NOTEBOOK The conversation Brooke Sweat
Shared secrets from one of the best U.S. defensive players on the beach
rooke Sweat had a big-time breakout year in 2013 with beach partner Jen Fopma. The pair earned their fi rst AVP win (at Huntington Beach, Calif., in Oc- tober) and their fi rst FIVB podium fi nish (bronze in Berlin in August). Sweat, a 27-year-old native of Fort My- ers, Fla., is one of the best defensive play- ers on the beach and still holds numerous indoor volleyball records at Florida Gulf Coast University. Sweat, who was doing weekly bi-coastal commutes during the offseason so she could keep up with her training in Cali- fornia, carved out some time to talk with VolleyballUSA about her notable season and her addiction to YouTube videos star- ring Misty May-Treanor.
B
VolleyballUSA: Where did you learn to play such great defense?
Brooke Sweat: Honestly, I don’t know. I picked up beach volleyball after college, so I’m fi ve years into it. I didn’t play it growing up. I used to hate beach volley- ball.
Really? You didn’t like it? So how did you get into it?
I started dating my husband (Nick Sweat) back in 2005, and he loved beach volleyball. He and his brother would (go to California) every summer and play in the AAU championships, so I was at the beach watching them. Finally, I thought, ‘I will give it a try.’ I tried it, and I hated it. It was something new, and I’m pretty athletic, so I like to be good at what I do. When I started playing beach and was terrible, it was frustrat- ing. At fi rst, I didn’t want to have anything to do with it. But then it became a challenge. Then I started dragging my husband out there. ‘Come on. I gotta get this. I gotta learn how to hit a cut shot.’ (Laughs)
Do you consider your AVP win the highlight of your beach career?
That and the bronze medal in Berlin will always be special. Just standing on the po- dium with the best players in the world and knowing that your hard work is paying off … and just knowing that you kind of belong and that things are possible.
What’s the hardest thing about adjusting to the FIVB Tour?
Everyone is so competitive. Everyone is fi lming their competition, they have coaches,
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Florida native Brooke Sweat took her game to a higher level in 2013 in large part to her solid ball control skills. (Photo: Peter Brouillet).
they have a game plan for every player, every team. They know you really well. Domesti- cally, not everybody does their homework like these international teams. It’s just a different level. This is their life.
You had a great indoor career at Florida Gulf Coast, including being named AVCA South Region Player of the Year as a junior. Did any of your indoor experience transfer to your success as a defensive player on the beach?
I played outside hitter in club, high school, even college, and I think it’s that will inside of me. I have good instincts, just watching the right things. I think a lot of defenders don’t watch the right things.
What else helped you become a top beach defender?
Honestly, I’ve probably watched every
YouTube video of Misty May. I didn’t get to see her much in person. She was kind of winding down when I started. She’s obviously the best defender in the world, so I’ve tried
12 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag
to learn some good things from watching videos of her.
Sounds like you spent a lot of time in
front the computer. Those off days when I’m not practicing, I still get after it. You can get online and watch something – on airplanes, down time, laying on the couch. You can always get better, and you don’t have to get on the court to get better.
Can you share two things you learned
from watching Misty? Tell you my secrets? (Laughs) Like I said, you have to watch the right things. You can’t just watch the ball on defense. You have to watch everything, and know- ing your hitter is a big thing. You’ve got to watch the team you’re going to play and know their tendencies. You have to play the game in your head.
You had a couple of knee surgeries during your indoor career, right?
I had knee surgery the summer before my freshman year (in college). And then, six months later, I had a second knee surgery in January of my freshman year. My freshman and sophomore years were a little shaky. Doctors weren’t sure if I was going to be able to play. After high school, I didn’t think I would be able to play college volleyball. My knee was shot. Patella tendon. I gave up on indoor. It just so happened that a college right there in my hometown, Florida Gulf Coast University, was starting a volleyball program and my club coach was going to be the coach. So she gave me the opportunity. I was just blessed.
You’re not the biggest player at 5-8, so a big part of your success comes from your ability to put the ball down in transition. What training have you done to get better at that?
I have to have a ton of different shots. I
can’t just rely on one shot. Sometimes I’m not going to be able to jump as high as I can, so I have to move the ball around. So on those days when you don’t want to practice, you’ve got to go out there and work on that cut shot, work on that high line, work on all the different little shots. And seeing the court is something you have to practice, too. After I dig it, I can’t just watch the ball. I have to watch what the other side is doing. You don’t have to get up and kill the ball as hard as you can every time. You just have to put it where they’re not.
Interview by Don Patterson
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80