Questions With. . . Jake Gibb

At first glance, beach volleyball and Boston would seem to go together like cautious drivers and a rotary, but that hasn’t stopped the AVP Crocs Tour from scheduling a stop in the Hub this weekend. We spoke with AVP star and anti-consumerist Jake Gibb as he took in the Red Sox game this afternoon.

How’d we know he’s an anti-consumerist? According to his AVP profile, if he weren’t in volleyball, the business major would not sell out. “I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed.” Now that that’s settled, on to the Q/A.

How do you like Boston so far?
I love it. Perfect weather, perfect day. We went to a really good seafood place last night called the Barking Crab.

Are you a Red Sox fan?
I am, actually. I grew up in Utah, but I like the Sox.

How do the volleyball tournaments work? Is there a World Series of Volleyball, or is it more like golf?
It’s more like golf, definitely. Golf has the FedEx Cup, and volleyball has the Crocs Cup for the number one team.

What is the crowd like at a volleyball game?
It depends on where the event is, which has me curious to see what Boston brings. In California, it’s a young beach crowd with girls in bikinis and guys with their shirts off.

Does the crowd get rowdy?
Again, it depends where we are. I like it when the crowd is into it– cheering, booing, heckling, whatever.

What’s your training schedule like?
Volleyball is a full-time job for us. We get to the beach at 9 a.m. and play for a few hours, have lunch, then go to the gym for weights and other training, then get home around five or six.

How did you get into volleyball?
I just started playing in my backyard and fell in love with the sport. I didn’t have a chance to learn, which is the cool thing about these trainings [Hilton Hotels AVP Youth Volleyball Clinic] with kids.

How popular are the youth clinics?
We get huge turnouts for these events, and the kids love it. We work closely with the kids to teach them the fundamentals, and then we sign autographs after. Beach volleyball leagues for kids haven’t caught on outside California yet, but there’s definitely an interest.

The AVP does a winter tour as well. Any chance you could stop in Boston this winter? We’d love to remember the beach when it’s ten degrees outside.
Boston’s not on the schedule, but if they did, I’d be there. I go wherever the AVP goes. Last year we did a winter tournament in Albany during a blizzard, and they turned up the heat inside and it was really cool.

Any 12 to 18-year-old kids can attend the free training clinic with Gibb, his teammate Sean Rosenthal, and Olympic medalist Mike Dodd tomorrow at Marina Bay from 5-7 p.m. Register your lucky young ones here.