Product Description
Bill Strickland is 'living the dream' that is part of the romance and myth that fascinates the rest of the world about Southern California.His book gives a rare insider's view of the insular world of Professional Beach Volleyball, as it follows the ups and downs of his second full season in the Main Draw of the AVP Tour.It is a world of hot sand, hot women and fierce competition.The top teams take home Gold Medals and up to $100,000 in prize money for a single tournament, while the rest sacrifice everything to chase their elusive dreams of beach immortality, all the while bottoming out their bank accounts.Things can get rough, but off the court the camaraderie this sport breeds is constantly on display, and there is no better demonstration of this than Inside the Players' Tent.This book is a very honest account of one player's experience as he claws his way through a full season on the AVP Tour. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A rare sports story that's 100% honest and authentic
Sports books and movies are too often Hollywoodized in this day and age to ensure the pefect happy ending or payoff for the customer.In his book "Inside the players tent" Bill Strickland details an honest and authentic account of of his first full season on the AVP tour.He's forthright about his shortcomings and insecurities.He details the the daily grind and the highs and lows of being an underpaid athlete on the AVP.This book is a great read for sports fans in general.

Great read for AVP fans!
I enjoyed "Inside The Player's tent", the chronicles of a year in Bill Strickland's AVP career.I found the stories of partnership switches interesting, as well as discussions on trying to travel to events as frugally as possible.Highly recommended for AVP fans.

Great for anyone who ever played competitive beach volleyball in the US
As I said on the title, if you have ever played competitive beach volleyball in the us, you will have a great time reading this book.

It is fun to read and we can all relate to his adventures on the tour at any giving time of our sports careers.

excellent read
Bill Strickland's words drip with emotion as he describes triumph and defeat, on and off the court, in pursuit of his dream to become an ace professional beach volleyball player.A great read for anyone who likes a good story. A must read for any volleyball fan or anyone who has ever followed a dream.

Great inside look at the beach volleyball scene
If you want a fun read this is the book to buy. The professional beach volleyball world has always been very intriguing to me.Billy's book has definitely captured the spirit of the beach volleyball scene.I can't wait to get out and watch some events next summer and look at the beach tour in a whole new light. ... Read more

Product Description
To many players and fans, Karch Kiraly is beach volleyball. Now you can learn the game from the best there ever was with Beach Volleyball, the only book devoted exclusively to the sport.

Beach Volleyball will help you master the skills of the game. Kiraly explains and demonstrates every technique—serving, passing, setting, spiking, blocking, and digging. He also presents the 23 best practice drills to improve each of these important skills. You will learn Karch's special beach volleyball conditioning program for high-level fitness and performance, a regimen that has kept him at the top of the game for over two decades. More than 40 training exercises and drills will boost your flexibility, strength, speed, agility, and endurance.

The techniques, tactics, and training tips contained in Beach Volleyball, along with Karch's special insights and stories, will prepare you for even the toughest opponents. And you too might become the best on the beach. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Great Book About Beach Volleyball!
The Grand-daddy of beach volleyball gives excellent pointers on training, strategy, and skills in this book.He also sheds some light on the state of the AVP pro beach volleyball tour. For the latest on the AVP and inside, behind-the-scene stories, I'd also recommend "Order On The Court" by Tom Burke (2008) as a must-read!

Lastima de fotografias.
Si eres un principiante del voly de playa, o aún si eres un experto, este libro debería estar en tu colección. Está "salpicado" con interesantes anécdotas de la historia de este deporte y con descripciónes de las caracteristicas de algunos famosos jugadores del pasado reciente (mediados-finales de los 90's).
Si acaso quieres seguir los consejos técnicos ofrecidos es probable que las fotografias que los acompañan te defrauden. Son en blanco y negro y no de muy buena calidad.
Por si no estás familiarizado con los términos de la jerga del voly de playa, el libro ofrece las descripciones de los mismos junto al lugar en donde aparecen.
No hay mucha bibliografía que trate este deporte, esto hace que el libro sea "escencial".

