Tuesday Talent: Casey Patterson

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Casey celebrates during the Gstaad Major. Photocredit: Andreas Langreiter.

The 2017 season will represent a new chapter in the beach volleyball career of one of the most popular players on the tour – Casey Patterson.

With his wild haircuts and razor sharp reflexes as he bounds around the court – not to mention the occasional frown to a stupid question asked by a journalist after a defeat (we should know!) – there’s no escaping Casey’s unique character on the Swatch Major Series Tour.

Since bursting onto the international tour in 2011, Casey – now 36 – has steadily become one of the most feared players in beach volleyball – especially on home sand. You only have to look at his excellent record on the AVP Tour over the past four seasons to understand that: 13 gold medals in 26 competitions speaks for itself.

Success on the FIVB World Tour hasn’t been as easy to come by, though. Only on two occasions has the Californian experienced the ultimate satisfaction of topping the podium – and the last time that happened it came with Jake Gibb at the St Petersburg Grand Slam in June 2015.

But there aren’t many players as animated on court than Casey either, and his screams of delight and frustration can be heard throughout the tournament whichever court he is playing on – and that’s why thousands of fans flock to see him in action every year.

He is the ultimate crowd pleaser but can equally play the role of pantomime villain too. And that’s why we love him!

Having enjoyed a three-year partnership with Jake that saw the pair qualify for the Olympics in Rio last summer, the duo revealed that they will go down different paths in 2017.

Casey is pairing up with Theo Brunner while Jake will partner Taylor Crabb. Whatever lies in store next season for Casey it is sure to be an exciting one!

See you in Fort Lauderdale, Casey!