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Three area volleyball teams earned the prestigious Team Academic Award presented by the Indiana High School Volleyball Coaches Association. Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton and Shakamak were three out of 60 schools in the state presented with the award. Teams with an average weighted GPA of 3.5 and higher for the entire school year are eligible to […]
Three area volleyball teams earned the prestigious Team Academic Award presented by the Indiana High School Volleyball Coaches Association.
Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton and Shakamak were three out of 60 schools in the state presented with the award.
Teams with an average weighted GPA of 3.5 and higher for the entire school year are eligible to receive the award. This award emphasizes the importance of being a student first when it comes to being a student-athlete.
Sedgefield Water Polo Club’s U16 squad faced Morley in Leeds on Thursday, June 26, marking their first competitive outing of the year after the GCSE exam period. The match kicked off with a rapid goal from Charlie, followed by another from Finley just 15 seconds later. Morley managed to score one goal, but Sedgefield quickly […]
Sedgefield Water Polo Club’s U16 squad faced Morley in Leeds on Thursday, June 26, marking their first competitive outing of the year after the GCSE exam period.
The match kicked off with a rapid goal from Charlie, followed by another from Finley just 15 seconds later.
Morley managed to score one goal, but Sedgefield quickly took control, adding six more by the end of the first quarter, including a hat-trick from Thomas.
By half-time, Sedgefield had scored another seven goals, setting the tone for an upbeat team talk and a concerted effort to ensure all players made it onto the match sheet.
The third quarter began with Sedgefield leading 15-4, scoring again within a minute of the restart.
The game saw a display of skills and techniques honed during club training, as Morley scored four goals, but Sedgefield remained undeterred, entering the final quarter with an impressive 22-8 lead.
The final quarter was particularly remarkable, with Sedgefield netting ten goals, including one from goalkeeper Bram, ensuring every player in the team scored.
Thomas was the top scorer with ten goals, followed by Finley with six, Charlie with five, Fynn and Harry with four each, and Arwen and Leo with one apiece.
The final score read 32-8, a testament to the team’s exceptional performance and strong team spirit.
The club expressed gratitude to coaches Paul and Pete, and team manager Imelda, emphasising the crucial role volunteers play in providing competitive play opportunities for children in the region.
The club also announced the availability of player sponsorships at £30 per player for the season, offering regular advertising and promotion on their social media pages in return.
All proceeds will be used to help members develop their skills and provide necessary equipment.
Sedgefield Water Polo Club also offers beginner sessions at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre on Saturday afternoons for those interested in trying the sport.
In addition to junior and senior sessions, these beginner sessions offer an opportunity for anyone to experience the excitement of water polo.
All sessions need to be booked in advance via the club’s app.
For more information and joining instructions, please visit the club’s website, email sedgefieldwp@hotmail.com, or contact 07579 030598.
The Big West is implementing a strategic reorganization of its staff structure and titles to accelerate the league’s growth and better serve its member institutions amid a rapidly evolving NCAA Division I landscape. “With significant change occurring across Division I athletics, The Big West must continue to be innovative in our approach and agile […]
The Big West is implementing a strategic reorganization of its staff structure and titles to accelerate the league’s growth and better serve its member institutions amid a rapidly evolving NCAA Division I landscape.
“With significant change occurring across Division I athletics, The Big West must continue to be innovative in our approach and agile in our operations,” said Commissioner Dan Butterly. “This reorganization realigns our staff to seize new opportunities while reinforcing The Big West’s Pacific spirit, fearless innovation, enduring integrity, and bold activism.”
Leadership and Operational Enhancements
Kevin Rorke has been elevated to Chief Financial Officer. Rorke is responsible for managing the conference’s budget, serving as the primary financial contact, and leading all external financial audits. Having independently overseen financial operations over the past year, Rorke will now be supported by Dominic Drury, who will assist with daily operations and financial systems.
Drury has been promoted to Assistant Commissioner – Basketball Operations and Finance. Now entering a third year with the league, Drury will continue to lead men’s and women’s basketball initiatives while expanding his role to include business operations and officiating. Drury will also remain tournament director for the Big West Basketball Championships.
Tom Davis assumes the role of Chief Marketing Officer, shifting focus toward revenue generation, branding, and long-term growth initiatives. A Big West staff member since 2020, Davis brings decades of experience with national brands including DIRECTV, EA Sports, Qualcomm, and UCLA, and as founder of the Los Angeles-based marketing firm Caught Looking, Inc.
Davis will continue leading Sara Perry, Director of Marketing & Digital Media, and Chloe Clark, Director of Multimedia Content, in sponsorship, marketing, ticketing, and publicity efforts. Together, the team will also drive strategic efforts to expand The Big West’s regional and national branding and broadcast presence.