Geared for the masses...
Good book, but its only purpose is to appeal to "the masses." Most volleyball books are designed to help everyone; whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced player. Let's face it, if you're trying to make a lot of money off a book...that's the best way to go. However, if you're already a good player, you're not going to benefit much from this book. You're much better off buying Mark Tanner's Smarter Volleyball. It actually talks about the "mental game," rather than the traditional pass, set, hit scenario that you see in most of these books. I've been Karch's biggest fan for most of my life, but to be honest...this book is a waste of time if you're actually wanting to get to a higher level of play. If you're just starting out, buy the book...but if you're looking for more indepth strategies, go with Mark Tanner's book or one of the "lesser known" authors...they're probably not in it for the "big" money.

Every volleyball player should buy this book!
This book has great photos and a balanced overall approach to beach volleyball. It's got all the basics covered and the stories that are peppered throughout the book make for interesting reading. I would probably have liked to hear more about the players and matches of the past, but I think Karch wanted this to be an instructional book rather than one for entertainment. Still I would have preferred more opinions and insights into the players and strategies. I hope that Karch does a second edition with the new AVP and it's rules.

Great for Beginners
This book is great for the beginner.It does not go in depth into strategy, reading hitters, positioning, etc...It does give GREAT tips on imporving your overall game, endurance, shot placement, et al.There is a bit of humor mixed into the fray, which adds the human touch.

When I bought this book i was a beginner.My serves were poor, sets average, kills average,blocks average, and passes were mediocre.After just a few weeks i had a great jump serve, monster kills, and incredible blocks.I love it.

If you are a beginner and want to improve quickly - this is for you.If you have been around a bit - you might find something useful in here but you probably already know this stuff.In depth strategy is lacking. ... Read more

Product Description
Volume #3 of the three book series of "Sands of Time" The History of Beach Volleyball covers the years 1990-2004. The book has 480 pages with 1000 photos. Volume#3includes a summary of Men and Women's beach volleyball. Beach volleyball events, information, anecdotes and tournament results are recorded along with a pictorial history that integrates with the events of beach volleyball in the 90's as well as the 21st century.This book includes information and results for Domestic as well as International events. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This Beach Volleyball Book is a Treasure!
This last in a series of books by the author on beach volleyball is a treasure with all sorts of details about the US AVP beach volleyball scene through 2004.For an update on all the goings-on in pro beach volleyball in the U.S. since then, I'd also recommend Order On The Court by Tom Burke (2008).

Unrivaled Photos
In terms of one-of-a-kind photos, this book has it all.I still can't figure out how this guy got his hands on some of these pictures, but I'm glad he did.The only thing that I thought was lacking was any sort of imaginative text, but I guess the series is intended to be more of a beach volleyball "almanac" than the latest John Irving masterpiece.

I grew up playing beach volleyball in the 70's, 80's and 90's in Santa Monica and had the pleasure of being annihilated by some of the main characters (Stoklos, Menges, Lee, Gage, etc.).As a player or even just an afficionado, "The History of Beach Volleyball" (any volume) is a must! ... Read more

Product Description
On the worldwide stage, Beach Volleyball rules - no ifs, ands, or butts! Its fast action, sex appeal, and beach party vibe lure millions of television viewers to what NBC proclaimed the hottest ticket during the Olympic Games. The United States has long dominated this sport. Yet, as these Olympic champions return home, the afterglow rapidly burns out. The ever-optimistic Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) always hopes for an Olympic spike that will sweep its Pro Beach Volleyball tour into the sports mainstream. Instead, this provocative sport struggles year after year. What gives? What's going on underneath this lustrous sun-baked layer of sun, fun, and buns? Order On The Court strips away this glistening front, revealing the dark clouds that smog Pro Beach Volleyball's visions of respect and recognition. This benchmark book not only dives deep into the sport's turbulent and amusing times, but also traces its history and projects its future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fantastic look into the world of Beach Volleyball & it's history
My wife and I are avid Pro Beach volleyball fans, dating back to 2005 after volunteering at our first AVP event in Cincinnati.Since that time we have had the privilege to work at tournaments around the US and have fallen in love with the sport. During a recent tournament back in Cinci, we had the good fortune of meeting the author, Tom Burke. As we flew back home to San Diego, I was totally engrossed in his book "Order on the Court". I'm not sure which part I enjoyed most, it was excellent from start to finish.The sport's history was chronicled back to the very beginning and his in-depth knowledge and analysis was highly illuminating from the early days up to 2008 when the book was released.

