Category: AVP

South Beach, The Keys, and the first event in Miami….GRRRRR

Posted on by vballphil in AVP, Friends, Fun, Miami, volleyball

So after Atlanta I headed down to South Florida to hang with on of my fave people…Yasmin aka Yassy! It was a great couple of days of vegging, working, and watching! From watching shows at the Theater of the Sea in the Keys to my “office space” in Key Largo to watching the Marlins with Misty, Yassy, and Butch and finally the Miami AVP stop…it definitely was a week/weekend of different emotions!

Here are some pics from the week & weekend!
The shows at the Theater of the Sea






My office!

Marlin Action


Speedo Party in South Beach





Hotlanta….err Coldlanta!

Posted on by vballphil in AVP, Dee Synder, Friends, Random, volleyball


Hahaha…so when you think of the Dirty Dirty South…Hotlanta always come to mind…but what happens when the temp is below zero…IN APRIL!!! Good times is what happens!

So i took Ty Loomis, Anthony Medel, & Angela Lewis to do an AVP promotion at the Big South National Qualifier. Talk about a great crew! Plus, tons of friends recruited and coaches at this tournament…so we had a ton of fun!! Here are some classic pics from that weekend!








Media, Volleyball, and Rest…

Posted on by vballphil in AVP, Friends, Fun, volleyball

So, this was the last weekend of rest for me…heading into the 2007 AVP season. Can we say mixed emotions!! I am pumped to be traveling again, with my friends…BUT…wow…can we say fatigue and frustration central?! Anyways, this past weekend started off with the AVP Media Day/Hilton Launch Party at the Beverly Hilton on Thurs night. It was beach glam meets Hollywood. Good times! I got to meet some pretty cool people, along with hanging with some amazing people…hehe! Here are some photos from that night (with more coming soon)….

















This weekend was the SCVA National Quali for 15’s, 17’s, & 18’s…so basically I had friends, who are both college coaches and club coaches, come into town. Good times! I love hanging with my “boys”! Haha! And Lutes too :)! And then I was also able to head to the beach and enjoy my day there! Haha! Concept right? I met some of my former players (and was going to play, but ended up just running) and just vegged! NIce right! After the beach, I headed to the ASC to support my former players…good times! I am so proud of y’all! Anyways….the 2007 season is about to start…so here we go!!!

The Wine Country of Santa Ynez…

Posted on by vballphil in AVP, Wine

Well, one of the things I have always wanted to do is go wine tasting in Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez…and now I have done that! YEA! We had our AVP retreat in Santa Barbara this past monday and boy was it a needed break away! First of all, the AVP put us up in the Fess Parker Double Tree hotel…and if you have never been or stayed there, can I just say…AMAZING! It also helped that it was a great weather day too! :)!

We did our work retreat in the morning and then it was off to Santa Ynez Valley to a couple of winerys. The first winery we went to was Bridlewood, in Los Olivos. We had lunch there waiting for us, next to a lake, in the middle of a beautiful pasture. And then they served us the food…the BEST deli meat/roasted veggies lunch I have EVER had. It just plain rocked!

After Bridlewood, we headed over to the Southern Winery, Rideaux. It was awesome…from there we headed into the little town of Los Olivos, which had tons of little wine tasting rooms. We ventured around the city and over to the resturant, Matthies, for dinner. After dinner we had a nice..err…hilarious ride home in our shuttle….good times!

So my first AVP Retreat is over…and can I say…can I go again please?!!!

Part 3 of my whirlwind first season….with one more to come!

Posted on by vballphil in AVP

Manhattan Beach, CA (Aug 10-13) This tournament is known to be the Grand daddy tourney of them all. The home of Beach volleyball. It was sure nice to be home again for a tournament! Between the stars that came to watch, my friend Amy who came as a potential sponsor, and my friend’s wedding in Dad Point…it was a non stop weekend! Did not take too many pics…kinda funny! But whatever! I made up for it in NYC

Brooklyn, NY (Aug 17-20)This had to be the best week of my life! From staying with my HS best friend Kristen in NJ to our last night in NYC…it just plain rocked! I did the whole “Planes, Trains, Automobiles” thing to see my friend Kristen, who lives 30 minutes outside the city…but it was SO COOL! And seeing her, her awesome hubbie, Danny, and their baby, Auggie, was awesome! And for the record…AUGGIE DOGGIE is my 4th fave dog :)! After that I got to see the city and experience things I have never done before! From riding the subway over the Manhattan Bridge (who knew) to going to Coney Island to eating at Pier 17 under the Brooklyn Bridge to riding in a taxi around the island on the water to going to the Budakan for drinks to riding the Cyclone at Coney Island to dancing my life away at Quo! SO MUCH FUN! And one last note…not only was Quo absolutely amazing, but I got to hang with two high school friends there….Jodie and Michelle!




Boulder, CO (Aug 24-27)This was an awesome place to travel to from NYC…the mountains, the clean air, the health freaks? Who knew Boulder was healthier than LA! It is a cute town which reminded me off a Venice, CA meets Austin, TX. The nice thing about this trip is I got to see a college friend who I rarely see anymore! ERIKA! Of course she looks great and her baby is so freaking adorable! :)!

