Moises Jimenez is a Dominican-American volleyball player and college standout. Born in the Dominican Republic, he moved to the Bronx, NY at the age of 7. He picked up volleyball through Legacy - an elite club based in the area - and his interest in the sport skyrocketed from there. Loved by his peers on a local and regional level, his journey to where he is today is an interesting one. 02:15 - The culture shock of moving to the Bronx from the Dominican Republic, his path to discovering volleyball, the people who inspired him to get better 14:21 - The journey continued, legacy volleyball, and coach Joel Sanchez being his inspiration, the controversy of switching clubs, the academic demands going into college, the injuries that sidelined his college career, the ups and downs being "God's plan" 38:29 - moving to Miami, competing at the high level, then back to NY, measuring his talent against the best programs like Hawaii 53:11 - Central Park volleyball, shout out to 86 Street, the Dominican culture of the heightened emphasis of taking care of first hit 1:00:04 - Elvis hits hard, and so does Guillermo, love to Bameso, flowers to Ulises Noboa, Tony Bonilla 1:06:54 - What was the hardest fundamental for you to learn, what came the easiest, favorite quotes, one sentence you would say to a kid who wanted a piece of advice

Nik Shaw is an American digital creator, volleyball player and enthusiast. He is the founder/pioneer for "Highline" volleyball - a new tournament series on the beach in the South Bay Area. His ideas on where this is- and where it is going - is indeed, a journey worthy of following. 01:37 - "Highline Volleyball," the idea, the pioneering, and the mission, plus, open level players and open level ideas, and finding a way to bring them together 10:55 - Transcendent players, who are they or who can they be? Plus, the camera loves Troy Field 20:00 - Obstacles on what is in the way of the success of volleyball, the tournaments, the league, the sport 31:23 - finding player back stories, the excitement of watching Savvy Simo (Cory) the last month, what's next for Highline, thoughts on the league, what sport should volleyball emulate to take a next step 46:33 - The power of regional support - it is amazing, plus, why are they laughing when they lose? 1:00:12 - top 5 defenders, the best player in the world, plus, who is the GOAT? The movie and cult classic "Side Out," the inciting incident that saved the UFC 1:31:44 - the conflicting forces of endgame vs residual success vs evolution, Toni Rodriguez and her bionic woman story 1:45:44 - Calling people in on the live set

Health/lifestyle consultant, 14-year carnivore and drummer Phil Escott got chronically ill as a vegetarian, and his body revolted with psoriatic arthritis and other autoimmune conditions in 2010, leaving him unable to move without severe pain, let alone drum or exercise, and he had to throw out all his existing “expertise” and start from scratch. Phil’s eventual combination of a carnivore diet with EMF and artificial light avoidance, cold thermogenesis and a range of other health enhancing practices reversed the “incurable” diseases that he suffered from. His book “Arthritis, The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” gained a foreword by Dr. Jack Kruse and has become an Amazon Kindle bestseller and is now available in print. Phil talks from personal experience about contemporary lifestyle and diet choices, disconnects from our ancestral heritage, emotional balancing and the simple but often misunderstood nature of spiritual awakening. He now consults with clients worldwide helping them to reverse their metabolic and autoimmune issues and runs The Big Fat Challenge with Ben Hunt as his main project. His latest book, the "Red Pill Revolution" is awesome. Melissa Lim is a Canadian American Pharmacist and volleyball player/enthusiast. She was inspired by a previous episode with "meat militia" member Phil Escott and leader Dr Bart Kay. Her journey on completely overhauling her diet has had life changing results, from getting rid of Acne she has had since age 9, to an energy level and clarity that is shooting through the roof. The chronological path of paying it forward continues. 02:39 - Melissa's journey to carnivorism, the ailments the journey, the right path, Phils tells his journey of the same that led to his first book 26:23 - Why carnivorism is now a growing culture, not a diet but a species appropriate way of life, how to maintain sources of vitamin C, discussing the notion that athletes "need" carbohydrates or not, the glycemic chart and how to use it 39:33 - Having the difficult discussion with loved ones on the benefits or health changes, perhaps best to lead by example and show the results, first-hand, understanding that the opposition is not monolithic, the division between the stubborn, the willfully ignorant, and how the sales pitch can help people or turn them off 50:01 - Getting rid of foods that are addictive and diminishing your quality of life, who needs this more than most and how to help 1:12:33 - The silly notion of this being a "grift" (the censorship, the loss of reputation, the amount of work being done for free), the perfect "stool" lol, the attack by General Mills on our breakfast index, and why none of it was scientific 1:23:42 - Meds that help and meds that kick the can down the road, the leaky gut, inflammation, HDL and LDL and how people misinterpret it, what you are being told to do, vs the one who has to live with the results (you), plus, what feeds the gut Biome? 1:37:39 - HDL and LDL and how people misinterpret it, seed oils, and throwing away the meat for the sins of the bun, plus, new events, retreats, seminars and getaways