As the AVP recently announced it was closing it's doors, I kept hearing the old saying about history repeating itself. This is certainly the case when it comes to the AVP and current state of pro-beach volleyball in the US. Hopefully some of the excellent points made by Tom will be given some serious thought and consideration by the future leaders of sport and it will once again rise to prominance. This book is a great read not only for us rabid fans, but also newbies to the sport interested to learn more and those hopeful it will get back on track and transform into something bigger and better for the players and fans alike.

Olympic Fan
I am a casual fan of Olympic Beach Volleyball, who has attended two Women's Olympic Finals, and one AVP event.As an avid all around sports fan, I found that Order on the Court provided context and perspective by chronicling the up and down history of the USA's AVP, which is the tour that attempts to market ths sport as a professional event for the US sports fan consumer.Additionally, as Tom Burke juxtaposes the seemingly no-brainer appeal of the sport versus the business of running a tour one is able to understand the issues that cause the tour to struggle year in and year out with sponsors and fans.I learned a great deal about the inner-workings of the AVP from reading this book, and I walked away with a greater respect for the athletes who pursue their athletic dreams via beach volleyball.

Super Book! Inside Look at the Life & Times of Pro Beach Volleyball
This book rocks and lives up to all its promises!It certainly is a groundbreaking book for it covers not only the history of the pro beach volleyball sport but also all its present challenges and successes.The book is loaded with drama and comedy as it describes every facet of the sport: the AVP organization, the players, the media and sponsors, and even the fans. A definite must-have for any Sports or Olympics fan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Required reading for those with an historical bent
Sinjin Smith seems to have a tendency to polarize volleyball people.They either love him or hate him, for the most part.No true volleyball lover, however, can deny his impact and influence on the beach game.

Kings of the Beach, though, is less about Sinjin than it is about the history and development of the beach game, with the occassional aside about the indoor version as well.If you are at all interested in the history of beach volleyball, you definitely want to read this book, and will almost certainly enjoy doing so.