Jessica Lantz has been elevated to Chief Communications Officer. Lantz will continue to lead the league’s storytelling and media relations strategy alongside Kaiber Takamiya and Quentin Rodriguez, Directors of Communications. Their collaborative focus includes editorial content, social media, feature stories, awards reporting and championship coverage.
Deputy Commissioner Kristi Giddings and Angie Allen, Assistant Commissioner – Compliance & Student-Athlete Engagement, will continue to manage The Big West Senior Woman Administrators (SWA) and Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR), respectively, while directing and executing all aspects of governance, legal, compliance and student-athlete engagement. Cheryl Wong, Associate Commissioner – Championships & Sport Administration, alongside Tyler Huntley, Assistant Commissioner – Championships, will continue to lead The Big West’s championships efforts while working with the entire Big West administrative staff to manage sports and championships throughout the year.
Operational Shift to Remote Work
As of July 1, The Big West has transitioned to a remote work environment. Quarterly in-person staff meetings will be held in Irvine, Calif., during the 2025-26 academic year. This move reflects the conference’s commitment to strategic cost savings while maintaining exceptional service to member institutions.
STAFF TRANSACTIONS
BASSETT – It looks like they’ll be playing football and volleyball at North Central after all. The Class D school – a co-op of Rock County and Keya Paha County – found itself in a tough spot after the coaches in both sports resigned this past season. Ryan Richey stepped down as the head football […]
BASSETT – It looks like they’ll be playing football and volleyball at North Central after all.
The Class D school – a co-op of Rock County and Keya Paha County – found itself in a tough spot after the coaches in both sports resigned this past season. Ryan Richey stepped down as the head football coach and Heather Painter moved on as volleyball coach.
An inability to fill those positions led the school to turn to social media in a last-ditch effort to fill the vacancies. Administrations at both schools had been actively engaged in the recruitment of coaches with little success.
A shortage of teachers also complicated the process as coaching duties often are assigned to educators. Administrators said they didn’t want to force coaching duties on teachers who are there to do exactly that – teach.
The Knights have received good news in recent days, according to Rock County athletic director Kayla Fischer.
“We’ve gotten responses from qualified people and we’re going to start the interview process soon,” she said.
It was getting to the critical stage as practice for both sports starts in about a month. School officials had said if coaches weren’t hired by Aug. 1 that the school district might be forced to cancel both football and volleyball seasons.
Fischer said she is thankful that won’t be the case.
“We’ve had assistant coaches working with the players,” Fischer said. “I don’t think the kids have been too worried about it because they knew we’ve been working hard to fill those spots.”
A response to a Facebook post asking interested applicants to apply drew a humorous response.
“The stands are usually full of coaches on game day, just use one of them.”
The schools are located in north-central Nebraska near the South Dakota border.
JULIA JOSEPH Defender/MidfielderLake Oswego, Ore.Portland Thorns AcademyLake Oswego High School About Joseph: Joseph enters the Banks from a strong Portland Thorns Academy side that reached the ECNL Final Four in 2024 and the Final 16 in 2023. She was also a member of the WPSL Thorns 2 team and was invited to train with the NWSL […]
Defender/Midfielder
Lake Oswego, Ore.
Portland Thorns Academy
Lake Oswego High School
About Joseph: Joseph enters the Banks from a strong Portland Thorns Academy side that reached the ECNL Final Four in 2024 and the Final 16 in 2023. She was also a member of the WPSL Thorns 2 team and was invited to train with the NWSL Portland Thorns, showcasing her development at the highest levels of club soccer.
At Lake Oswego High School, Joseph was a two-time All-League honoree and a four-year varsity starter, earning the role of team captain as a senior. Her team won the 2021 league championship and made the Oregon state semifinals and quarterfinals during her tenure. A standout in both athletics and leadership, she was also featured in the Lake Oswego Review.
Joseph is no stranger to the highest levels of the sport—her father, Miles, played in the 1996 Olympics, the MLS, and currently serves as Associate Head Coach at Charlotte FC. Her brother plays at Indiana.
Why Rutgers: “I chose Rutgers for its high academics and the opportunities Rutgers provides both academically and athletically. I love the family culture of the soccer program and the amazing facilities. I grew up in the Northeast so Rutgers felt like home to me.”
