Mike Cavataio is an American Beach Volleyball Professional. A former division I basketball player at St Johns and Holy Cross, he decided to try his hand at beach volleyball, moving to the west coast to maximize his potential. He has been active, playing in double-digit tournaments this year, alone. His 'coming out party' happened at Coconut Beach - a first-class setup for an AVP America tournament - where he found that he can compete with the teams inside the top ten, nationally.
Tune in, as we chat up site organizer Kelsey Brandin's work ethic, why he moved from NY to LA, Mark Burik bringing people together, having a technique to fall back on that actually works, understanding offense and making quick decisions against defensive schemes, his biggest challenge to get used to fundamentally, Jeff Samuels ability to communicate with people, high-level defenders, the shortage of good American male blockers on the sand, nostalgic crowds and venues, NBA and college basketball, AVP Coconut Beach, AVP upstarts shining in 2019 and 2021, Kloth and Nuss, Cory and Webber, doing things to 'move the volleyball needle,' Conditioning for the sport, and MORE!