Sinjin Smith, One of the "Original Kings of the Beach"
Sinjin Smith, one of the most famous volleyball players, has written a fine masterpiece with his book entitled, "Kings of the Beach." Sinjin gives you an insight into the game with its history, how he gotinvolved in the sport and how he became a fixture in the sport for so manyyears with former partner, Randy Stoklos. I found this book to be a greatread and I couldn't put it down. There a lot of great photos as well.Overall, I'd recommend this book to any volleyball fan. I hope that Sinjinwill edit it and produce a new edition someday and I hope this review helpsa fan out in the process too. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Olympic Athletes of Latvia, Olympic Basketball Players of Latvia, Olympic Beach Volleyball Players of Latvia, Olympic Biathletes of Latvia, Olympic Bobsledders of Latvia, Olympic Boxers of Latvia, Olympic Canoeists of Latvia, Olympic Cross-Country Skiers of Latvia, Olympic Cyclists of Latvia, Olympic Figure Skaters of Latvia, Olympic Footballers of Latvia, Olympic Gymnasts of Latvia, Olympic Ice Hockey Players of Latvia, Olympic Judoka of Latvia, Olympic Lugers of Latvia, Olympic Modern Pentathletes of Latvia, Olympic Shooters of Latvia, Olympic Short Track Speed Skaters of Latvia, Olympic Skeleton Racers of Latvia, Olympic Speed Skaters of Latvia, Olympic Swimmers of Latvia, Olympic Tennis Players of Latvia, Olympic Weightlifters of Latvia, Olympic Wrestlers of Latvia, Elena Berezhnaya, Ernests Gulbis, Aigars Cipruss, Leonids Tambijevs, Artūrs Irbe, Sandis Ozoliņš, Mārtiņš Karsums, Herberts Vasiļjevs, Georgijs Pujacs, Krišjānis Rēdlihs, Arvīds Reķis, Mārtiņš Cipulis, Miķelis Rēdlihs, Kārlis Skrastiņš, Armands Bērziņš, Aleksandrs Ņiživijs, Vladimirs Mamonovs, Haralds Silovs, Māris Ziediņš, Oskars Bārtulis, Ilmārs Bricis, Kaspars Daugaviņš, Jānis Sprukts, Agris Saviels, Rodrigo Laviņš, Oļegs Maļuhins, Kristaps Sotnieks, Ivans Klementjevs, Arvīds Jurgens, Mārtiņš Rubenis, Ieva Tāre, Viktors Ščerbatihs, Voldemārs Plade, Andrejs Vlascenko, Jeļena Prokopčuka, Romāns Vainšteins, Māris Štrombergs, Raivis Belohvoščiks, Staņislavs Olijars, Vadims Vasiļevskis, Elīna Babkina, Dita Krūmberga, Anete Jēkabsone-Žogota, Sergejs Naumovs, Arkādijs Pavlovs, Edvīns Bārda, Aleksejs Auziņš, Liene Jansone, Jānis Miņins, Dmitrijs Miļkevičs, Anna Orlova, Aiga Grabuste, Modris Liepiņš, Afanasijs Kuzmins, Lauris Dārziņš, Guntis Galviņš, Konstantin Kostin, Ēriks Rags, Ģirts Ankipāns, Igors Kazanovs, Gunta Baško, Zintis Ekmanis, Andris Šics, Juris Šics, Sinta Ozoliņa, Česlavs Stančiks, Aleksandrs Samoilovs, Māris Bružiks, Jolanta Dukure, Alek...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=7679426 ... Read more

Product Description
15 months worth of your favorite DOA hotties in their sexiest swim wear.

....'nuff said. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

WONDERFUL
I loved this calendar and all of the games of this serie.It shows all the girls of the DEAD OR ALIVE extreme beach volleyball(2)game. It is beautiful, big and came with a large poster of TINA. Isn't great?

Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball Calender
This calender was a gift for Christmas. I was very happy to recieve it because I own all the Dead or Alive games.

Beautiful girls!
I saw this callender on a forum for Dead or Alive, I knew I had to have it. It is so difficult to find posters of the girls, I've never been able. When I recived this callender it's a little smaller than regular calenders, but the photo's are amazing! They are so crisp and clear. Every girl has at least a month, some have two. I wish they did a group shot with all the girls on one month, but they did not. Another issue is that the pictures are bigger than one page, so the photos are just not only on the top page, they also go on to the bottom page with the calender. This isn't a big deal for using it as calender, but if you wanted to take it apart and use the pictures, some of the lower parts would be lost. It also comes with a bonus poster of Tina, not my favorite girl, but she is pretty. It's a huge poster, but the pic they chose of Tina, her pose dosen't fill out the entire page. So there's a lot of free area around her. I guess I wouldn't complain if the poster was Kasumi! Another fun feature is that the girls bithday's are listed in the calender. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Wang Jie (simplified Chinese: 王洁; traditional Chinese: 王潔; pinyin: Wáng Jié; born 4 December 1983 in Urumqi, Xinjiang) is a female Chinese professional beach volleyball player.Wang has partnered with Tian Jia since the start of the 2006 season and are currently fifth in the world rankings. She won four titles with Tian, most recently in Hong Kong in 2007. The other two came in back-to-back events in Austria and Poland in 2006, and in Shanghai in 2007. A very consistent tandem, the duo has made 15 podium finishes in addition to those four victories, finishing runner-up seven times in 2007 and eight overall, finishing atop the FIVB standings in 2007. ... Read more