LOS ANGELES — Chase Budinger’s athletic career doesn’t fit in a box. He played seven seasons in the NBA with the Rockets, Timberwolves, Pacers and Suns. Then he switched sports entirely, grinding his way onto the U.S. Olympic beach volleyball team, making him the first person to appear in both an NBA regular season game […]
LOS ANGELES — Chase Budinger’s athletic career doesn’t fit in a box. He played seven seasons in the NBA with the Rockets, Timberwolves, Pacers and Suns. Then he switched sports entirely, grinding his way onto the U.S. Olympic beach volleyball team, making him the first person to appear in both an NBA regular season game and the Olympic beach volleyball competition.
Now fresh off the Paris Games, Budinger is back with partner Miles Evans for the AVP League’s Intuit Dome event in Inglewood July 11–12, representing the San Diego Smash. He sat down with The Sporting Tribune to talk about his path, what sets these AVP League matches apart, and the new team format.
The Sporting Tribune: You just made history as the first person to compete in both the NBA and the Olympics in beach volleyball. Now that you’ve done it, what does that milestone mean to you personally?
Chase Budinger: It means the world to me because I put so much hard work and time into both sports. For me to grow old and tell my kids I played in the NBA and also became an Olympian, those are two of the biggest accomplishments of my life. It wasn’t easy. There was a lot of grueling work and growing pains, especially switching to a new sport and getting my butt kicked at first. Learning from that and building the confidence to become an Olympian was really satisfying for me.
TST: What first drew you to beach volleyball after your NBA career? When did it shift from being a hobby to something you knew you could pursue at the highest level?
CB: The plan was always to play beach volleyball once my basketball career was done, since basketball careers usually don’t last super long. And beach volleyball is something you can play into your 40s, most of the top U.S. players are in their late 30s or early 40s. I thought I’d have a longer basketball career, but when that ended sooner than I wanted, I had time to really go for it. I made it a goal to become an Olympian instead of just playing for fun.
TST: How did your background as a professional basketball player help you, or challenge you, when you switched to elite beach volleyball?
CB: It helped a lot. In basketball your days are so structured with training, practice, lifting, recovery. That routine was something I carried over. One thing I noticed in beach volleyball is people fall in love with the lifestyle, you go to the beach, practice for two hours, then you’re done. I really tried to approach it like a career. I wanted to help my partners see that too. If you want to compete with the best in the world, you have to do more than just show up for a couple hours.
TST: Looking back, from NCAA basketball to the NBA to the Olympic sand, could you have pictured this path? What advice would you give young athletes about staying open to change?
CB: I never envisioned this route at all. I thought I’d play beach volleyball for fun on the AVP, but fully embracing it professionally and representing the country wasn’t something I saw coming. The advice I’d give is: try multiple sports. These days kids get pushed into specializing in one sport too soon. For me, basketball and volleyball actually helped each other. Playing multiple sports made me better overall, and that’s something I think is missing for a lot of kids now.
TST: The AVP League is bringing 300 tons of sand into the Intuit Dome for this event. For fans who’ve never seen an AVP League match before, what can they expect?
CB: It’s the best of the best teams going at it. The level is really high and the games are super fast-paced because they’re played to 15 instead of 21. You have to come out aggressive right away with your serves and try to create points because things can slip away so quickly. Being indoors in an arena, with the lights, the crowd, the MC, Mark Schuermann is one of the best, it’s really a show. I’ve never been to Intuit Dome before so I’m excited to see what it’s like to play beach volleyball there.
TST: You’re playing for San Diego Smash in the AVP League. How has representing a city as part of a team changed the feel of competition?
CB: I love it. Representing a city gives you that team atmosphere you don’t usually get in beach volleyball since it’s usually just two-on-two. Here you have a full team, including the women’s side, so you’re cheering for each other and invested in each other’s success. It brings that camaraderie that I really enjoy.
TST: The AVP League format is faster-paced, with best-of-three sets to 15 points. How does that change your strategy?
CB: You have to be really aggressive with your serving. Most matches come down to one or two points, and those usually come from blocks, aces, or big digs. If you can get teams out of system or snag those aces, that’s huge. That’s something I’ve really focused on in the last year and a half, just how important the serve is in these quick games.
TST: Coming off the Olympics, how does playing a big event like this at Intuit Dome help you stay sharp and motivated for what’s next?
CB: After playing in the Olympics in front of 15,000 or 20,000 people under the Eiffel Tower, I don’t think anything is going to rattle me anymore. Those games were such high-stakes and nerve-wracking. That experience taught me to be calmer, to play more freely, and to be really mindful of my thoughts and my body. It made me a better player overall.
As Budinger gears up for the AVP League event at Intuit Dome, he’s bringing Olympic-tested poise and an NBA-level work ethic to the sand. Fans can expect fast-paced, high-stakes volleyball, with Budinger and the San Diego Smash ready to showcase their skills.
has always dreamed in Mercurial. Now his initials are on the boots.
The new Kyl…
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