VLA Championships Preview - The Deep Corner Ep. 48

Former club national champion, Loyola Chicago standout, and now professional libero Avery Aylsworth joins the show all the way from Germany!  Rob and Avery get into everything about making the jump overseas into professional volleyball that's specific to the libero position, including how to get recruited, how to get your foot in the door and win court time as a foreigner, and what defines success at the libero position at the highest levels.  Avery is in his second year with VFB Friedrichshafen in the German Bundesliga, one of the most storied clubs in all of Europe.  If you or anyone you know plays libero and has aspirations to play pro, this is a MUST listen!  Avery also talks about his VLA experience with the Chicago Icemen and gets into what his future plans are. Follow Avery on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaylsworth408 Follow Rob on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rstclaire1

The Deep Corner is BACK!  Bringing back the podcast leading up to the 2022 VLA season with a great guest - Ci Michel!  Ci played volleyball in the 2012 Olympics and professionally all over the world, including in the Athletes Unlimited women's professional league in the US earlier this year, and has since covered the game as a commentator at the 2021 Volleyball Nations League and as a vlogger with the USA women's national team.  She and Rob recap a busy summer of volleyball worldwide, including VNL, the Olympics, and European Championships, plus the increasing need for a professional volleyball league in the US - don't miss Rob's thoughts on the current situation regarding Taylor Sander... Make sure you follow Ci on Instagram and YouTube and check out the VLA instagram and website for info about the 2022 season! http://www.instagram.com/vb_ci https://youtube.com/c/CiMichel http://www.instagram.com/rstclaire1 http://www.usavla.com https://www.instagram.com/vlavolleyball/

Rob flies solo this week to take you through a detailed preview of this week's VLA Championships, June 22-24 live from AAU Nationals in Orlando! The "founding five" VLA Tier 1 squads will compete for the season championship with thousands of young volleyball fans watching in person, and it might be the most wide open competition we've ever seen. Get a preview of the double elimination format, schedule, and team rosters you can expect here, and check out the website, instagram, and YouTube channel for TONS more throughout the week!

New York Pride outside hitter and Four to Four podcast host Brandon Greenway joins the show this week! He talks about his unique start to his volleyball career growing up in Maryland to his college recruitment to Charleston in the EIVA, a very strangely timed position switch, and making his way to Denmark this past year for his first professional season. He also reacts to his and his team's experiences at the VLA Cup a few weeks ago, which was a stellar weekend full of volleyball, before chatting with Rob about their shared pursuit, volleyball podcasting. Brandon breaks some exclusive news about some of the Four to Four crew's summer plans, and tells some of the best stories shared on his show so far. Make sure to follow Brandon @brandon_greenway13, Four to Four @four.to.four, and catch Around the VLA live on the VLA YouTube channel Monday evenings!

Rob goes solo for a special episode, previewing all 11 VLA Cup teams' rosters, backgrounds, and history leading up to next weekend's MASSIVE tournament! We also announce our new live YouTube show, Around the VLA, premiering on Monday, May 10 at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST! Hosted by Rob and Vince Zanzucchi, with several guests and unique segments, Around the VLA will be a cool way to break down videos, statistics, and interact with the viewers in a live setting. Monday's show will get into the format of the VLA Cup tournament and the individual pool matchups that we can expect next Friday. If you're not already subscribed to the VLA YouTube channel, get with the program! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyfo_6gkwXKdRWO5_eD4Q6w

Long show today, but packed with incredible stuff! Olympic gold medalist Ryan Millar joins the show to get interviewed for a change, as for the last year or so he's hosted the CrossNet Volleyball Podcast with several awesome guests. He talks about his role in turning the BYU men's program into what it is today, his journey on the national team towards an eventual gold medal, and gives a hot take on which international volleyball tournament is the hardest to win... Incredible episode. Check out Ryan on the CrossNet Volleyball Podcast if you're not already following it! https://crossnetpodcast.podbean.com/

VLA Board member and Chicago Icemen captain Tim Falknor joins the show as the last team representative on the podcast leading up to the VLA regular season event in Buffalo, NY THIS WEEKEND! He responds to the trash talk from the other two teams and explains the expectations of the reigning champs for this event and the whole season, plus lots of great perspective from his seat on the VLA board. Lots of great storylines going into Buffalo over the past few episodes, tune in all weekend long for some great professional volleyball LIVE! https://volleyballleagueofamerica.com

The fearless leader of the new VLA Tier 2 squad Boston Bounce, Jeff Vautrin, joins the show this week before his team's VLA debut next weekend in Buffalo! Jeff took over as the head coach of the men's program at Lasell University a few short years after finishing his playing career there, and has added "head women's coach" and "VLA team captain" to his resume as well! Jeff gets into his Hawaiian volleyball influence, transitioning from a player to a coach, and a preview of what to expect from Boston Bounce next weekend. Awesome interview.

New York Team LVC Captain and VLA Board member Chris Hosley returns to the show to give a long overdue recap of his team's performance against Team Pineapple in January, and to preview the next VLA 2021 regular season stop: Buffalo, NY April 17-18! Chris and the Legion have quite the squad ready to take on the defending champion Chicago Icemen and new Tier 2 squad Boston Bounce. We also get into an early preview of the VLA Cup in May, the most stacked adult tournament of the year! Lots more event details on the website, https://volleyballleagueofamerica.com

A very special guest this week - 2x AVCA All-American, AVCA National Player of the Year, and 2x USA Olympic setter Don Suxho! A phenomenal player with an even more incredible story, growing up in communist Albania (just north of Greece) and finding his way eventually to USC for a stellar college career before gaining American citizenship and joining the US Men's National Team. He tells incredible stories of backing up Lloy Ball, coming off the bench to key the biggest comeback in Olympic history, suffering a brutal injury in Italy that prevented him from being on the 2008 gold medal team, and his role as the starter in London in 2012. Don is now heavily involved with two of the VLA's corporate partners, Smack Sportswear and CrossNet, and we're so excited to have him on the show and supporting the VLA!