Product Description
Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played on sand. Like other variations of volleyball, two teams, separated by a high net, try to score points against the other by grounding a ball on the other team's court. Competitive beach volleyball teams usually consist of two players, though recreational variations can contain up to six players. Originating in Southern California, beach volleyball now receives worldwide popularity, even in countries without traditional beaches, like Switzerland. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Wang Fei (Chinese: 王菲; pinyin: Wáng Fēi; born August 6, 1981 in Henan) is a female Chinese beach volleyball player, who won the bronze medal in the women's beach team competition at the 2005 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Berlin, Germany, partnering Tian Jia. She represented her country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.After playing in only one event each in the 1998, 1999 and 2000 seasons, Wang started competing full-time on the FIVB World Tour with Tian in 2001. Wang teamed with Tian in 2005 to post China's best-ever season for a women's or men's team on the FIVB World Tour. The pair finished third in points after compiling a 48-20 match mark en route to $173,500 in earnings for 10 events. ... Read more

Product Description
Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball is expected to be the sexiest game title of the year, and what better way to ring in the new year than with the Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball 2003 Calendar? This calendar is packed with high-resolution graphics of the buxom DOA babes suited up for every month. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

sexy - ilove this sexy calander
this calander features the hot chicks of the awesome xbox volleyball game dead or alive xtreme beach volleyball. its very, very sexy. it has hot babes in bikinies on the beach. what more can you want?

Not Just for guys
This calendar is not just for men it's for anybody if you love the DOA series then this calendar is for you the pictures are cute and not to wild. I have the calendar at home and I'm a 12 year old girl who loves DOA and thought that the calendar was a must have for any fan so if you love DOA than this calendar is for you

In my opinion
Those of you who are about to read this, don't get me wrong.I loved the game and that's the reason I am giving the calender 3 stars.The game gets 5 in my book.Let's think about this first.

Reasons not to buy:Most of us never even look at a calender anymore.If you are buying this, that means you probly own the game.All the pictures in this calender can be recreated by outfitting your girls in the actual game and snaping a camera.

Reasons to buy:If you are an extreme fan of the game or series, if you have an odd fetish with animated women.If you are a gaming nerd (nothing negative in that seeing as how I am) and love everything to do with games.

Buy the game instead I'd say.Personaly I would rather look at this all year as opposed to Brittany Spears, but if you are looking for a good calender to provoke you then drive down to your local Hooters.Overall I'd say this is not a very wise investment, but each to his own.(If you really have money to burn, Buy Knights of the Old Republic, Ninja Gaiden, or Halo 2 when it is released).

I Know I'm About To Commit Gaming Suicide, But...
Who wants a calendar of animated girls on their wall all year long? I can't imagine anyone over the age of 13 wanting this. Sorry folks, but if you're that freaked out by real women, buy a calendar with kittens on it or something.

