LSU beach volleyball incorporates many different practices into their program to be able to produce the talent that they display on the court. The Tigers have Bible study weekly and pray while holding hands in a circle before each game. They have both a love for the sport and a love for religion.

For many of the girls on the team, they love the concept of the team combining faith and beach volleyball into one. Head Coach Russell Brock has been including faith in beach volleyball since the day he started coaching. Faith is part of who Brock is. He said integrating both faith and training always made sense to him.   

“We want them to engage in each other in ways that show that they care,” Brock said. “As we build that type of family where we give more than we take and we care about others more than we care about ourselves, we’re practicing those Biblical principles.”

The team’s core principles are leadership and teamwork. Brock wants their principles to come from the Bible. Especially during the pandemic, everyone is emphasizing the importance of caring for one another. Brock wants the girls to be aware of opportunities where they can serve one another. He wants them to love all their teammates.  

Everyone on the team experiences the faith aspect, but it is a choice that every girl has on whether or not they want to pursue it. Brock wants every one of his athletes to have the opportunity to be able to have both faith and beach volleyball. Faith adds an extra edge to the LSU beach volleyball team that many other teams don’t have. It’s a part of what makes them special. 

“At the end of the day, the worst thing that could happen to us is that we can lose,” Taryn Kloth said. “But there is so much more to this life.”

Kloth loves the fact that faith is incorporated into this program, and she thinks it is important. Her faith has played a huge part in her life. When the team is traveling to games, they get up 30 minutes earlier to pray because it is that important to them.

Unlike other beach programs around, LSU exerts joy in every hit to the ball on the sand. The girls show commitment and love to each other on the sand.

Faith is everything to Jess Lansman and it is how she lives. She appreciates that both Brock and Cati Leak incorporate faith into this program. The team has Bible studies once a week where they discuss the Bible and its teachings. It is a nice place for them to grow together as both people and as a team. They pray before practices and meets, and it helps the girls in many different ways.

“It calms a lot of nerves,” Lansman said. “It refocuses on why we’re here.”