, and across all age groups, will compete. That same weekend the Cuervo Series Hermosa Beach Open will be held on the North side of Hermosa Beach Pier.
College, highs school teams jump to the sand
This year marks the first year of NCAA Sand Volleyball. The first NCAA Sand Volleyball Championships will be held in Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 4 and 5.
High school beach volleyball kicked off in Arizona this spring, and juniors club beach volleyball is springing up nationwide with powerful growth in Florida and Texas.
Spring training in Hermosa
Over the past several years, Hermosa Beach has become an increasingly popular location for FIVB tour training. This year athletes from nine different countries held their FIVB pre-season training in Hermosa Beach, including Germany, China, Great Britain and New Zealand.
Over the coming year, USA Volleyball plans to work with the City of Hermosa Beach formally designate the city as the international headquarters for beach volleyball spring training.
David C. Williams is the Managing Director of Beach USA Volleyball.