If you're into computer-generated women then this is for you
Personally, I like REAL women not this stuff. Get a Britney Spears calendar instead or Carmen Elektra or Pamela Anderson or Angelina Jolie if there is one. Any calendar but this one. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh, Karch Kiraly, Todd Rogers, Phil Dalhausser, Gabrielle Reece, Sean Rooney, J. P. Calderon, April Ross, Elaine Youngs, Mike Whitmarsh, Jake Gibb, Emily Day, Jenny Kropp, Claire Robertson, Dax Holdren, Michael Brüning, James Polster, Phillip Eatherton, Saralyn Smith, Stein Metzger, Dain Blanton, Beth Van Fleet, Nicole Branagh, Casey Jennings, Jason Wight, Sinjin Smith, Anthony Medel, Troy Tanner, Sean Rosenthal, Eric Fonoimoana, Jeff Nygaard, Eric Sato, Rachel Wacholder, Hans Stolfus, Angie Akers, Canyon Ceman, Sean Allstot, Jennifer Kessy, Scott Fortune, Kevin Wong, Seth Burnham, Matt Fuerbringer, Kent Steffes, Ricci Luyties, Renee Cleary, Marcin Jagoda, Kevin Lynch, Jennifer Lombardi, Jennifer Sharp, Tyra Turner, Karolyn Kirby, Nancy Reno, Ty Loomis, Annett Davis, Mike Dodd, Jenny Johnson Jordan, Dianne Denecochea, Michelle More, Barbra Fontana, Suzanne Stonebarger, Randy Stoklos, Carl Henkel, Brooke Hanson, Carrie Dodd, Marsha Miller, Jenny Pavley, Lisa Arce, Brent Frohoff. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 179. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Misty Erie May-Treanor (born July 30, 1977) is an American professional volleyball player and actress. She has won more tournaments than any other female player with 105 career wins. May-Treanor and teammate Kerri Walsh were the gold medalists in beach volleyball at both the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. They have been called "the greatest beach volleyball team of all time." Born Misty E. May in Los Angeles, California in 1977(32). She grew up playing beach volleyball at the Santa Monica Pier with her parents, Butch and Barbara. At age eight, she played her first volleyball tournament with her father. May-Treanor played other sports like soccer and tennis, as well as participating in dance. She atten...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=928737 ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Karch Kiraly, Emanuel Rego, Mike Whitmarsh, Natalie Cook, Holly Mcpeak, Kerri Pottharst, Sinjin Smith, Jackie Silva, Jan Kvalheim, Sandra Pires, Bjørn Maaseide, Franco Neto, Mark Heese, Martín Conde, Kent Steffes, Zé Marco de Melo, Adriana Samuel, Jörg Ahmann, Javier Bosma, Annamaria Solazzi, Esteban Martínez, Roberto Lopes, Beate Bühler, Andrea Ghiurghi, Mônica Rodrigues, Danja Müsch, Debora Schoon-Kadijk, Axel Hager, Nancy Reno, Julien Prosser, Mike Dodd, John Child, Francisco Álvarez, Mayra Huerta, Lee Zahner, Christian Penigaud, Anabelle Prawerman, Jean-Philippe Jodard, Juan Rossell, Carl Henkel, Miguel Maia, João Brenha. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 98. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly (pronounced ; born November 3, 1960 in Jackson, Michigan), is an American volleyball player who is the only person to have won Olympic gold medals in both the indoor and beach versions of the sport. Kiraly started for the Santa Barbara High School Dons and his father Laszlo was instrumental in helping found the program. The Dons won the CIF SS title with Kiraly in 1978 over Laguna Beach High School under coach Rick Olmstead and were runners-up in 1976 to San Clemente High School. Kiraly started for the UCLA Bruins volleyball team from 1979 through 1982. He was named All America all four years. While playing in UCLA's Pauley Pavilion under coach Al Scates, he led UCLA to three NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships in 1979 (undefeated season), 1981, and 1982 (undefeated season). During Kiraly's four years on the team, UCLA won 129 matches and lost only 5. Kiraly won Most Outstanding Player in 1981 and 1982. He was inducted into UCLA's Hall of Fame in 1993. At UCLA, Kiraly studied biochemistry and graduated cum laude in June 1983 with a 3.34 cumulative G...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=957026 ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The 2009 SWATCH FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships is an ongoing beach volleyball event, scheduled to be held from June 26 to July 5, 2009 in Stavanger, Norway. The Swatch FIVB World Championships are organized every two years, and Norway is the first Northern European country to host the event. The city of Stavanger has earlier hosted ten Open and Grand Slam events at the SWATCH FIVB World Tour. The 2009 event is the seventh official edition of the championship, after ten unofficial championships (1987-1996) all held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The total Prize Money for 2009 is US$1 Million. ... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=18246956 ... Read more