University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Metzger Tabbed as p1440's Director of Player and Business Development
September 06, 2019 | Beach Volleyball
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – The first digital platform built around beach volleyball, p1440, has announced that UCLA's Stein Metzger will join its staff as the Director of Player and Business Development.
Co-founded by three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings and husband, pro beach player and seven-time AVP Open Champion, Casey Jennings to create what didn't exist – a digital platform exclusively built around the sport and culture of beach volleyball. The name p1440 is based on Jennings' way of life: to live all 1440 minutes of the day with passion and purpose.
Like UCLA head men's volleyball coach, John Speraw, who also coaches the USA Men's National Team, Metzger, a two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year, will handle both jobs. He led UCLA to back-to-back NCAA Championships in beach volleyball in 2018 and 2019 and will enter his eighth season at the helm of the Bruins' beach volleyball program in 2020.
For the previous two years, p1440 has steadily been building its Developmental Program, a support system for athletes looking to make the same jump that Metzger did, complete with coaching, physical training, physical therapy, and intrasquad tournaments throughout each session. Now Metzger is the one overseeing that system, taking over for Marcio Sicoli as the Director of Player and Business Development.
"Getting an opportunity to join a team that has dedicated resources and time and effort to athletes that are coming out of college to help them and assist them make the job I think is incredible," Metzger said. "And I'm super excited and passionate about helping these athletes. I'm excited to bring a brand of volleyball that I've learned over the course of a 15-year professional career."
If there is one thing Metzger has proven over the course of his career in volleyball, it's his ability to launch a career. He launched his own, from his buddy's garage, making the 2004 Athens Games, winning 16 AVPs and two FIVB titles.
As a coach, he launched UCLA's beach team into a different stratosphere, setting an NCAA record with 40 wins in 2019. Now he's charged with launching another program still in its infancy, one that he could have used as a post-graduate of UCLA.
"The addition of Stein (Metzger) to the p1440 Developmental Program is absolutely huge," Walsh Jennings said. "We know he will lead our athletes and developmental programming with the same creative, analytical and winning mindset he brought to his incredible playing career and continues to bring daily to his National Championship program at UCLA. His leadership will also bridge cutting edge volleyball training with old school, proven fundamentals and allow p1440 to best serve its growing pipeline of young athletes who want to learn from the best and make their way to the top."