Cincinnati, OH (Aug 31-Sept 3) – The last “regular” stop of the season. This was my first time in the “Nati”and let me tell you…I was shocked at how pretty it was driving into Cinci. It is a beautiful downtown. The event itself was held outside of the city in Mason, Ohio. It was at the Linder Family Tennis Center..a really nice facility.

My Season recap….part 2

Posted on by vballphil in AVP

Hermosa Beach, CA (June 9-11)This was a long, yet short weekend. Tons of work and tons of fun (Sangria baby)!

Sacramento, CA (June 15-18) – Well…to be honest…not much to say except…ARG…really despised this event..sorry to all my Norcal friends BUT this was a miserable event!

Volleyball Festival (Reno, NV) – This was my first time at this event not coaching or recruiting…so it was interesting! I brought Aaron Wactfogel, Jeff Minc, Michelle More, Suzanne Stonebarger, Brittany Hochevar, and Angela Lewis with me to do autograph signings. Heidi, one of our interns, came along with me to help work the booth…”intern”, “boss”, and “the talent” came from this weekend :)!

Seaside Heights, NJ (June 29-July 2)This was a cool event for me. With Cheri coming down from upstate New York and my cousin Kat (and her boyfriend John) coming in from Baltimore…it was a mini family weekend! And let me tell you….what you in see New Jersey is something you can’t find anywhere…and that is EVERY STEREOTYPE KNOWN TO MAN! It is crazy!

Atlanta, GA (July 6-9)This was a cool stop for me since JO’s was finishing up and I got see a bunch of my friends before they flew home. Also, the 4th of July was during my week in ATL…AND I HEART AMERICA’S BIRTHDAY! Also, I got to go to the brand new Georgia Aquarium! It was amazing! They had a Whale Shark aquarium…and they were AMAZING…

Hoover, AL (July 13-16)This event had to my 3rd favorite event of the season. Between the southern hospitality, the quality time with the athletes, and the vball action…it plain rocked! I always knew how fun BW’s was…but it rocked there! Haha!

Chicago, IL (July 20-23)This was my 2nd fave event. My room overlooked the Sears Tower. It was gorgeous! From the Field museum to Grant Park to North Beach to the Cubs game at Wrigley…and let’s not forget Duffy’s! That was a fun night!


The 2006 recap….Philly style…part 1

Posted on by vballphil in AVP


So wow…the season over and can we say I feel like I have been on staff for years! Starting in early March “officially” to the season ending tournament in Lake Tahoe, CA….wow…16 tournaments done…with the tournaments increasing to 18 next season! CRAZY! So here is my rookie year on the AVP….

Ft. Lauderdale, FL (March 31-April 2) – Ft. Lauderdale was my rookie event. So imagine waking up and watching a sunrise at 6A…on the Atlantic Ocean. Talk about an amazing start for my new job! The days were hot…the nights were fun…and who doesn’t love Florida?!

Northeast National Qualifier (Baltimore, MD – ) – I traveled to Balitmore for my last trip with Mizuno LB. I got to see some dear friends and my east coast family! Even though my team did not play to well, it was an awesome trip!

Lonestar National Qualifier (Dallas, TX -) – This was my first promotion event. I brought Ashley Ivy and Carrie Dodd to do signings for me at my booth. It is always good to get back to Texas!!

Crocs Party – This was a cool event at the West Hollywood House of Blues. I was lucky enough to bring my sister! We also invited Tia & Tamara Mowery…which was awesome because they are great girls!

Tempe, AZ (May 5-7) – This was 2nd event on tour. I had a great clinic that weekend too. Not too much to report here except I got to go to my first after party dressed in AVP gear…interesting…

Santa Barbara, CA (May 18-21) – My first Cali event. Not exactly local, but not exactly far! This was a really fun event. Sharkies was the place to be every night. Met alot of cool players (from Quali’s to main draw) too.

Huntington Beach, CA (May 26-28) – My backyard event! It was so awesome to see a ton of my former girls and their families at this event! Plus, being 10 minutes from home is not bad either :)!


The last stop

Posted on by vballphil in AVP

So our last stop this season was South Lake Tahoe…my all time favorite place in the word…and it still lives up to that!

So we arrived on Wed morning and the weather was amazing! My room was lakeside and it had a jacuzzi in the room…absolutely amazing. Come Thurs the weather took a MASSIVE dip in temperature. It snowed overnight so when I opened my curtains…can we say AWESOME! Then my alma mater, UTPA, came up to the tournament. So I got to see Karen and Dave. YEA! They were staying in Reno for a UN-Reno tournament. Totally Random and cool! But the greatest thing about the day was IT SNOWED DURING MISTY’S MATCH! Oh yea…snow on the AVP tour. 1st time in 25 years! Just plain classic! After the tournament ended me and Misty headed down to watch UTPA play UN-Reno. Good times with Treanor! She is just plain classic!

At first I thought the snow would be the highlight of this trip…BUT NO! Stacy Millichap’s parents invited a ton of players and staff over for a BBQ at their lake front vacation home. This was a PALACE! I can’t wait for the pics from last night! It was FRICKIN BEAUTIFUL! And it was a great vb crowd. The top players, their families, some staff, and some friends. A great way to end the tour season!!