SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — After a seven-year NBA career, former La Costa Canyon High School graduate Chase Badinger has turned his attention to another sport that he has a great passion for: beach volleyball.
“I was thinking about trying beach volleyball when I was done with basketball. Obviously, when I had that idea, it was just about playing for fun,” Budinger says.
Budinger is no newcomer to the sport of volleyball, having led La Costa Canyon to three CIF championships in the early 2000s. However, he recognized that his game needed some fine-tuning in order to play professionally on the AVP Tour.
“When I switched completely to 2v2 beach volleyball, I had to focus on my skills to be able to play at a consistent level and compete against the best players in the world,” he says.
Budinger admitted that just because he’s a former NBA player doesn’t mean he’ll receive a free pass to play in AVP Volleyball. He knew he had to earn money to go to the beach.
“Everyone was like, ‘This basketball player can’t play at this level.’ So I got served relentlessly for every ball…My partner played defense and the entire time… They didn’t have to do anything other than set me up. I think after the first season they realized this guy was pretty good, and we have to do that. Change your game plan against that,” Budinger said.
Budinger played his first season on the AVP Tour in 2018. This year was the highlight of his volleyball career, as he earned a spot on the men’s Olympic beach volleyball team for the Paris Games.
“I think the best part was that we had one of the best venues ever, playing under the Eiffel Tower. We played in front of 15,000 people every game. It was really special and the whole experience was amazing. “It was,” he says.
