I went to my first AVP (Association of Volleyball Players) event. They hosted the championships in Phoenix and I went with a couple of friends from my coed doubles volleyball league. Here’s a comprehensive post on my experience!
First day of the Championships; quarterfinals match!
If you don’t know much about the AVP or the sport, that’s okay! I usually like to describe the AVP as the NBA of basketball…except it’s for beach volleyball. The AVP only holds events in the US. The format for the game is doubles (meaning 2 players per team).
If you want just a brief read, I have a little overall experience summary below. For those who know more about the sport or the association, the detailed sections about meeting the athletes, games, etc… are further down below. Either way…buckle up because it’s going to be a kick ass ride.
Overall Experience
Surreal. It was surreal. I haven’t been to a lot of major sports event and it’s definitely more fun when you attend in person, but there is just something different about going to one for a sport that you really enjoy playing yourself. Going with friends who also love the sports as much as you do really made it super fun too.
There was always something to look forward to throughout the event. It was stuff like getting that free merch they throw into the crowd or predicting the final results of the tournament or waiting for your favorite teams to play. I was also looking for the chance to get a picture with my favorite athletes. It was a bit hard though because they were either warming up, coming out of a hard loss, or there was just a long line for a photo.
There was also a roller coaster of emotions that made this experience so great and intense. It was witnessing extremely upsetting games, seeing my favorite teams lose and win, booing with the crowd on terrible calls, and screaming at the top of my lungs for super sick or monster plays. I wasn’t just sitting in my chair staring most of the time.
The only thing that sucked was how expensive things were at the arena. $8 for a water bottle and $14 for a 8″ pizza. I was just completely shocked by the price. Maybe it’s because I don’t go to enough events in professional sports arenas to know how expensive it can be, but to put in perspective, I usually pay $10 for a 18″ whole pizza and $3 for a water bottle if I were to eat out.
I will plan to go to more AVP events in the future. It just requires more planning since most of the events are held in other states, but that won’t deter me now that I know how fun it is to attend one. Now onto the juicy deets…starting with the teams I was rooting for!
TAY TAY & THE SPONCIL CANNON
THE TAYS. photo source: https://avp.com/news/phoenix-championships-recap/
For the men, I was rooting for Taylor Crabb & Taylor Sanders to win – and they did! First, I was so excited when they beat Chaim Schalk & Theo Brunner in the semis. They lost to them 3 times throughout the tour. Because they beat them at the championships event, it made the win feel soooo incredibly good. But it wasn’t over just yet. Things got a lot harder as they played against Paul Lotman and Miles Partain in the finals…and sheeeessshh…Mile’s over on two game caused so many issues for the Taylors. Miles is the youngest player on the court at 20 years old and his option plays and jump sets threw the Taylors in a whirlwind. His side out % and hitting accuracy was off the charts but the Taylors were able to keep their composure. Crabb responded with very clever and well placed shots while Sander put on the service and spiking pressure. When they won that last point, I yelled “YESSSSS WOOOOOOOO” as loud as I could. Seeing them win and celebrate was awesome.
I rooted for the Taylors because they hadn’t gotten a win prior to this event and I felt like they were the underdogs the entire season. They are both undersized players for their roles, but both Taylors are really hard hitters, especially Sanders with his monster serve. They made it to 3 finals, but lost all 3 finals. They were painful losses and each event was becoming a bigger uphill battle. The pressure from the new partnership, Sanders first time back on sand, and high expectations that they would do well was high. Despite the odds, they kept fighting. At the very end, they finally succeeded. I’ll admit that I got pretty emotional when they gave their speech. Congrats Taylors!!!
Terese Cannon & Sarah Sponcil; photo source: https://m.facebook.com/pg/avpbeach/posts/?ref=page_internal&__nodl&mt_nav=0
Now for the women – I was rooting for Sarah Sponcil & Terese Cannon to go to the finals. I love Sarah’s playstyle. She’s smart and super scrappy on defense, but when she gets to hit, she can unload. She is also a PHX native so a part of me was also rooting for the hometown hero :). Unfortunately, they lost to Hughes & Kolinske and Betsi Flint & Kelly Cheng. Hughes & Kolinske were the number 1 seed so it was a tough to play them the first round of the competition. Kelly and Sarah used to play together but they split after the Tokyo Olympics. Since there was some ex-teammate rivarly, that really made the match fun to watch. I was sad that they lost. They’re still a strong team though and I look forward to watching them play next season!
Meeting the Athletes
Aside from seeing how big and tall the athletes are in person, the other surprise about meeting them was how nice and soft spoken most of them were. Most of the athletes that I root for are quite chatty on the court, but when I went up to get a picture and say hello, they either had a low voice and/or were super friendly. Maybe a part of me thought that they were Hollywood-esk celebrities and therefore might of wanted no participation in the paparazzi of children and teenagers, but they were super open. They tried to get in as many pictures and give out as many signatures as possible. I unfortunately didn’t get to meet all the athletes because of bad timing and limited access… SO NEXT TIME, I WILL GET MORE PICTURES AND AUTOGRAPHS. I only got three pictures with Trevor Crabb, Troy Field, and Casey Patterson. The first two are shown below 🙂
Left picture: with Trevor Crabb | Right Picture: with Troy Field
Goodbye Casey Patterson
I didn’t know that the PHX event was going to be his last tournament. 18 years on the AVP.
The man himself, Casey Patterson, AKA Mr. Boom AKA 6′ 6″ Ninja
I absolutely love watching Casey Patterson play. It doesn’t matter who he plays with because his personality on the court always made the game exciting to watch. He’s got the flare, the celebratory dance moves, and the silliest heckles. Although he didn’t have as many wins as the recent retirees like Phil Dalhausser or Jake Gibb, I think what made him so legendary for the sport was his passion and dedication to it. He was an influential ambassador for the sport. He made his own podcast for the sport. His passion showed in his playstyle and attitude on the court. Just some fun facts about him:
- He’s probably the CHATTIEST player on tour. His famous lines are “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” & “DON’T PULL ON ME”
- He’s 6′ 6″ but plays as a defender. He did start out as a blocker but transitioned to full time defending
- He’s an Olympian. Attended the 2016 Rio Games
- He’s won I think 23 titles in his career (both nationally and internationally)
- He’s retiring at the age of 42
When I was there in the stands watching his going away ceremony, I was thinking about the idea that leaving behind a positive legacy has got to be one of the most rewarding things you can do while you’re alive. If you witnessed the people cheering for Casey, the athletes giving him goodbye hugs, and the Wilson sponsor giving him a custom signed volleyball, you could tell that his success wasn’t just tied to money and titles. I believe that when you are able to help somebody else become better, you feel so much more confident in yourself. That confidence is key when it comes to living a meaningful life or having a successful career. For Casey, his career was both very influential and affluential, which I think is quite rare for anybody to have. I hope that I can also influence and serve others as much as Casey has for the sport.
I have a good feeling he’ll stick around and play volleyball in smaller events like the KoB or 4 man events the McKibbin Brothers set up. Cheers to your retirement Casey! If I see you again out on the beach, I’m going to get your signature!
Closing Thoughts & The Next AVP
I am so freaking glad I went to this AVP event. I’ve always wanted to go to one but they are always hosted in other states. Now that I’ve been to one, I forsure will be going to more events in the future. I may also buy better seats so I can sit and talk with the athletes (because I’m such a fangirl).
For all your volleyball lovers out there, I hope you can make it out to an AVP event!
