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Maddison McKibbin – The Bearded Brother

Maddison McKibbin is my guest on today’s episode. It was great speaking with one half of the “Bearded Brothers” pro beach volleyball team. Maddison shared some stories about life as a professional volleyball player, indoors and beach. He also shared his snow volleyball stories as he talked about the possibility of the sport becoming a Winter Olympic game.

We talked about life outside of volleyball and how players in professional sports need to diversify their talents and connections. The McKibbin brothers have successfully developed their audio/video company supporting the volleyball community and sharing the fun times with everyone.

You can watch the McKibbin brothers play in the AVP beach tournaments in person or streaming on Amazon Prime. The volleyball community as a whole is welcoming to new fans and truly appreciates the support they receive.

Maddison McKibbin was a three-time state champion at Punahou High in Honolulu for indoor volleyball. He was the MVP of both the 2009 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 list as well as the Mizuno/Volleyball Magazine All-American Team. Maddison continued his indoor career as opposite/outside hitter at the University of Southern California.

Maddison on social media:

Click here to see other guests choices for listening while traveling

McKibbin Brothers BIO

The McKibbin brothers, Maddison and Riley, grew up on the island of Oahu playing volleyball in their backyard and on the sand of the Outrigger Canoe Club. They are the only brothers in the history of the sport to have played together in high school, college, professionally overseas and now professionally on the beach on the AVP tour. Born two years apart, the McKibbins attended Punahou High School. They lead the boys varsity volleyball team to a pair of state championships. In high school, they represented the United States at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Junior World Championships in China, Bermuda and The Netherlands.

After both accepting scholarships to the University of Southern California, the McKibbins led the USC men’s volleyball team to two NCAA Final Four appearances. On the professional indoor volleyball circuit, they played one year together in Greece. The brothers joined forces on the AVP tour in 2015. The McKibbins have played in 12 AVP events as partners, finishing as high as ninth place four times. An injury to Riley separated them for five tour stops last season, during which time Maddison won the 2017 San Francisco Open (and sibling bragging rights). The McKibbins have strong family ties to volleyball, specifically at USC. Their uncle, Owen, also helped the Trojans to a pair of Final Fours. Their aunt, Claudia, won a national championship there in 1980.

5 for Friday with Maddison McKibbin

Maddison McKibbin is my guest on today’s 5 for Friday. A world class athlete and professional beach volleyball player, Maddison has learned what it takes to be the best. I really enjoyed my conversation with Maddison as we discussed his life as a professional beach volleyball player and video content creator with his brother Riley. Maddison talks about the differences in traveling for the AVP tour and the FIVB tour. As their video content creating gets better they have to remember to pack all of the additional recording gear when traveling to tournaments.

Make sure to listen to the full episode on Monday.

Maddison on social media:

Click here to see other guests choices for listening while traveling

McKibbin Brothers BIO

The McKibbin brothers, Maddison and Riley, grew up on the island of Oahu playing volleyball in their backyard and on the sand of the Outrigger Canoe Club. They are the only brothers in the history of the sport to have played together in high school, college, professionally overseas. They continue to play professionally on the beach on the AVP tour. Born two years apart, the McKibbins attended Punahou High School. They lead the boys varsity volleyball team to a pair of state championships. In high school, they represented the United States at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Junior World Championships in China, Bermuda and The Netherlands.

After both accepting scholarships to the University of Southern California, the McKibbins led the USC men’s volleyball team to two NCAA Final Four appearances. On the professional indoor volleyball circuit, they played one year together in Greece. The brothers joined forces on the AVP tour in 2015. The McKibbins have played in 12 AVP events as partners, finishing as high as ninth place four times. An injury to Riley separated them for five tour stops last season, during which time Maddison won the 2017 San Francisco Open. The McKibbins have strong family ties to volleyball, specifically at USC. Their uncle, Owen, also helped the Trojans to a pair of Final Fours. Their aunt, Claudia, won a national championship there in 1980.

Karissa Cook – Beach and Volleyball

My guest today is beach volleyball professional, Karissa Cook. After watching Karissa and her playing partner play in the Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach AVP beach volleyball tournaments I had a nice chat with her.

After a stellar college career at Stanford (graduate in engineering) and Hawaii (masters in engineering), she has made the successful leap into a professional beach volleyball career with opportunities to play around the States and internationally including Cuba and Russia. She shares some insights to what it takes to travel as a professional athlete.

“Just being on the road can be hard on relationships”

Karissa Cook on social media:

After three amazing years on The Farm, Karissa has decided to move to Manhattan Beach to continue playing on the AVP tour. She had her personal best year in 2018, tallying six top-ten finishes and one semifinal appearance.

Karissa’s listening choice while traveling for work is:

Lane 8 and Rufus du Sol are her favorite go-to’s

Click here to see other guests choices for listening while traveling

College: Cook played four years as a setter at Stanford, helping the team to the NCAA Regional finals twice. An engineering major, she left the school ranked seventh all-time in assists. She then transferred to Hawai’i where she played beach volleyball and received a Master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Competing with Brittany Tiegs she was the AVCA Pairs National Championship runner-up, and was an AVCA All-American. She ended the year with a 42-7 match record.

Personal: Born in Salt Lake City, Cook went to high school in Santa Cruz, Calif. She was a member of Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50 and competed with the USA Junior National Team in the 2009 World Championships in Mexico. Her father, David, played basketball at the University of San Diego as well as professionally in Australia while her mother, Suzy, played volleyball at United States International University. One of four kids, her younger brother Brian played volleyball at Stanford. In 2015 she was named as assistant coach for Stanford beach volleyball team.