AVP Volleyball will be your new favorite sport

Summer’s Arrival and Beach Volleyball Excitement

Summer is here, even if the weather might take its time catching up—in some regions, it may not improve right away. It’s kind of funny how Memorial Day marks the unofficial start, but not everything feels summery just yet.

Hopefully, we’ll soon dive into all those classic summer activities: chilling out, playing, fishing, and maybe even hitting the beach sometime soon. At least, that’s the plan, right?

If you find yourself at the Jersey Shore this weekend, you’ll stumble upon the AVP Volleyball tournament kicking off in Belmar, New Jersey. It’s professional beach volleyball, and as the name implies, it’s pretty fantastic.

Evan Coley, one of AVP’s versatile athletes, recently chatted with SB Nation about various topics. Turns out, he’s not just a volleyball player—he’s a huge New Orleans Saints fan, too. I took a chance to ask a few interested folks to promote AVP, and surprisingly, they did a pretty solid job of it.

The idea that an AVP tournament could happen on such a prominent beach in a major city is undeniably enticing. It’s almost a clever marketing move, to have that kind of exposure.

During my talks with Evan, it struck me that AVP volleyball shares some attributes with the best parts of professional golf and tennis. You learn to recognize finer details, like the type of sand, much like athletes must consider the type of grass or surface texture in their sports. There are these insights that might never cross your mind unless you delve a bit deeper (a notable tip from Evan: if you want to avoid burning your feet, don’t forget to dig into the sand!).

This is a sport to seriously consider investing your time in. Tickets are available if you’re interested. This summer, games will take place in cities like Aspen, Miami, Las Vegas, Long Beach, New York’s Central Park, East Hampton, Dallas, Manhattan Beach, and Chicago. Quite a lineup!

The AVP League is a relatively new format in beach volleyball that launched last year, and its reception has been positive. Teams compete weekly, and their overall records determine who progresses toward the championship.

With eight teams in the league — including the Austin Aces, Brooklyn Blaze (which Evan plays for), Dallas Dream, LA Launch, Miami Mayhem, New York Nitro, Palm Beach Passion, and San Diego Smash — they feature both men’s and women’s duos. Though they don’t play simultaneously, the outcomes of their matches influence the overall team performance. It’s quite entertaining.