This episode is about the AVP Huntington Beach, with a concentration on the qualifiers. With only 4 spots available per gender, who's it going to be? 00:27 - Kudos to everyone representing the best in their volleyball region 02:10 - Prediction picks for the men's side 12:21 - Prediction picks for the women's side 22:11 - The main draw, comment section, final thoughts

Kristen Cruz (Nuss) is an American professional beach volleyball player. A perfect 36-0 her senior year at LSU, she hit the ground running on the pro scene, winning multiple regional tournaments, her first Gold Series in Atlanta, her first FIVB in Australia, the first of many titles on the domestic and international scene, capping it off with her first Olympic appearance at the Paris games. Along with her partner Taryn Brasher, they are, to date, the number one team in the world. This podcast was live where we took live questions, mixed in with our subject matter 02:01 - The past tournaments, the honor system on touch or net calls, what age did you start driving, her upcoming tournament with Lippmann from Germany 09:22 - fan questions: serving strategy as the smaller player, was playing in front of your parents growing up a pressure cooker, how do you break down video (self, opponent), don't over-analyze things about a team that can change from one game to another, plus, what techniques are not up for compromise? 17:45 - favorite country to play in, her type of set preference, when she wants to start a family, personalizing your work, dealing with a loss, when coaches should talk to players post-loss 28:06 - why do some people leave hating the game, an examination of the juniors, college and professional perspective, the importance of letting juniors' players know that a competition club can be a safe zone, plus, the physical and mental adjustment made to prep from college to the pros 38:20 - examples of games where you got blown away the first set and won the next two sets (shared stories), plus, saluting Kamila Tan (injured) and Madison Shields 44:11 - What should AA players be spending more time on in practice and what do most spend too much time working on? Volleyball teams that are joined at the hip who play with other players 52:25 - teams that she looks forward to playing against, plus the spread of women's beach, bicoastal and third coast, letting emotional sleeping tigers, sleep, international teams in the tournament, being fast starter in a league with games to 15, loving the Austin Aces, the idea of the "expansion drafts" 1:03:11 - NOLA talent from the past: Zimmerman, Pete Nuss, Dale Davis, remaining fan questions, married life

Jeff "el Hefe" Samuels is an American Professional Beach Volleyball Player, Entrepreneur, and Model. He is also a spokesperson for Hyundai. The prosperity he is enjoying in his sport is well-documented. From the AVP, FIVB, NVL, to regional tournament wins, this versatile player is fun to watch, wherever the venue may be. He is currently the founder of "Empact," - designed to bring and grow the sport in communities that are underserved in the sport. 01:43 - FUDS, the electric atmosphere, the fellowship, the hecklers and how it compares to other tournaments that are festive 13:13 - Heckling, and understanding your environment, plus, Dave Shaw is a great MC that understands the set and the setting 25:10 - Jordan Lucas, the commentator, and the two sides to the coin, appreciating the pecking order, the personalities 37:10 - Marcus Koppke, the ultimate teammate, the significant improvements 48:11 - Cracking the code of being in the semis, finals or being the winner 51:45 - "Empact," the idea, the creation the growing force

