The Orange County Stunners pride themselves on showing the full depth and diversity that volleyball has to offer on the Golden Coast. But to pull in such great talent from the area, some players find themselves making almost two-hour commutes to make it to training sessions. One such player on the roster is 6’6″ Middle Blocker, Shayne Beamer (UCSD), who has always pushed the limits of insanity to make sure he is in the gym with the team. Since playing with the Stunners, Shayne has lived in the Inland Empire, San Diego, and San Francisco, driving from SD to Costa Mesa on weeknights and taking weekend trips from SF just for volleyball.
Originally from Burbank, CA, the Valley Kid grew up on the edge of Los Angeles where he could take hikes from the old Los Angeles Zoo, over Warner Brothers Studios, and the backside of the Hollywood sign. The only member of his family of farmers to originate from California, his parents moved from Ohio to pursue his father’s acting career.
(Check out IMDb on Layne Beamer; https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0063736/).
Before getting into volleyball, Shayne played soccer for six years. He dabbled in fencing and archery, as well, before he knew it was time to find a new sport as he continued to grow in size.
“I knew I sucked at basketball, and I couldn’t stop fouling on every possession. Thankfully I was sitting next to my friend who played volleyball when signing up for high school classes. Then with that, the next twelve years of my life were set in stone” said Beamer.
Playing at John Burroughs High, Shayne credits his success and work ethic to his coach Joel Brinton who has won the league championship every year since 2010. From JBHS, Shayne was the first player to go straight to a Division 1 program for volleyball, becoming a starting player the next four years at UC San Diego. There he double majored in Socio-Cultural Anthropology and Global Health, committing himself to understand the complexities of mental illness and improving access to care worldwide. Knowing he would need experience abroad to complete such a task, Shayne let volleyball guide his way, following the sport he loved and gaining career experience along the way.
Since UCSD, Shayne has played in the New Zealand Club Nationals with the Wellington Capital Wolves while studying and working in the city’s emergency department. He’s also received his master’s in Psychology while playing at Northumbria University of Newcastle, playing in both the British University and Professional league. Then, when COVID-19 caused him to lose a job with Kaiser Permanente, he took the opportunity to play overseas in Denmark’s first division. Although Shayne is still unsure if he will return to Denmark for next season, you can expect him back with the Stunners this Spring to compete for the NVA Championship!
Beamer explained, “I feel that the NVA is going to go far. It seems like all the best players, coaches, and staff are all drawn to the league. The Stunners has been so meaningful for me as a stepping stone to all of my life’s journeys. I can’t wait to be able to keep playing professional volleyball for years to come on home soil.”
To stay up to date with Shayne as he heads into the postseason with Middelfart Volleyballklub, check out the link for Denmark’s Volley TV:https://www.volleytv.dk/
Also, be sure to go and give both the Stunners (@stunnersnvausa) and Shayne (@slimmshayney) a follow on Instagram. And if you haven’t already, check out this week’s NVA episode of “Quest for the Cup” as it covers the Stunners’ daily lives and training sessions (@NVAUSA).