Joel Sanchez is an American Volleyball coach. A New York product, he played competitively for club Mocha and was a standout at Lehman College. Once he entered coaching, he hit the ground running, with a "Midas touch" on every single program in which he was involved. From club to college to adult pros, wherever there is success, there he is, with a list entirely too long for the description. To date, he is the program director of Legacy Volleyball Club, where his work won him national director of the year in 2022. 04:19 - Legacy volleyball: the idea, the pioneering, the ascension, providing a place of safeness and escapism. 18:22 - NYC being the pandemic ground zero and how the club survived, catching up on 25 years of playing and coaching (for our "people"), being raised in a culture where taking care is first contact is never an issue. 28:28 - Remembering Guillermo Ramos, the hardest hitter we have ever seen, the invincibility of Bameso in 2004-2005, the "beauty" of Desmond "Shadow" Hamilton 38:31 - Why Omar Vargas was the most important coach in NYC from 1994-2004, the majority or NYC coaches in the 2000's were active players with little guidance trying to figure it out - and did they, ever, about Justin Stack, Dan Skillins, Krishna Daas, Danial Levant 52:26 -Personalizing your work: does it work more for you or against you? Plus, how do you set up an environment where people want to come to practice. 1:06:35 - The golden rule of coaching girls and women vs coaching boys and men, plus the moment we realized players changed and we stayed the same, about Jackie Meadow, why do we need a degree to coach? 1:22:22 - finding ways to coach and eat in the South Bronx, plus, more NYC talk, about Elvis Rodriguez, Mike Salak, Seidu Ajanako 1:30:01 - a coach's wild dream is for a player to say they are a better person because of them, and open letter to Joel Sanchez, thanks to the players who picked up the phone and said "yes."

Kamila Tan and Madison Shields are American professional beach volleyball players. With a pedigree of success at the collegiate, domestic and international level, they have combined forces and formed a formidable honeymoon phase, most recently winning the AVP in Austin 04:34 - Walking us through AVP Austin, the AVP qualifier, match point in Austin 15:14 - If most of the game is mental, why do we not spend more time mentally preparing? Mental preparation the morning of a game, the night before a game and nights in between matches 26:25 - Nutrition, hydration, what works and what does not, 35and battling cramping at the AVP Austin Open 35:00 - Going through match point at AVP Austin, looking back at important 2-point victories, post NCAA generations 47:47 - Is there a story where you lost the first set and the match was headed the wrong way, but you turned it around? 1:01:02 - Volleyball break up, or real break up? Are volleyball players more sensitive elite athletes over basketball 1:11:02 - Favorite hip hop artists, as well as different genres and songs that get you going. 1:23:13 - Inspire books, comedians, the power of forgiveness 1:35:30 - A strong message to Madison Shields

This episode is a call-in version to discuss the enigma known as Jordan Lucas. Lucas is an outside hitter for Cal-Northridge - a division I team in the most competitive conference in the NCAA. This covers the controversial comments made by Charlie Brand, the responsibility of the ref, and a nuanced discussion on the conflicting forces of self-expression vs crossing the line (or not). 01:31 - Don't say. Show. Player reactions to Charlie Brand comments regarding Jordan Lucas 08:11 - Comment section reaction: does this start with the referee? Is this a taunt too far, or self-expression? More breakdown of the reaction. 22:53 - Should the commentator lose his job? Also, understanding the "pecking order" of taunting friends on the other side of the net. 40:11 - "turning" the right way: take lessons, plus, what does "safe space" mean? And are people severely underestimating Jordan's thick skin? 55:11 - How did we get here, and the difficulty of a color commentator not having the luxury of a second take, plus, his eyebrow game is fierce

Part one is a live comment and call in, focusing in on the AVP league qualifiers, the bids, the wild cards and the controversy. The elephant in the room is Corrine Quiggle and Chloe Loreen, who many believe should have gotten one of the wild cards, which leads us to exactly where we are, now. 02:01 - The path to the AVP, the bids, the qualifier, and wild cards 10:24 - The electric atmosphere, the climate and the exclusive club that people are criticizing but at the same time, want to be a part of, the path of the bid winners 28:55 - a closer look at the bracketology, avoiding the "prom queen fallacy," the city promotions, the sale of merchandise #nyvarsitysports #optionpodcast